Longtime Mugen off-road ace Chad Bradley will be joining Adam Drake on the Jammin' squad and running the Jammin X1-CR and CRT for the remainder of the '05 season and on into '06. "I have known Chad a longtime and he is a great person and driver, so we are stoked to have him on the team," says team captain and Jammin' namesake Jay Halsey. Chad's a top five regular in 1/8-scale off-road and Unlimited Monster Truck, so expect results.

This just in from Team Orion:
"The 2005 Swedish Championship took place in Eskilstuna, Sweden and was attended by all of Sweden’s top Touring Car drivers. Swedish racing star and Team Orion factory driver, Magnus Vassmar, dominated three of the five qualifying rounds and captured TQ honors, giving him the pole position for the main event. Magnus drove his Revolution V2 12x1 Touring edition motor and V-Max Plus RDS GP3300 SP2 battery powered Schumacher MI2 into victory lane three times during the finals, taking the overall victory and winning the 2005 Swedish Championships Title. Vassmar used Team Orion’s Advantage Charger, Hard JB Wheels and JB Foam Blue Thin tire inserts to win the championship."

Check out Marc Rheinhard in this shot...it looks like he's saying "Get off my step!" Sorry Marc, Teemu won fair and square with his Orion-powered Schumacher Mi2. For the full story, click over to Team Orion's excellent coverage. You can talk about the race and get the link here.

The mini market has another new player—Trinity’s new “Itsy Bitsy Spyder” (yes, that is in fact it’s real name). This new 1/18 4WD off-road truck comes 100 percent assembled from the factory; has a shaft drive system; front and rear gear diffs; ball bearings in the gearboxes; high performance “Mini” size motor; fully proportional ESC with reverse; high-torque/high-speed steering servo; full size AM radio; it’s available in six different 27MHz frequencies with six different body colors; has low-profile off-road tires (with foam inserts) mounted on chrome dish wheels. The truck comes completely ready-to-run—all that’s left is to install AA batteries (four for the truck) and go! The little Spyder retails for just $199 and is expected to sell for only about $120 on the street. For more information, please visit the Team Trinity website.

Updated November 28, 2001—Yorba Linda, CA
This is Team Orion's official Vortex press release:The Team Orion Vortex brushless motor utilizes new, sensorless technology. It uses no special wiring to control it. The software of the controller controls everything.

The size is exactly like a normal 540 type motor. It is even within IFMAR rules concerning size and furthermore uses a normal ferrite magnet, which also is within the rules. The shaft is a 3.2 mm and of course accepts standard pinion gears.

The Team Orion brushless motor must be used in combination with a brushless motor controller. The use of the new sensorless technology allows the use of any controller as long it has been designed for sensorless, brushless motors. There are several manufacturers providing these at a price similar to a high end ESC. Look for Team Orion’s own sensorless controller in the near future.

A list of controllers compatible with the Vortex will be posted soon, as will more information and performance data as it becomes available!

The Vortex, due to its brushless design, offers the following advantages over brushed motors:

Prior to our latest dyno test, the most powerful small-block engine we've tested was high-strung .12 competition engine. At 1.6 horsepower, this engine put out more power than any small block of any displacement - until now.

In a recent dyno test for an upcoming issue of RC Nitro magazine, the new OS .18 TZ rear-exhaust engine cranked out a record setting 2.28 bhp at 30,500 rpm. It shatters the 2hp barrier for small-block engines well before anyone else had a chance to get close, making more horsepower than four very prominent big-block engines we've previously tested. The TZ also set a new high mark for torque, measuring an amazing 83.1 oz.-in. at 25,850 rpm.

The new TZ is a ground-up design that features a 5-port configuration with a turbo head and crank. An all-new 3-needle 11K carb features a big 6.5mm venturi for better breathing. For more information on the .18 TZ and other engines, visit the O.S. Engines website. To discuss this new engine at the RC Zone, home of the best RC forums in the world, Click Here.