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.