Serpent designer Michael Salven took a late TQ with 25 laps in the fourth heat at round five of the 2008/2009 Western German Championship at Hamm but the lucky end of the day was in the hands of Steven Cuypers. While Salven ran out of fuel with his Mega powered Serpent 966, Cuypers pushed his Sirio powered Mugen to a clean victory. In the 30 minutes final Cuypers did 143 laps, two more than Tobias Hepp and three more than Karl-Heinz Meister, both with a Serpent-Mega combination.

Salven and also Hepp only arrived on Sunday morning when an overnight thunderstorm had washed away the grip from Saturday’s practice. It took a while to get new grip onto the tarmac of the 2007 German Nationals track so the heats got faster and faster. Salven was 4 seconds quicker than Cuypers, who himself could cover second spot in the ranking by just two tenth over Hepp. On fourth position engine guru “KHM” also made it directly into the finale while Uwe Baldes led the Motonica pack on fifth with Christian Wurst on sixth and his brother Joerg on seventh. After a long two hours lunch break which was mainly use to watch the guys with the big cars in Barcelona´s Spanish Grand Prix the 20 minutes semi final was not a lucky affair for two of the Motonica trio. Uwe Baldes had to stop with a suspension problem on his Team Orion CRF powered P81 and Christian Wurst lost his lead due to a broken rear belt. Fortunately Jörg Baldes, for the first time with a Mega ZF DS-III power plant, came through and jumped into the finale with a fine win. Also Ralf Vahrenkamp, Ingo Odenthal, Tom Schäfler, Reinhard Zick and Emil Kostadinov joined the finale grid.

At the beginning it looked like it could be a clear victory for Salven but things turned to the worse later. Cupyers had a trouble free run like Bad Breisig winner Hepp while Meister struggled with a bad clutch. Salven finally came in on fourth in front of Vahrenkamp and Schäfler. Odenthal had to retire with a broken front belt while Jörg Baldes heavy crashed caused by a mechanical problem. Even his race was short he did the third fastest lap of the finale by 12.00 seconds behind Salven (12.77) and Cupyers (11,84).

Result: Top 10 of class 1
1. Steven Cuypers, 143 laps – Mugen / Sirio / Enneti
2. Tobias Hepp, 141 – Serpent / Mega / Xceed
3. Karl-Heinz Meister, 140 – Serpent / Mega / Xceed
4. Michael Salven, 138 – Serpent / Mega / Xceed
5. Ralf Vahrenkamp, 132 – Serpent / Novarossi / Xceed
6. Tom Schäfler, 118 – Mugen / GRP / RPM
7. Ingo Odenthal, 58 – Serpent / JP / Xceed
8. Joerg Baldes, 20 – Motonica / Mega / Xceed
9. Emil Kostadinov – Mugen / Ninja / GRP
10. Reinhard Zick – Mugen / Novarossi / RPM

Statistics about the finalists: On the chassis side Serpent led by five cars with four Mugen and one Motonica. Four Mega engines were joined by two Novarossi and each one JP, Sirio, Ninja and GRP. Six of the finale racers run on Xceed tyres (Italy version), two on RPM and each one on GRP and Enneti.

In class two it was Dirk Drechsler racing with his Mugen to victory with a four lap advantage over local hero Thomas Krautwald and Jean-Pierre Rönicke. Pole-sitter Arno Puepke lost his lead and also his chance to catch his second win following Bad Breisig when his engine flamed out suddenly. Arno Puepke, father of EC-B 1/10 finalist Rene Puepke, had to be satisfied with fourth.

Result: Top 10 of class 2
1. Dirk Drechsler, 130 laps – Mugen / GRP / RPM
2. Thomas Krautwald, 126 – Serpent / RB / Xceed
3. Jean-Pierre Rönicke, 125 – Kyosho / Novarossi
4. Arno Puepke, 119 – Mugen / Novarossi / RPM
5. Heinz Faigle, 110 – Mugen / Novarossi
6. Fabian Billstein, 95 – Mugen / Rex
7. Jürgen Lehmann, 77 – Mugen / Mega
8. Holger Schluss, 51 – Kyosho / MAX-Mega / Enneti
9. Heinrich Wenner, 49 – Serpent / Mega / Xceed
10. Udo Tappertzhofen, 47 – Kyosho / Team Orion / Matrix

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Steven Cuypers wins German West 1/8th Rd5

Kyosho have announced the release of the Inferno MP9 standard edition, the same MP9 performance with an unbelievable price. The Inferno MP9 is based on the multiple World Championship winning Inferno platform and has had everything down to the last ball-end recreated with the focus on maximum speed and performance in a completely new chassis and body development. Overall weight balance compliments the lightweight chassis that covers setting options for all inputs to lateral running characteristics.

