Sakura XI - A bed of roses it is not

I was over the moon when I was told I would be given a semi-sponsorship deal with the 3Racing Sakura XI. The local hobby shop wanted someone to race and promote it so a fellow racer and I were asked if we were keen. We agreed without much hesitation

The Sakura XI was truly ahead of its time when it was first released and it showed what a smaller company can achieve if it focuses on delivering a competitive package... a car equipped with all the bells and whistles.

Definitely a head turner. You can't deny this car was just pretty to look at.

It revolutionised the industry and was equipped with features that other brands sold as hop-ups. A skinny chassis, aluminium servo horns, aluminium threaded shocks, adjustable upper deck, gear diffs with the option to drop in a spool, a spur gear setup that was easily accessible, belt tensioners built into the diff cups... the lot.

It just had one issue.... one very big issue... it did not work right. I initially planned to drive it in the open mod class and continue using the now repaired and upgraded Kyosho TF5 for 17.5turn stock. But my Sakura XI suffered from major tweak issues. The tweak was so bad that you could see the chassis and upper deck flex upon full throttle.

Its twin sister, driven by the other driver also suffered similar issues. He even switched out a new chassis and the same problems still persisted.

It also wasn't very durable. It would break on crashes that the TCX would easily drive away from. I also broke a CVD/swingshaft in half... something that has only happened once in my entire experience with RC.

I switched out its electronics with that of the Kyosho TF 5, hoping the weaker motor would not lead to the tweak issues but it still wasn't driving right.  Later versions of the car was improved but even then I heard it suffered from performance issues.

Things can't be good when you're getting out-performed by a car that is a decade older than you.

I returned it to the LHS after a couple of weeks and moved on to my next ride. It was also around this time when I ventured into the off-road scene, something that would define my RC journey in Brunei.

Hot Bodies TCX... Plenty of purple goodness

I got the Hot Bodies TCX after a crash left me without a car for an upcoming race. Parts for my Kyosho TF-5 were scarce as the car was already in its later years and ordering online would see me receive the parts only weeks after placing the order.

A fellow racer had just upgraded to a new car and offered to me the TCX for a good price. I took the bait and was rewarded with one of the fastest and most reliable on-road car I've driven to date.

The TCX in all its purplish glory beside my Kyosho TF-5.

The TCX was very stable and responded well to tuning changes. Small tweaks could be felt when testing the car's set up, something not many other brands can offer.

I thought the first race with the car would be a learning experience as the meet was just two days after I acquired the TCX but I had such a good outing that I finished third in the A-main. It was the first time I felt that maybe the Kyosho TF-5 had been holding me back and that my skills may have surpassed what the decade-old TF-5 could offer.

I continued to string good results with the TCX and ended the season in fifth in the Hobbywing Justock (Stock 17.5 turn) class.

The belt driven TCX was an improvement in every way, compared to the much older TF-5.

I was going to continue next season with the TCX when the local hobby shop approached me and asked if I wanted to try driving the 3Racing Sakura car. This was the first and only car produced by 3Racing  at the time and I was drawn to the pink theme of the car. Also this was to be my first 'partial sponsorship'... I just couldn't say no.

The TCX was thus handed down to a budding newcomer... a friendly and humble kid who was really into RC at the time but he fell out of love with the hobby a few years later due to politics.

Editors note:
The TCX remains one of my favourite cars to date. It was fast, easy to drive and durable. I never broke a single part during the entire time I owned it. This was a huge improvement from the Kyosho TF-5 which needed replacement parts every few outings.

I would like to consider the TCX as a car I regret losing but 1/10 touring cars are updated so frequently that there was no reason to feel bad about replacing an older model. This, coupled with how brands would discontinue support for a certain car after a few years, meant there was no reason to keep it past its prime. Despite this, I strongly believe the TCX would still be competitive against today's cars.

Breaking into Brunei (Kyosho TF5)

It only takes a spark to get a fire burning...

By the time I left Brunei, I had built somewhat of a small legacy in RC in the country. I had won my share of races, helped my share of budding newcomers and was integral in the construction of the main off-road track in the country. I was also one of the main characters involved in the running of the Brunei and Borneo League. I've come a long way in RC in Brunei but everyone has to start with humble beginnings.

After completing my further education in Perth, Australia, I returned to Brunei in 2007. I had sold off all my RCs in Perth as I couldn't make space and weight allocation for them while flying. I knew I wanted to continue the hobby in Brunei but I wasn't familiar with the scene.

I looked around for tracks and found that the most active RC scene at the time was 1/10 on-road racing. I went to the local hobby shop (Guan Hock Lee) and met the owner, Edwin Sim. We would become good friends with passing time.

I left the shop with an antiquated Kyosho TF-5 at a time when belt driven cars had already become the industry standard. I got the TF-5 because it was cheap and I felt that the shaft-driven car was still good enough to handle the power of the Hobbywing Justock class (Stock 17.5t).

The TF5 was outdated but it got me racing competitively. More importantly it taught me how to set up the car and electronics.

There was a huge learning curve when it came to learning to drive an RC around a track but this time I had help in the form of veteran pilots. They taught me how to set the car and the motor properly and how to drive around a track. Despite the motor being limited in power and speed, I still had my share of crashes. And each crash meant an upgrade so I was driving a pretty tricked up TF-5 pretty quickly.

This was pretty much as hopped up as you can get.

If memory serves me right, by the time I retired the car, it had already gotten upgrades in the form of carbon fibre chassis and upper decks, CVDs to replace the standard swing shafts, aluminium drive shaft, TF-5 Stallion shocks, ZX-5 Lazer aluminium steering racks and motor mounts.

