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16 Yr old MRC/Team Academy driver Skyler Gall raced against some of the best racers on the west coast this past weekend at the April Fools Classic held at Intermountain Raceway. Skyler was able to race his Academy buggies into the 2wd and 4wd A mains. After battling with many of the heavy hitter factory drivers, Skyler finished 8th in the mod 2wd buggy A main and 6th in the mod 4wd A main.

Tony Newland and a few other MRC/Team Academy team drivers attended the 22nd Annual Cactus Classic in Arizona the weekend of March 14, 15, and 16th. Tony was able to secure himself a spot in the 19 turn 4wd and 2wd A mains this year. This year there was a total of 52 mains, now thats a LOT of people!! Tony ended up finishing a respectable 5th in 2wd and 8th in 4wd. Of course Tony used a GV2 Pro as well as the SBV2 Pro buggy. Tony was practicing with his Academy buggies twice a week leading up to this race and the hard work definitely paid off. Check out the action photos below. Thanks Tony for your continued support.

Glen "Beeaner" Bean attended the 5th Annual Bigfoot race at Enid RC Speedway in Oklahoma the weekend of Feb 8, 9, and 10th! Glen used the Team Academy GV2 "Pro" and the SBV2 "Pro" in the highly competitive modified classes. Glen was able to qualify 3rd and finish 7th in Modified 2wd buggy and qualify 5th and finish 8th in 4wd. You can see Glen's setups on the very popular racing forum www.rctech.net.

Happy New Year! Little did we know at the time of our initial order with TEAM ACADEMY that we would sell out of all GV2 "Pro" kits in just 2 weeks time. The GV2 "PRO" was a hit even before the car was released, the comments in regards to the CAD drawings and features was outstanding. Now that the GV2 "Pro" has been released it has set the racing world on FIRE, by producing local, and regional race wins. The GV2 "PRO" will be back in stock once again in mid February. More and more hobby stores and online dealers are signing up with MRC because of the popularity of the GV2 "Pro". The GV2 "RTR" is picking up where its big brother the GV2 "PRO" has left off, strong sales of this buggy are continuing the popularity of the MRC/Team Academy line.

The weekend of December 8th 2007 Team Driver Jack Leighan piloted his GV2 Pro to a 3rd place finish at the highly competitive ECT series race in Washington. There was a record 100 entries at this race, many of these were factory sponsored drivers. Jack Finished right behind one of these guys, and beating many others. Jack also had a good day with the SBV2 Pro as well, also finishing 3rd in the MOD 4wd class.

The weekend of November 17th and 18th, 15 yr old Skyler Gall dominated the 4wd mod class at the Utah State Champs hosted by Intermountain RC Raceway. Skyler TQ'ed and won the 4wd A-main running his stock out of the box MRC/Academy SBV2 Pro buggy. Skyler had finished building his new V2 pro just hours before the 1st heat. Also having a good showing was Team Driver, Tony Newland with his SBV2 Pro buggy. Together they TQ'd 3 out of 4 rounds of qualifying! Look out for these guys to shake things up in the 2wd class in the upcoming weeks with the GV2 Pro buggies that just arrived!

David Alberico received his GV2 Pro prototype on a Thursday evening, prepped it at the track on Friday and raced it to a 3rd place finish at the Missouri State Champs race on Oct 13th, 14th and 15th hosted by NMRC. David had no spare parts what so ever, being that this was the only Gv2 pro in the U.S., that was not an issue though, not one part broke or wore out. There were over 40 pairs of the the leading competitiors broken front suspension arms scattered among the pits due to the brutal track layout. Not only is the GV2 Pro fast, but also very durable. Davids SBV2 Pro 4wd was quite dialed as well, finishing 2nd overall in the mod 4wd class.

2 weeks later David Alberico raced at the 2007 Fall Classic which brought out a TON of factory reps from Losi, AE and Kyosho. Once again driving the ONLY GV2 pro in the U.S., David was able to Tq and win the stock 2wd buggy class, finish 9th in mod 2wd and finished a VERY respectable 5th in 4wd with his SBV2 Pro buggy, beating some of the best drivers in the midwest.

On Sept 1st, three northeast MRC/Team Academy team drivers attended the ”21st Annual Trinity East Coast Champs” at Family Hobbies located in Vineland NJ. After 3 qualifying rounds of, all 3 drivers qualified for the 4wd A-main, all using SBV2 Pro buggies. MRC’s very own Dave Graboski finished 3rd overall, with hometown Vineland local Andy Castellini finishing 7th and Long Island young gun Tim Mertz ending up 9th. The Top 10 4wd drivers were some of the northeasts best drivers; many of which are sponsored by major industry leaders. This just goes to show you how good the SBV2 Pro really is.

MRC /Team Academy driver Lenny Blocker from Topeka, KS wheeled his SBV2 Pro to Victory at this years "Kansas City Dirt Oval Champs". The race was held in Bonner Springs, KS at Checkered Flag Raceway. Lenny used a virtually stock SBV2 pro, 5 turn brushed motor, Team Academy Rally Block Tires, along with a Dirt Oval body to set the fastest laps of the event as well as winning the A-main. Look for race coverage of the 2007 Kansas City Dirt Oval Champs in the upcoming issue of RC Driver magazine. Good Job "Left Turn Only Lenny"!!!