Features
Ultra Low C.O.G – Ultra low center of gravity, lightweight and optimal weight balance all combine to deliver the ultimate racing weapon.
New Body Design – Newly developed body is slimmer and lower in height to realize aerodynamic characteristics for powerful down force and stability.
More Down Force – Bolted on large wing generates powerful down force. New ribbing at the back results in improved rigidity.
Composite Torque Rods – Roll center can be adjusted by changing the direction of the spacer inserted into the lower arm of the rear suspension. Also, the one-piece ball and washer ball-ends are an added maintenance feature.
Upright Servo – Servo is mounted upright for easy maintenance and is dropped 2mm to contribute to the lower center of gravity.
Extremely Light Weight – The smaller differential units on front and rear with grooved cup joints, aluminum balls and the flexing shape of resin parts effectively lightens the weight while giving the chassis rigidity, more durability and strength.
New Fuel Tank – Newly designed fuel tank features finger hook for fast and reliable refueling and realizes stable fuel supply in even under severe posture changes.
Wraparound Side Guards – Grooved face in side guard matches the thickness of velcro tape and prevents dirt getting inside the chassis. Complete wraparound side guards only found on Kyosho MP9.
Equipped With Mud Guards – Mud guards on the rear arm prevent dirt entering the drive shaft and getting inside the wheels.
We Have You Covered – 3 types of servo horn included for various R/C systems (SANWA / KO / for JR, FUTABA and Hitech)
Hex Screws – Kit includes all hex screws enough said!
Weight Balance – Engine position moved 15mm forwards and 5mm to the center compared to the MP777. Also the height has been lowered by 1mm for ideal weight balance.
New Suspension Design – Newly developed suspension uses bushing for easy maintenance and rationalizes the setting order.
Increased Diff Case Capacity – Center differential realizes improved heat dissipating brake disc and increased case capacity for stable control through to the end of the race.
Optimal Race Settings – Fine tune for the optimal race setting with adjustments to wheelbase, tread, roll center, caster angle, toe angle and camber change.
3 Differentials = Real Time 4WD – Features the Inferno’s signature shaft-driven 3-differential full time 4WD chassis.
Same Kyosho Quality – The New Inferno MP9 Standard Edition is crafted with the same attention to detail as all previous Infernos. Proudly manufactured in Japan, same MP9 performance with a new unbelievable price!

MP9 Standard Edition vs. MP9 Team Kyosho International

Main Chassis
- MP9 International: 7075 with hard anodized coating.
- MP9 Standard: Same 7075 with standard gunmetal anodized coating.

Front Shock Tower
- MP9 International: 7075 with hard anodized coating.
- MP9 Standard: Same 7075 with standard gunmetal anodized coating.

Rear Shock Tower
- MP9 International: Large rear shock tower 7075 with hard anodized coating.
- MP9 Standard: New medium rear shock tower same 7075 with standard gunmetal anodized coating.

Rear Big Bore Shocks
- MP9 International: Large rear shock 7075 with hard anodized coating.
- MP9 Standard: New medium rear tower same 7075 with standard gunmetal anodized coating.

Shock Case Front & Rear
- MP9 International: Velvet Coated Shock Case.
- MP9 Standard: Standard gunmetal anodized coating.

Springs Front & Rear
- MP9 International: Color coating
- MP9 Standard: Black dyed

Knuckles
- MP9 International: 7075 with hard anodized coating.
- MP9 Standard: Same 7075 with standard gunmetal anodized coating.

Turnbuckles
- MP9 International: Gold anodized
- MP9 Standard: Black dyed

Suspension Balls
- MP9 International: 7075 high quality balls
- MP9 Standard: Steel balls, black dyed coating

Wheel Nut
- MP9 International: Nylon threaded
- MP9 Standard: Non nylon

Flywheel
- MP9 International: 7075 with hard anodized coating.
- MP9 Standard: Same 7075 with standard gunmetal anodized coating.

Brake Rotor
- MP9 International: Special vented disk
- MP9 Standard: Non vented

Diff Axles
- MP9 International: Special light weight
- MP9 Standard: Non light weight

Diff Oils
- MP9 International: Included
- MP9 Standard: Included

Tire & Wheels
- MP9 International: AKA Tires and Kyosho Wheels
- MP9 Standard: Not Included

Source: Kyosho [kyoshoamerica.com]

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Kyosho Inferno MP9 Standard Edition