The car drove well and I was keeping up and beating the latest and greatest offerings from Xray, Tamiya and the likes but it could be argued that I could have gotten a newer car with all the upgrades that went into it. Regardless I managed to complete the first half of my first race season with it. It finished three races in the middle of the A-main pack. A big achievement considering it was my first season of proper racing.

Unfortunately I had to retire the car following a bad crash two days before a race. The LHS no longer stocked parts for the car and online orders usually take a month to reach Brunei. I made the call there and then to purchase my second Hot Bodies car. The original Hot Bodies TCX that was previously owned by one of the fastest drivers in Brunei.

Editor's note

The TF5 was well past its prime when I bought it. Though my car was 'new old-stock', it was quite a distance behind some of the newer cars on the market in terms of tech and design. Regardless, the car was still plenty of fun to drive and was fast enough to compete with the top-of-the-line pure bred racers at the time. We were however running the stock class so I can't say how it would have performed with a more powerful motor. It was also no where as durable as the newer cars out there.

Baby steps into RC

I've been a fan of RCs for as long as I can remember. My dad used to have a red Tamiya buggy, whose name eludes the both of us, when I was about four or five. That's when I caught the bug.

I owned a lot of toy RCs growing up but my first foray into hobby grade RCs was a Traxxas Nitro4Tec in 2000. I did well for my exam the year before and my dad surprised me with a visit to the hobby store. I lacked knowledge at the time, all I knew was I wanted something nitro and it should come with a pistol grip.

I settled with the nitro4tec because of its looks and the colours on the boxes. I brought it home and followed the instructions to break in the engine. It ran great for a few weeks... and then I started running into tuning issues. The Trx.12 engine back then was a notoriously hard to tune... especially for someone still in highschool. I also struggled to set the car up properly. My dream of owning my first RC turned into a nightmare and the car was sold about a year later. Unfortunately I do not have a single picture of the car... as this was before digital cameras were a thing.

My next attempt at getting into RCs came in 2006 (based on dates on photos). I was now studying at Murdoch College in Perth. My schoolmates and I came across a hobby shop one day and we decided to check out the place. I was struggling with living alone in a foreign place at the time and just needed something to entertain me and take my mind off things. We (three of us) pooled our money and picked up a couple of Team Losi Mini Ts. These things were great but I'm guessing the technology wasn't there at the time or it could have been as popular as the Kyosho Mini Zs of today.

I don't have pictures of the Mini Ts either but my schoolmates wanted to keep the cars when we graduated college so they bought my share off me. By now I was again bitten by the RC bug and I used the money to get my second Traxxas. The mighty Stampede.

The awesome Pede in all its blue glory.

I loved this car and decked in out with upgrades as time went on. I bought all the RPM parts I could find and beefed up the drivetrain and electronics. It drove great and was plenty of fun. This Stampede was one of the few cars I regret selling. I loved it so much that I decided to get its racier brother, the Rustler just as I was entering Uni.

The Pede's not so awesome but still pretty cool brother...

I also gave the Rustler all the RPM upgrades I could get my hands on but it wasn't as fun as the Stampede. It was around this time when an on-road track opened near my area. I checked it out and got interested in racing. The cheapest way to start racing at the time was the Tamiya TT01 class so I got a used car. It was a car that was already racing in said class so I was assured the car was competitive... the driver was another story.

I wasn't good at driving yet so I struggled to keep pace and this bummed me out, to the point where I never mustered up the courage to join any of the races. I would show up at the track and waited until everyone left before putting my car on the track. I could have really benefited from some help back then but I did not get any, which is why I am so keen to help newcomers to the hobby nowadays.

Looks good but the pilot lacked the skills needed to drive this Tamiya TT01 properly.

In the end, I never once raced my TT01 but I made a promise to improve my driving and upgrade to a better car next season. It was at this time (2008) where I invested in my first 'proper' competition RC car, the Hot Bodies Cyclone Sport.

My romance with the HB brand was short lived.

I built the car up and gave it the electronics designated for my race class but once again I couldn't get the car running right. I had no idea on how the car had to be set up and no one was around to guide or teach me. Looking back, I can definitely say the car wasn't built right and suffered from horrible chassis tweak. It wouldn't drive straight no matter what I tried.

I shelved it and sold all my cars about a year later - including the awesome Stampede - when it came time for me to return to Brunei.

A new beginning

I've just migrated back to Kuching, Malaysia, after 32 years in Brunei.

Changes are in store and with it comes new challenges and struggles. During times like these, I always turn to my hobbies to keep me grounded. I've given up a lot of my other hobbies during the move but I'm hoping to continue racing my RCs.

I have been involved in RCs in one way or another as a basher, racer and then an organiser for over twenty years. I've been looking for tracks and fellow RC hobbyists in Kuching but the scene here is not as active as in Brunei. I plan to build a track here in the near future but only if things go according to plan.

For now, I will have to wait for another month or so before my cars and gear gets shipped to me. In the meantime I plan to document my prior experiences with the hobby to cope with the stress of a new job, in a new environment, in a new country.

I hope this blog will also be helpful to those looking to start the hobby or for those looking to continue the hobby in a new environment. I also wish to document my return to racing and in a new country while noting the challenges involved in contributing to a less-than-active RC scene in Kuching, Sarawak.

Lets get things rolling.

My Team C T8 equipped with an OS .21 XZB engine. This was my winningest car to date and the engine was a dream to tune and race. I sold it as a combo when Team C pulled out of the country and parts became hard to acquire.