This past weekend a few Team Drivers, including myself, attended a club race at "Family Hobbies Raceway" in Vineland, New Jersey. The 21st Annual Eastern States Challenge is only 2 weeks away, therefore we wanted to make sure our SBV2 Pro buggies were dialed in. Tim Mertz (Long Island), Andy Castellini (New Jersey), Robo Cocco (Maryland) and myself all had success running on the very difficult Family Hobbies layout. I qualified 2nd, Andy qualified 3rd, when the tone went off, I jumped to the early lead, just for a wheel nut to hinder my chances of winning, Andy Castellini took over the lead and never looked back. Andy Castellini was 1st, I was 2nd and Rob Cocco and Tim Mertz got caught up with some back markers and ended up toward the bottom of the a-main. Here are some pics from this past weekend of our MRC/Team Academy SBV2 Pro Buggies in action!!!

The MRC/TEAM ACADEMY 2wd buggy is going to be named the "GV2". As mentioned earlier there will be a GV2 Pro and a GV2 Sport. There is no exact ship date just yet, but we promise that they'll be here just in time for the indoor dirt season.

- Threaded shocks with bladders that can be flipped upside down for a more conventional

emulsion type shock feel.
- Variable length suspension geometry- front and rear
- No e-clips (captured hinge pins)
- 27.5 kick-up with bell crank matching the same angle
- Vertical ball studs on the front and rear bulkheads
- Rear axle will accept the ACADEMY hex rear rim, along with Team Associated b4 rear

rims, Losi xxx rear rims and Proline rear rims.
- Front axle will accept the ACADEMY metric front bearing/rim, but.....there will be an

additional ASE sized axle included so that Team Associated B4 front rims, and Proline B4

rims can be used as well.
- Tethered gear cover plug, so that it cannot get lost

CAD Images of MRC/TEAM ACADEMY 2wd buggy prototype make there way onto the Internet

There have been rumors for months now about MRC and Team Academy collaborating on a 2wd off road buggy. Well the Rumors are TRUE! This past month CAD images of the 2wd car made there way onto the internet. We are getting some very good publicity from them. The new 2wd buggy is going to be a PRO level buggy to take on the major players in their class. There will also be a DE-Tuned sport RTR buggy that will appeal to people just starting out.

Here are the first CAD shots that the public has ever seen:

The PA State Electric Championship was held May 12th at PIT STOP HOBBIES in Mt Joy PA. Two Team drivers, Andy Castellini and Dan Ross, both put their V2 Pro buggies into the main event. This was a star-studded field of Northeast's best Factory drivers. They were driving the latest J concepts, Losi's, and of course V2 Pro's. Andy Finished 3rd and Dan finished 6th overall. Congratulations and thanks for the support guys!

Xtreme RC Cars magazine (July 07) reviewed the "SBV2 Pro" in there latest issue. They gave this car very high marks all across the board! They were very surprised how well the KIT tires worked too. These tires have become very popular on many other 4wd cars, and have also been seen on the rear of many 2wd buggies. Xtreme RC Cars stated "its a high end kit, but is considerably less expensive than its competitors." Whats not to like???

In the latest issue of RC Driver (MAY 2007) Greg Vogel and Howard Cadrain put the buggy through its paces. Howard liked the car so much that he came to us looking to become a MRC/Academy Team Driver. With Howard's credentials...how could we say NO! "The Academy SBV2 Pro is a jumper, after a full race day I came to the conclusion it jumped better then anything else that was on the track, you also cant even hear it running, it is so quiet" Cadrain said. There will be a "Second Look" at this buggy in the July Issue being released next week.

Howard Cadrain piloted his MRC/ACADEMY SBV2 Pro buggy to the TQ position over many factory sponsored AE/Losi Drivers this past weekend at Wolcott hobby in Wolcott CT. Howard drove his production V2 Pro buggy flawlessly to TQ by more then 3 seconds over the 2nd place qualifier. Howard had some first turn troubles and ended up 3rd overall in the main. He also set the fastest laps of the day in the main event!!!

CONGRATS HOWARD!

The long awaited Academy SBV2 Pro will be arriving next week into MRC headquarters. The V2 Pro is the big brother (PRO VERSION) to the SBV2. The SBV2 Pro has a carbon fiber upper and lower chassis plates, along with a carbon battery strap. Aluminum shocks, adjustable turnbuckles, 6 different spur gears, a one way for the center shaft and all time 4wd included. We couldn't just put all the option parts in this kit and say its a new car, we went one step further. The front and rear suspension arms and castor blocks are all made out of a more rigid and stronger material then the older V2, this eliminates unwanted flex and makes for a more consistent feel. We have many pre-orders already, with a limited quantity arriving you might want to get on that list fast! Keep checking our web site to see when this new RACER arrives.

