Slightly off-topic today, I’m going to talk about car insurance as it’s time to renew protection for the trusty wagon.  I’ve long been a firm believer of purchasing cover from a reputable insurer so that should the worst actually happen I’m safe in the knowledge that I’m dealing with professionals.  I shopped around via the usual comparison websites and found that Aviva were able to offer me the best deal, including 12 weeks free!

Returning to my thoughts on choosing a respectable insurer, Aviva offers an uninsured driver promise meaning that I shouldn’t pick up the bill for an accident that isn’t my fault.  Aviva even have an app in the iPhone store.  Why not give Aviva a try and see if they can help insure your ride?

Aviva Car Insurance

Well today I proudly present my new shell for the F102; a Renault R27 decked out in Ginacarlo Fisichella livery. This is actually the original style Tamiya F104 shell painstakingly cut and shaped to fit on the old-school F1, which it does very nicely. The helmet has been hand-painted seperately and the wings decked out in coloured vinyl to match the original design. As this body fits the F102 (which accepts F103 bodyshells) it will also fit the F103, however when fitting the shell to either ensure not to use the slimmer rear-end option parts as you wont be able to fit any battery packs in!

Massive thanks to Jay for all the time and effort he put into making this stunning replica!

Presenting my 3Racing V3 chassis upgrade for my TA05.  When I last posted I was running a HPI Pro 4 (which has since retired to Australia of all places) but am now rocking a Tamiya TA05-R and a TA05-IFS setup for wet conditions.  The chassis itself seems to be amde out of a pretty high quality carbon fibre and looks the part.  My only compalint thus far is that the upper deck configuration really restricts access to fundamental areas of the car such as the diff housings and even the pinion gear.  This will of course be offset by the benefits of a stiffer chassis configuration (one hopes!) but I cant help thinking if the dimensions were slightly less generous that access would be much easier – it remains to be seen how much of a headache this will cause.  For now just enjoy the pictures – I’ve ran some of the JR leads through the motor heat sink vents which hides them from view pretty nicely:

Just a quick update to say that myself and five other Dudley Radio Car Club members have been lucky enough to register for the inaugral Ardent 24hr race to be held on 11 June 2011 (the same date as some other 24hr race taking place at Le Mans!).  Bound by the competition ruels we will be running a stock HPI Sprint that we will setup and race prepare ahead of the event.  Testing begins next Saturday – further info to follow!

Ardent 24hr

Picked up another new shell for coming Winter Series Events, a striking Protoform DNA. The BMW has taken some knocks during club racing and is about as aerodynamic as a house brick anyway, so the DNA will serve me during weekend meetings starting with the final round of DRCC’s Winter Series.

An old clip of me flying my Picoo Z:

 

Sorry for the lack of updates over the last month, Uni has been a bit hectic at the moment but i’ve still found time to race!  Below are a few pictures of just some of the parts that i’ve  broken in the last month or so, including a titanium axle that i  sheared clean in half!

Must.  Drive. Slower.

  

I found a spare afternoon to affix the wing onto my BMW shell and with a hand from my Dad mounted the it onto the Pro 4. It looks especially good with the Schumacher multi-spoke wheels below:

A mish-mash of clips from club racing on 1st Feburary 08.

Many thanks to my good friend Anthony for his camera work, and heres to wishing him a speedy and complete recovery after his recent op.

I’ve replaced the smashed Ansmann “Nemesis” shell with a decent Protoform BMW 318i body.  More pictures as soon as the postman delivers!

 

With thanks to Ross and Rob for the images.