Team Hitec Dominates the 2015 JBRL Series

JBRL_Domination

The 2015 Jimmy Babcock Racing League, also known as the JBRL, has finally come to a close. After battling at 8 different tracks throughout the Southwestern United States, Hitec’s very own Adam Drake finished on the top step overall in Pro Buggy, Pro Truggy, and 1/8th Electric.

AdamDrake-Podium

Armed with his Hitec Lynx 4S and the brushless HSB-9370/9380 servos, he made Hitec proud once again! Honorable Mention went to Hitec’s Steve Harris for finishing in the top 3 overall in Pro Buggy and 1/8th Electric.

Electric 8th 2015 jbrl

Exp Buggy 2015 JBRL

Exp Truggy 2015 jbrl

Representing the “over 40 year old” racers, Hitec’s Miguel Perez finished 2nd overall in the 40+ class while Hitec’s Don Vinkemulder finished 3rd.

40+ Nitro Buggy 2015 JBRL

Congratulations!!  Great Job Everyone!

Race Report: Hitec Trophy Chase 2014 Results

HTC_TrophiesUpClose


Hitec Trophy Chase 2014 Results

Event: Hitec Trophy Chase 2014
Date: January 25 – June 8, 2014
Location: Heritage RC Park – Chula Vista, CA
Team Hitec Attendees: Billy Tompkins

By: Billy Tompkins
Supporting local tracks and the radio control racing community is integral to growing this great hobby and one of the reasons we at Hitec started the Hitec Trophy Chase Racing Series. Years back while racing with friends and colleagues, the question was raised, “What happened to the good old days of club racing?” Everyone missed it – the camaraderie, the friendly competition and best of all, an excuse to get out there and drive! And so was born the Hitec Off-Road Trophy Chase! Our location was and continues to be the Heritage RC Park, located in Chula Vista, CA which combines local convenience with exceptionally maintained facilities. The series consists of 6 races in which local racers battle over the coveted title of Trophy Chase Champion! To ensure there is something for everyone, 9 classes of racing are available from 1/5th-scale down to 1/10th-scale short course. When the dust settles from all the 6 races, the top 3 in each class are bestowed trophies and local street cred honors! This year’s series was a great success with the following top winners:

1/5th Scale 2WD Winners (L to R): 2nd – Dennis Christy, 1st – Kyle Christy, 3rd – Jim Cooper
2014HTC_1-5_Scale_2WD-650

 

1/5th Scale 4WD Winners (L to R): 2nd – Fangs Cpo, 1st – Chris Bentz, 3rd – Patrick Brown
2014HTC_1-5_4WD_Truck-650

 

Sportsman 1/8th Buggy Winners (L to R): 2nd – Jose Castelan, 1st – Victor Orollana, 3rd – Mark Linder
2014HTC_Sportman_1-8_Buggy-650

 

Intermediate 1/8th Buggy Winners (L to R): 2nd – John Brown, 1st – Jaime Boquiren, 3rd – Kevin King
2014HTC_Intermediate_1-8_Buggy-650

 

Expert 1/8th Buggy Winners (L to R): 2nd – Don Vinkemolder, 1st – Brandon Aymar, 3rd – Josh Bertrand
2014HTC_Expert_1-8_Buggy-650

 

Sportsman 1/8th Truggy Winners (L to R): 2nd – Federico Gamboa, 1st – Vince Briel, 3rd – Ed Paguia
2014HTC_Sportman_1-8_Truggy-650

 

Expert 1/8th Truggy Winners (L to R): 2nd – Josh Bertrand, 1st – Matt Wolter (Not Shown), 3rd – Adam Schick
2014HTC_Expert_1-8_Truggy-650

 

1/8th Scale e-Buggy Winners (L to R): 2nd – Miguel Perez, 1st – David Sandate, 3rd – Jim Cooper
2014HTC_1-8_eBuggy-650

Congratulations to the 2014 champs! Gear up for next year, friends, the Hitec Trophy Chase Series is fast becoming the local racing wild ride!!

Race Report: AMS 5.0

AMS50_AdamWinner

Adam Drake Dominates AMS 5.0

Event: Alabama Manufacturers Shootout 5.0
Date: June 5-7, 2014
Location: Cullman County Agricultral Center – Cullman, AL
Team Hitec Attendees: Billy Tompkins, Adam Drake, Matt Sistrunk

By: Billy Tompkins
The Alabama Manufacturers Shootout is a 1/8th scale Nitro Off-road Racing event that is held in the quaint, small town of Cullman, Alabama. Also known as the AMS, it has become one of the largest races in the U.S. with 600 entries this year alone. In its 5th year and second in attendance to the Nitro Challenge, the AMS has become a well-oiled machine. With race directors Jimmy Babcock and Canyon Thompson and track operators Drew and Chris Cassidy, this event is one of the smoothest yet challenging operations around. Its three sections of track, designed with peristyles reminiscent of the L.A. Coliseum, off-camber sections and step-on and step-off jumps make this one of the trickiest track layouts in AMS history.

As the name implies, The Alabama Manufacturer Shootout brings all the Industry Manufacturers together to show off their products and allow their top drivers to compete for the coveted title of AMS Champion. Hitec’s own Adam Drake was in attendance racing the Pro 1/8th scale Nitro Buggy, Nitro Truggy, and Electric Buggy classes. In Qualifying, Adam would prove to be the “man to beat” as he became the Top Qualifier in all 3 classes that he entered.

