Phend Switches to Xcelorin Brushless Systems

Nine-time National Champion Dakotah Phend has switched to Xcelorin Brushless Systems. Dakotah will be running Xcelorin Brushless Motors and ESCs in all of his electric vehicles including the new 1/8 Electric Buggy class. Dakotah’s first major race with Xcelorin systems will be at the 2009 Roar Electric Off-Road Nationals, June 24-28 at Hobby Plex in Omaha, Nebraska.

2009 JBRL Nitro Series, Round One

The first round of the 2009 JBRL Nitro Series took place April 25-26. The race was held at Thunder Alley Raceway in Beaumont, CA. Despite the economic concerns JBRL set a new record with an amazing 342 entries. Rob and Levi Jackson put together and excellent race track. The challenging track consisted of large high-speed jumps, elevation changes, mogul sections where speed and timing were crucial, and studder bumps.

This is the first organized series race with a 1/8-scale Electric Buggy class, which turned out to be a great race for Losi. Losi driver Todd Hodge dominated the 1/8 Electric Buggy class by taking top qualifying honors and nearly putting a lap on the entire field in the 10 minute A-main event. Todd used the Team Losi Racing 8IGHT-E 2.0 Buggy Race Roller, Losi's 14.8V 5000mAh 4S 25C LiPo battery pack and an Xcelorin 1700kv Brushless Motor and ESC combo to put himself in the top spot. Todd’s winning setup is available on Losi.com.

Losi also dominated the 1/8 Sportsman Buggy class with Ryan Cambell taking the win with his Team Losi Racing 8IGHT 2.0 Buggy Race Roller. In the 1/8 Intermediate Buggy class Losi secured the top three spots with Dan Hissam, Don Vinkenmulder and Mike Lutz swapping the lead several times before Dan Hissam made a great move on the last lap in the last turn to beat out Don Vinkenmulder for the round one win. All drivers chose the Team Losi Racing 8IGHT 2.0 Buggy Race Roller and Nitrotane 30% fuel. In the 1/8 Pro Buggy A-Main Team Losi Racing 8IGHT 2.0’s held 5 of the 13 A-main positions representing the highest car count of any manufacturer.

Losi would like to thank the Thunder Alley Crew and JBRL for making this race happen.

Mid-South RC Pro Division, Round 1

The first round of the Mid-South RC Pro Division race was held at Preemo’s RC in Whitehouse, TN. Losi drivers and their vehicles TQ’d in six classes, and took the first place win in seven A-Mains.

Derek Weatherholt was the top qualifier in the Pro Buggy class; he also went on to take first place in the Pro Buggy A-main, with Alan Burton finishing in second place. Derek also competed in the Pro Arena Truck class where he finished in first place in the A-Main.

Nic Day was the top qualifier in both the Open Buggy and Open Arena Truck classes; he also took first place in the A-Main race of each class as well.

Jake Wagoner participated in the Intermediate Buggy and Intermediate Arena Truck classes. Jake was the top qualifier in both classes and also took first place in each A-Main race. All Losi drivers were competing with the 8IGHT 2.0 Buggy Race Roller and the 8IGHT-T 2.0 Truggy Race Roller.

Alan Burton also competed in the 1/8 Electric Buggy class with the Team Losi Racing 8IGHT-E 2.0 Buggy Race Roller equipped with an Xcelorin Brushless System. Alan was the top qualifier and also finished in first place in the A-Main race.

Congratulations to all drivers on their outstanding results!

Johnson Wins at 2009 Canadian Challenge

The Canadian Challenge is Canada's largest annual race, with drivers traveling from around the world to participate at the event. Losi driver Dave Johnson attended the event, and had tremendous success with his Team Losi Racing JRX-S Type R Sedan equipped with an Xcelorin Brushless System and Losi LiPo battery.

Dave competed in the 17.5 class where he was the Top Qualifier by over one lap as well as the first place winner of the A-Main by over one lap. In the 13.5 class Dave finished in second place, less than a 100th of a second behind the first place driver.

Congratulations to Dave for a great weekend of racing!

8IGHT 2.0 Awarded Car of the Year at 2009 RCCA Awards

Losi was honored with three awards at the 2009 RCCA Awards Banquet on April 18.

The Team Losi Racing 8IGHT 2.0 Buggy Race Roller was awarded the 2009 Editor's Choice Award for Car of the Year, as well as the Readers' Choice Award for Nitro Buggy. The innovative 8IGHT 2.0 Buggy features over thirty enhancements to its award-winning predecessor the 8IGHT, and is used by top drivers world-wide.

Losi driver Adam Drake was honored with the Readers’ Choice Award for Driver of the Year. This is the fourth consecutive year for Adam to receive this prestigious award.

Drake Champion of 2009 Losi Winter Series

The fourth and final race of the Losi Winter Series took place on Sunday, April 11 at Revelation Raceway.

Losi drivers Adam Drake, Matt Schreffler and Colby Poh took the top three spots, respectively, in the 1/8 Expert Buggy class. All three drivers were competing with the 8IGHT 2.0 Buggy, and all were running Losi Eclipse and XBT buggy tires. Adam also equipped his 8IGHT 2.0 buggy with a Center SmartDiff.

In the 1/8 Amateur Truggy class, Adam Drake finished in first place with his 8IGHT-T 2.0. Losi drivers Eddie Laret and Robert Wickham finished in second and fourth. All three drivers were using Nitrotane Fuel and Adam and Eddie use Losi's Reptile truggy tires.

This final round of the series resulted in Adam Drake as the overall champion in both buggy and truggy for the 2009 series. Losi would like to congratulate all drivers on their outstanding performance during the 2009 series.

