2014 News

The last several times I raced in Taiwan, I just don't know why, but things didn’t work in my way and there was always a possibility of rain. So this time, Ai and I were determined to do well so Ai actually arrived a day earlier to prepare everything as I had a school fieldtrip in Hong Kong and could only arrive on the Friday night before the race. Click here to download the MRX Setup Sheet Here is my race report: When I landed in Taipei, it was raining! So we did not have anytime to test or practice. The next day, two rounds of 5 min controlled practice was held to seed the qualifying groups, I managed the fourth fastest lap time and made the last and fastest group. My car was not at its best but 3 rounds of qualifying started and we simply did not have much time to identify the issue. The problems got worst as the day went on and I could not finish a solid run due to something. At the end of 3 rounds, I was sitting in 19th out of 70 drivers, not so good. Track was open for … [Read more...] about 2014 Taiwan Mugen Nitro Cup (May 17-18)

The official nitro racing season has started in China and after a long winter of EP racing, I was actually pretty excited about getting back into some nitro stuff! Ai worked on my car and prepped it perfect for the race. The Shanghai track did not have ANY traction at all so it was not the easiest to drive for everyone. That said, my (Matrix) tires worked great not to mention plenty of power from my Virtus engine. 3 heats of qualifying which I TQ’d and in the 40 minute finals, my car worked well under extreme loose conditions and I finished on top of the podium. It was a fun race and good warm up for Ai and I as we now travel to Taiwan for a Big nitro race in couple of weeks. … [Read more...] about Shanghai Nitro Series Round 1 – Mugen Cup – May 3

I am happy to announce a new partnership with Toshihiko Hara, HB/HPI EP Sedan Chief Designer, as my personal mechanic for major EP Sedan races in 2014. T-Hara or other known as Hara-Tune, is very experienced in the field of design and engineering, he is also a super good driver himself! At the AOC race, we partnered for the first time and I am very appreciative for him giving me a competitive racecar. We will not only work together at major races but also spend time testing and developing the next generation TCXX along with my Team Manager Hiro and our #1 driver Andy Moore. I am really looking forward to working with Hara-Tune and hope it will result in some big improvements. … [Read more...] about New Partnership

My new home track RCI V2 opened less than 2 weeks before the Asian On Road Championships held in Shanghai. Not being a carpet racer, I really did not get that much track time on the new surface until just a week prior to everyone getting here. It was great to have so many RC friends come for this race and compared to last year, this year’s AOC Shanghai Round was tremendous. Scotty of course puts up a great event every time and this time, we had drivers from many countries. It was great to have Team HB/HPI in full force at this race, with my Team Manager Hiro, #1 driver Andy and HB Designer Hara-Tune. The BIG Boss of HPI also came, so it was quite a scene. Good to also have Ronald and Umino San from Yokomo, giving the race that added challenge. And Peo Hard came ALL the way from Sweden to attend this event, wow. Anyway, the qualifying sessions went well for me, working with my new mechanic Hara-Tune, we were able to find a competitive setting during qualifying. My … [Read more...] about AOC Round 1 – RCI V2 Opening Race – April 18-19

As electric off road racing is becoming more and more popular in China, and with the SMP carpet turf track just next to my home track, I have gotten to like racing off road a lot! Hobby Wing has decided to promote off road racing to the mass and will be hosting 3 rounds of off road race series in Shanghai. The first round was 2WD stock which was a bit slow but interesting because it made the jumps more challenging. I had a good qualifying and my Team C TM2 V2 worked great and I was able to get TQ. In the 3 rounds of finals, I had a slip up in the second final and needed the 3rd round final to win the event, which I did which I’m pretty happy about since I am really just getting into off road racing. Anyway, next race in coming up but it will be 4WD, so hopefully I’ll do well. … [Read more...] about Hobby Wing 2WD Race – March 23

Since the Fullthrottle speedway, host of the 2014 Electric Worlds was just 20 minutes away from Snowbirds, we decided to join Marc Fisher (Serpent Factory Driver) to test at the Worlds track. Track owner George Martinez was kind enough to prep the track and Marc and I each ran about 10 packs of Lipo and got a feel for the track. First impressions, its HUGE! This track was actually designed for 8th scale nitro racing so its big for electric, and a few corner had some blind spots which needed to get use to. We were able get a few sets of the Worlds control tires to test and they were ok, the track itself needed to have more traction and Marc and I did not bring the right body to use so this session was really just to get a feel of the track and environment. Hayato and other Japanese drivers also came over to take a look but did not run. We were told the night before that 12th scale was moved back indoors to a carpet track, I think this was a wise move because Fullthrottle is just way too … [Read more...] about Testing at the Worlds Track (February 3, 2014)

I attended the Snowbirds 2014 and I have to say, it is a crazy but super fun race. I have learned a lot throughout this race and I have tried many different setups on my car. The tires this time were a bit harder than usual so it was difficult to get the grip we wanted. The track conditions kept on changing everyday so that also made it hard for me to find the ideal setup I wanted. However, I am very happy with the cars performance throughout the weekend and I have an updated setup that I used at the snowbirds. Click here to download JJ's TCXX Snowbirds Setup Here is my race report: Arriving in Orlando, I was really looking forward to this race I’ve heard so much about, 24 hour racing, no way! But truth is, it's a 24 hours non-stop event! I hardly got enough sleep waking up at 3:30am to make the 4-6am practice session. I really needed the track time because you simply don’t get enough. Andy was racing in Europe at ETS so it was up to me to put a HB chassis into the A-Main. My … [Read more...] about 2014 Snowbird Nationals – Orlando, FL January 28 – February 2