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.

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.