Being the top qualifier going into the Main Events, Adam would be sitting in Pole Position, sitting #1 on the starting grid for all 3 classes. At the start of the Truggy Main Event, Adam got off to an early lead and never looked back! Going wire to wire and in convincing fashion, Adam Drake took the win in the 1/8th scale Truggy class! At the start of the Electric Buggy Main Event, Adam experienced an electrical problem rendering him immobile. This would eliminate his chance at a win in the E-Buggy class as it was a Double A Main Format. Moving into the most notable class of the weekend, the Pro Buggy Class, Adam started 1st on the grid. At the onset of the race, Adam was being challenged by one of the youngest drivers in the Pro Class, Derek Weatherholt. Adam lost the lead to young Derek early on but his determination and experience would prove to be the stronger asset. He passed Derek in the remaining couple of laps. Once back in the lead, Adam went on to take the win in the 45-minute Main Event.

Adam Drake uses the Hitec HSB-9370TH as the throttle servo in both Truggy and Buggy, as well as the steering servo in both his Electric Buggy and Nitro Buggy. In his Truggy, he uses the HSB-9380TH for steering. Adam had this to say; “The precision and holding torque of my HSB-9000 series servos make it easy for me to put my cars where I want them, when I want them, anywhere on the track. Not to mention, the efficiency of the servos make me rest easy that I will not run out of battery during the long 45-minute main events.” Hitec congratulates Adam Drake on his Triple TQ and Double Victory at the AMS 5.0!

Race Report: 4th Annual Southern Nationals

SO-Nats-Logo

Event: 4th Annual Southern Nationals – 1/8th Scale Indoor Offroad
Date: Oct. 4-6, 2013
Location: Ike Hamilton Expo Center – West Monroe, Louisiana
Team Hitec Attendees: Billy Tompkins, Adam Drake, Matt Sistrunk, Paul Coleman

By: Billy Tompkins
The Southern Nationals is a 1/8th Scale Indoor Offroad racing event that takes place in the small town of West Monroe, Louisiana. The race is held in the arena of the Ike Hamilton Expo Center, which is normally used for Horse Exhibitions. The facility is very large, with arena seating on one side that allows all of the spectators to have great viewing of the racing excitement. This was the 4th year that this event has been put on at the Ike Hamilton Center and I am sure there will be more to follow as this is a fantastic venue for such an event.

The 2013 Southern Nationals saw the largest attendance in its 4 years of existence, with the best racers from all over the South, as well as racers from the East and West Coast.  With almost 350 race entries, this year boasted one of the largest racing events in the South. News coverage of the event was done by Jeremy Flint of RC Insider.com, and live racing coverage of the event was handled by LiveRC.com.  The race announcing was done by Top Notch Racing Series announcer Notch Johnson. The Southern Nationals is such a large event that it couldn’t be put on by just one person. The team of individuals that helped create this event are very talented, and hardworking and take great pride in being involved in such an event. Jeff Gray and Jason Correro lead the way for this awesome team.

Since the start of this event in 2010, Hitec has had the pleasure of being a sponsor. This year, we stepped up our sponsor level to be one of the Headlining sponsors of the event, along with TLR, Proline Racing, and Extreme Klean RC product

southern nationals 149-THweb

Hitec’s number one driver, Adam Drake was able to make the event, and raced three different classes this year. Adam entered the Pro Nitro Buggy, Pro Nitro Truggy, and Pro E-Buggy classes. After qualifying, Adam was able to take the Top Qualifying position in Pro Nitro Buggy and Truggy, and the second starting position in E-Buggy. At the start of the Pro Nitro Buggy class, Adam got off to a rough start dropping him down a few positions. At about the 10 minute mark of the 45 minute main event, Adam regained the lead and never looked back, taking the win in the Pro Buggy class. In the Pro Nitro Truggy class, it was pretty much the “Adam Drake Show” as he led almost the entire race taking the win in the end. The Pro E-Buggy Class turned out to be the nail biter, as it was a Triple A main format. Adam would take 2nd place in A1, and 1st place in A2, thus leaving it to A3 to decide the winner. In A3, early on in the race Adam would fall behind the hard charging Ryan Lutz. A bobble by Ryan later in the race would allow Adam to catch up and latch on to his coattails. With only a few laps left in the race, Ryan would struggle over the triple leading to the straight away, Adam nailed the triple perfect giving him a ton of acceleration allowing him to pass Ryan down the straight. At that point, Adam held his ground and took the win in A3 giving him the overall victory for the Pro E-Buggy class.

9000Series

Adam said his HSB-9000 series servos worked flawlessly all weekend. Adam runs the HSB-9370TH for steering in his E-buggy, the HSB-9380TH for steering and HSB-9370TH for throttle in his Truggy, and HSB-9370TH for both steering and throttle in his buggy.

The 2013 Southern Nationals is an event that is growing every year. The event organizers have managed to make each year better than the year before. This year will be a tough year to beat, but I am sure the Southern Nationals crew is more than up for the task. With that being said, we look forward to working with the Southern Nationals team next year to help promote this fantastic hobby and bring an even better event for the racers.

More Event Coverage:

RC Insider
Podium Shots – http://rcinsider.com/?p=54396
Hitec Coverage – http://rcinsider.com/?p=54363
Team Hitec Racing Footage (video) – http://rcinsider.com/?p=54355