XRAY - Model racing cars

What happened to the RX8 at the 2011worlds, I am considering purchasing the kit, however I am hearing negative feedback regarding the kit. What was the problem? was it mechanical, parts failure, driver error or just bad luck? I have a stable of Xray cars and a 1/8 RX8 would be a nice addition. I would like to have some feedback regarding the kit and the worlds. What happened to Xray's top drivers? thanks.

The negative comments are of course made by the competition who is scared by XRAY, so no reason to be concerned at all. I was not at the event but I am sure Martin will drop few lines after he returns back from the Neo Buggy race next week and I am sure Juraj will give his input in some of the next monthly columns. Just in a short what I got info, the track was very special with plenty of 180° turns so the clutch setting was extremely important. Many XRAY drivers came with a new clutch which was not run-in and at this type of the track the not run-in clutch suffered and created problems. Those who run-in the clutch at home like Denkel or Fantini had no problems during the entire event and their clutch worked well. Besides this the only challenge were the tires, there was already publicly some info about the tire matter but I heard the story was even more special. And of course like in the racing many technical issues were faced by the team - Vuga disqualified after bump-up due fuel tank capacity, Denkel made wrong fuel strategy which cost him bump-up, Lemieux who got into final had electronics trouble already in the warm-up laps and even did not start, etc.
So there is no reason to be concerned at all. The RX8 already proved its performance at its debut at Winternats with 1st+2nd place and the RX8 now starts racing around the world at the local, regional and national races with some first very good results and achievements.

And lastly - the RX8 is a bigger brother of NT1, so the RX8 has a great family roots & background

i was there i didn't have the rx8 it wasn't available to me yet but Martin hudy helped me anyway you are right the rx8 is ok i saw dankel he would have made the final paul made the final and actually i think ralph would have also made the final but he to had electrical problems martin hudy thanks for your help regards SOLOARTIST

Cepus, the negative feedback you're referring to is most likely from people that were not even present at the worlds, but instead sat in front of their keyboards, judging and making assumptions based on qualifying results or some rumors. Homestead track was punishing on clutches, everyone was struggling, no matter what brand of car. Read Cyrul’s or others comments on rctech . Track had six 180 degree turns, weather was extremely hot, it took a while for most to find the right clutch or car setup, only to find out it wouldn’t work so well the following day when track conditions changed. On the other hand, when it comes to clutches, some had no problems at all. I believe Vuga was using the same stock red clutch shoe for most of practice and qualifying, one he had used in Europe with few liters of fuel on it already. Dankel’s clutch looked really good too. If you had a clutch shoe that was broken-in right; with a nice glossy contact surface, you were good to go. I spoke to many xray drivers from Europe, they had not experienced any problems with clutches on their home tracks, so it really seems it was track specific. In the end, everyone looked better, clutches and overall setups, Burch’s car looked glued to the track during his final, too bad he had an incident and broke. Dankel was fueling every 3.5 minutes, while others in his final were doing 4 -4.5 minute stops. Very unfortunate, as he would have bumped up, no doubt. Martin had some bad luck, so did Juraj, they both deserved at least one more bump-up. Paul’s steering servo broke during warmup for the final, so bad luck finally caught up with him after all the bump-ups he was able to do. I think overall it was a great learning experience for all and they will come out stronger next time!
Solo, it was nice meeting you dude!

Couple of short, low resolution video clips:
Dankel:

Burch:

For Cepus and all the people who ask.
My name is Asi and I am from Israel .I am driving off road Rc cars for more then 10 years. Here in our small country we don't have real on road track specially not for 1/8 scale. Actually This WC was my first time ever driving 1/8 on road car on a track. My first laps were very slow as expected and I made some mistake that almost destroyed my car , again as expected I was last to all ,that were minimum of 10 years more experience than me for this category. After 3 days of practicing on the track and trying to understand how to drive this magnificent machine ,the results were not late to come and I started to increase my speed and get much better lap times and from 27-29 second for lap I dropped to 19-20 and even got some 18..., I know it is not fast laps to be proud of ,but if you think of it and bear in mind that this is my first 1/8 on road race and driving ever it is not too bad. I have raced with drivers with more then 20 years of experience ,and finished ahead of them and made better lap time and better total laps in the finals. Actually I am sure that with few more days on the track I could have dun much better.

although I don't have all the needed experience with this category ,I hade very good time and got lots of respect from my friend to driving group for my results. They all asked me about my car manufacture ,setup and were amazed this is my first ever 1/8 on road race ,because of my results. After the first 3 days felt very comfort with car and could push it when ever I wanted ,it turn like crazy and go strata forward out of 180 turns.

The XRAY team where magnificent ,driving fast and very strong. In my opinion it was nothing but bade luck to the team. I have bean there and for sure sea all the other cars and drivers. The XRAY team were the best for the team effort and support. As you can understand I hade lots of question ,and believe me or not I got all the information form every on of them. Paul ,Ralph ,Mike ,Dru ,and of course Martin were all there to support and help with every thing needed. This is what I a call a team effort. One for all and all for one.

Don't forget one more and minor thing , the other brands team driver hade may years with ther car, and already won big race and I can assure you that in the next race it will be totally different story ,when the XRAY team will some more expiriance with car.

The car is build like all XRAY ,with the best materials and durability . As you probably understand I hade some wall heats in the beginning , I did not brake anything. XRAY will always be XRAY, and nothing can be compared.

Conclusion :
1. Very strong and reliable car - I did not replace any part all the week but clutch and 2 clutch bell bearing.
2. There is no support like XRAY support on the track. I got all the information needed all week.
3. Very easy to drive , with 0 experience on this scale I finished ahead of many experienced drivers (believe me I am not that talented ) it was very easy to drive the car.
4. Experienced and beginners will find the car fun and easy to drive and for sure wining races ,like the team has proven .

I love the car and love the category.

Asi

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Negative feedback is always out there in the street. More when we are talking about a brand that has showed his potential on every RC scale. I attended the worlds and the cars were performing just as we spected they will. On the controlled practice both Ralph and Mike did excellent job setting one of the fastest laps and performig an incerdible pace. Both were within the first 5.
After the event one RX8 made it to the final, despite Paul couldn't even start it due to a servo issue (nothing to do with the car).
Apart form these results which show the potential of the car we must not forget that the RX8 had hit the tracks just two months before the worls with plenty of work to do in order for the drivers to know and get familiariced with the whole car itself. Plus none XRAY drivers attended any practice day with the RX8 to the track in Miami, while the rest of top drivers had been there at least two or three times. It would have been very pretencious to think that XRAY will will the worlds with the RX8. Results will come from now onwards...