Fast In Every Country - 8IGHT 2.0 Takes 3 of Top 5 Spots at Neo09

Neo09 took place April 11-13 at the UK's Harper Adams College. Qualifying took place on Saturday and Sunday, with the final race taking place on Monday.

Three Losi drivers finished in the top five spots after Monday's A-main. Darren Bloomfield finished in second place, Riccardo Rabitti finished in fourth place and Yannick Aigoin finished in fifth place. All three drivers were competing with Team Losi Racing's 8IGHT 2.0 Buggy. Darren equipped his buggy with both a Front and Center SmartDiff. Losi's SmartDiffs provide drivers with increased off-power steering and outstanding acceleration.

Congratulations to all Losi drivers for their excellent performance!

2009 April Fool's Classic

The April Fool's Classic was hosted by IR/CR in Magna, Utah. The indoor clay off-road track offered a high-speed layout with fast and technical sections. The 2009 classic was a great showing for Losi drivers Matt Chambers, Dustin Evans, and Joel Eaton. In practice it seemed clear to anyone watching that Losi drivers had a speed and consistency advantage over the other drivers at the race.

Dustin and Matt finished 1st and 2nd in Modified 2wd with the 1/10 XXX-CR Buggy and also finished 1st and 2nd in Modified Truck with the 1/10 XXX-T CR Truck. Joel took the 1st place win in Modified 4wd with the 1/10 XXX-4 G+ Buggy. Dustin, Matt and Joel each equipped their Team Losi Racing vehicles with Xcelorin Brushless Systems and Spektrum radio systems with 2.4 GHz DSM technology. Also, Kobe Yonker used the Losi XXX-CR to take the win in the Pro Stock Buggy class. Losi pink compound tires were the winning choice by all drivers and proved to be nearly a second per lap faster than the competitions' tires. In all, this was a great showing for Losi, Xcelorin and Spektrum products.

2009 Silver State Nitro Challenge

The Silver State Nitro Challenge took place April 1-4 at Silver State RC in Boulder City, NV. The event consisted of invitational and open classes for 1/8 buggy and 1/8 truggy.

In the Invitational Buggy A-Main Losi driver Billy Fischer finished in second place; only 1.5 seconds behind the driver in first place. Adam Drake finished in third and Mike Truhe finished in fourth place. All three Losi drivers were using the Team Losi Racing 8IGHT 2.0 Race Roller. In the Invitational Truggy A-Main Adam drove his 8IGHT-T 2.0 Race Roller to a first place victory, with Mike rounding out the podium in third place.

Losi swept the podium in both the Open Buggy and Open Truggy classes. In the Open Buggy class Losi drivers Jacques Ballow, Chris Wheeler and Ricky Gainer raced for a 1-2-3 finish with their 8IGHT 2.0 buggies. In the Open Truggy class Losi drivers Randy Nolen, Kyle Hunter and Mikey Bustamante also had a 1-2-3 finish, making for an all Losi and 8IGHT-T 2.0 podium.

This year's event also included an 1/8 Electric Buggy class. Losi/Xcelorin drivers Billy Fischer and Mike Truhe both competed with the Team Losi Racing 8IGHT-E 2.0 Race Roller, and finished first and second respectively. Both drivers equipped thier buggies with Xcelorin Brushless Systems.

All Losi drivers at this event were using center SmartDiffs in their buggies and truggies. Losi's center and front SmartDiffs can be used in any 8IGHT buggy or truggy (Original and 2.0 versions) to increase the vehicle’s off-power steering and on-power acceleration. Visit Losi.com for more information on how SmartDiffs will benefit your vehicle's setup.

Click below for the winning Losi drivers vehicle setups at the 2009 Silver State Nitro Challenge:

8IGHT 2.0 Buggy Race Roller Setups

8IGHT-T 2.0 Truggy Race Roller Setups

8IGHT-E 2.0 Buggy Race Roller Setups

JOHNSON MOTORSPORTS JOINS LOSI R/C CRAWLERS FOR 2009 SEASON

LAS VEGAS, NV – April 3, 2009

Pro rockcrawling team Johnson Motorsports announced today its new partnership with Losi for its exciting 2009 rockcrawling competition season. Losi, a division of Horizon Hobby, Inc. is a premier manufacturer of radio controlled model cars, accessories and electronics whose products are sold worldwide.
“Losi is proud to associate itself with people who are ambassadors for their sport,” said Losi President Bill Jeric. “Nicole Johnson and her team will help us to show the economical fun and performance of Losi R/C Crawlers and off-road vehicles to full-scale crawling enthusiasts, and we look forward to working with Nicole, Frank and Team Johnson Motorsports during their 2009 campaign.”
As the team gets ready to rock on April 4th and 5th at the Tucson W.E.ROCK season opener, fans can experience mini R/C crawling for themselves right next to the life-size action. HobbyTown USA will be demonstrating all the hot new Losi products adjacent to Johnson Motorsports’ pit during the event.
“We are excited that Losi sees our potential and has confidence in our team to further promote a lifestyle of family-oriented recreation,” commented Nicole Johnson of the new relationship. “As a mom of two young boys, I feel it’s important to provide activities that are wholesome and get the kids outdoors. Thanks to Losi, mini R/C crawling is one of the boys’ favorite activities!”
With several new partnerships forming this year, Johnson Motorsports will continue to define its team with innovative marketing in the efforts of bringing new fans to the sport of rockcrawling. More information about Losi can be found online at http://www.losi.com/. Event photos and schedule information about Las Vegas-based Johnson Motorsports are located on the team website at http://www.johnson4x4.com/.