Team Academy's GLEN BEAN set the fastest individual laps, turned the only 15 lap run, and convincingly won the 4wd mod class at the 2006 US Central Final, held at Mike Hobby in Dallas Texas. Glen ran a Team Academy SBV2 with all option parts, including the new carbon front and rear suspension arms that will be STD equipment on the SBV2 PRO when released in 2007. Glen said "The horde of people checking out my ride made it difficult to work on my car". Congratulations to Glen Bean for taking home the Win for MRC/Team Academy!!!

Team Academy's DAN GRIFFIN set the fastest laps of the Dirt Fest 06' race hosted by Fastraxx hobbies & raceway in Springfield OH. The quick lap limit had to be reset in the scoring computer because DAN was doing faster lap times then it was originally set for. Dan has some issues in the main and ended up 3rd overall in the 4wd A main. On another note, there were a total of three ACADEMY 4wd cars in the A-main. Dan ran all TEAM ACADEMY option parts on his car, including the Carbon Fiber Conversion kit, center one way, aluminum oil filled shocks, and rear universal drive shafts. Congratulations to Dan Griffin for putting the MRC/TEAM ACADEMY SBV2 on the podium!!!

Team Academy Driver Mike Kazz finished 4th at the Nevada State Champs held at Cutting Edge RC in Las Vegas Nevada. Mike ran a slightly modified SBV2, with brush less power. Mike Qualified 3rd overall, and in the triple A-main finals, he finished 4th, 6th, and 1st. The track had gotten pretty beat up due to the large attendance of the high powered vehicles, but Mikes SBV2 soaked up the bumps and ruts as if they weren't even there. Thanks to Mike for putting the TEAM ACADEMY SBV2 in the finals at a state race event.

This past weekend I took a trip to Randolph, NJ to check out the NAMBA electric boat Nationals. While walking through the pits I noticed that Doug Twaits Jr, arguably the best boat racer in the country was using the MRC Superbrain "989" charger. I asked Doug why he chose our charger. Doug said, "In boat racing I am charging battery packs from 6 cells all the way up to 24 cells. The "989" charger can do this and do it consistently, charge after charge. The "989" charger charges these packs in such a way that it keeps them cooler as well. My boats pull around 70 amps in one run, so keeping the packs cooler during the charge cycle is just a heck of a lot better for my battery packs."

I stayed for a few hours to watch these high voltage boats run. Doug had won the majority of his heats and after the points were tallied at the end of the 4 day event, Doug had won 11 national titles, making him the "winningest" boat racer in history.

Model Rectifier Corporation and Team MRC/Academy has just signed the 2wd ROAR National Champ, Dan Griffin. The Midwest “Hot Shoe” from Reynoldsburg, Ohio will now be piloting the Academy SB Sport-V2 Four Wheel Drive car at all major and club races.

Griffin said, "From what I see at MRC/ACADEMY, they have the resources in place and the desire to do whatever it takes to be competitive, and that’s the kind of team I want to be involved with. The SB-V2 is a good chassis to work with and I’ve got some setup tricks I’m itchin’ to try”.

MRC’s Team Manager Dave Graboski is confident in Dan’s ability. "Griffin is everything we've been looking for, he’s a skilled driver with extensive chassis and set-up knowledge and he has a great off-track personality. Dan is a perfect fit for our team. His success over the last couple of years includes winning numerous club races, trophy events in his area, and of course the “big one”, the 2006 2WD ROAR Nationals. He’s exactly what we need to grow the MRC/ACADEMY line and put our cars in the winner’s circle”.

MRC/ACADEMY is very excited to be working with the skills that Dan Griffin brings to the Team and we look forward to his continued success as an MRC/ACADEMY driver.

New Team ACADEMY items have just arrived and are available to ship. These items include the Carbon Fiber Graphite conversion for the SBV2 off road buggy, Rear universal drive shafts, center one way for both the SBV2 and the STR4ProII, aluminum servo mounts for both, center chassis stiffener for both, carbon fiber shock towers for the STR4ProII. Click the links below to see pictures of some of these items.

My name is Dave Graboski I started with MRC the first week in July and am the RC Car Product Manager. I have roughly 20 yrs of RC experience ranging from a professional racing level to an industry sales representative. I am a full factory driver for many other companies, and have a vast range of setup knowledge for both on road and off road cars.

My first task is to work more closely with our supplier ACADEMY RC in Korea. Having a strong relationship in business is key to successful growth. Being that touring car is the most popular class these days, I have been trying many different setups and seeing how ACADEMY and MRC can further improve what we already have.

Secondly there are already some new parts arriving mid to late August for the SBV2 and the STR4ProII. Some of these parts are graphite shock towers, one way drive off the center drive shaft, new universal rear drive shafts, Carbon Fiber Chassis conversion, and all sorts of exciting goodies that will not only make your car handle better but you'll look cooler doing it.

Third I plan on racing the SBV2 and coming up with many different setups. Just like the STR4ProII I am sure that there is a bit of room for improvement. Off road has always been my specialty so this task I am really looking forward too.

As an MRC representative my paramount concern is how both MRC and I can better serve you. I look forward to speaking with and learning more about our dedicated customers. Keep checking back to this section to see what other exciting RC CAR innovations MRC has to offer.


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