Hosted by Orange County R/C Raceway in Huntington Beach, CA on April 24th, the Team Associated 1/8th Electric Championship again proved that 1/8th electric racing is alive and here to stay. Being only a one day event allowed the track to make adjustments to the program based upon entries and class breakdown. With over 65 entries and 9 heats, the program was tweaked to allow for maximum track time that included 6 minute qualifiers, “B” main bump-ups and 7 minute triple “A” mains.
The highlight class of the event was Expert 1/8th Buggy and the star was JConcepts driver Steven Hartson. Picking up where he left off the week before at the JBRL event, Hartson laid down the fastest qualifying times, having found his groove with 1/8th electric over the past few months, was untouchable in the main events. The consistency of Hartson, combined with the experience in the class, saw him easily win both A1 and A2 by 6 seconds. Hartson ran the JConcepts Barcodes in gold compound all weekend.
Electric 1/8th scale is a growing class around the country and gaining major popularity in regions where winter indoor racing is king. With the ever improving durability of both electronics and vehicles, look for this class to continue to expand and flourish on its own and move away from being just a “support class” for either 1/10th electric or 1/8th gas. Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to OC/RC for hosting the event.
