The third race in the Swedish Large Scale Cup in Nyköping offered a lot of rain and challenging conditions.
Due to some problems in the production of the Rival I will now run the Ultron for the remainder of the season including the Euros. This has made me change my plans and I needed to do some maintenance work before this race as well as a complete rebuild after the race before leaving for Fehring.

The day started pretty chaotic as my car was randomly applying throttle like some one else was controlling it. This made me miss the start of the qualification round. I later figured out this was due to a glitch in the extension cord to the throttle servo. Luckily the organizer had a problem with the timing system and we needed to rerun the qualifier as all the results were gone. This saved my day as otherwise I would need to start in the B-group for the 1/8 final. Sometimes you need some luck on your side!

The track was already in a pretty bas shape when we arrived and the rain didn't help the situation. This was all about finding the smartest lines and understand how much you could push the car without loosing control. Because applying too much throttle would make you car bounce in the holes and trip over.

After winning the qualifier the time schedule had to be changed as we needed to run a new timing loop and we jumped straight into lunch.

After lunch we started with the 1/8 finals which went fine, as well as the quarter finals and the semi finals. I started first and kept the lead for the whole heats without any big mistakes or issues. As we tried to run a tight schedule and get some time back it was back to back heats without no breaks. You drive, you marshall and the you have one heat to work on your car. Fortunately I didn't run into any other problems except the car being very muddy after each race. I tried to both use water and air pressure to clean the car between each round to keep the car clean and the drivetrain running smoothly.

After all wins I started on pole for the 20 minutes final. I was very happy with how the final concluded. I ran a completely mistake free final in pretty harsh conditions. This is when I show my qualities the best, being able to find the best lines, find the limits on how much you can push the car and be smart about your driving.

After winning all the heats and the finals this meant I go another 200 points in the cup giving me the best opening yet with 600 points after 3 races. I also managed to get the price for the fastest lap of the day. Now my goals is to finish of the season with a perfect score of 800 points, that would be something I would be very proud of because it means 20 heat wins which requires everything to work both with the car and my driving.

This was a great confidence boost but now I need to do a complete rebuild of my car to make it ready for the Euros. Hopefully this time I will be able to compete and really test where I stand against other racers in Europe and not just have problems and wrench on my car all the time.

You can watch the full 4wd A-final here.

The next race in the cup will be be on August 9 in Slottsbron after coming home from the Euros.

Another “last race” with the Ultron in Sviestad, the second race in the cup for 2025. Linköping Motorstadium was celebrating 100 years so it was full activity at the whole venue with all type of motorsport and a lot of people coming by to watch.

As I had the day of at work I went fairly early to the track and that was a good thing. The car behaved weird and after some error checking I found the problem being my receiver, the antenna was broken and the reception was shaky. But after rebidding a new receiver and putting it all back together I could go out and practice. I tried some different tires and ended up with some hard worn Astro Max as the best compromise. The track is a mix between hard clay and astro. I tried some tires that were better on the clay, the MCD Micro stud but the I didn't get any braking force on the astro. Since there are some crucial astrology parts of the track where you win a lot of time if you can accelerate and break controllably. 

In the morning I just did a couple of laps practice just to make sure there were no surprises. The first qualification went fine but I didn't think I was the fastest as a local driver looked really quick. But looking at the timesheet it turned out I managed to se the quickest time and lap anyway.

Starting first in the 1/8 final I could control the race comfortably even if the next driver behind me was not far away. One bigger mistake and he would be right there with me. In the end I won with a 10 second margin.

In the quarter final I tested some different tires just to see if there was something to gain. I tried the AstroGrip this time and they were pretty much the same wit maybe a little bit better grip on the clay but worse on the astro. I raced this very clean with no mistakes what so ever.
This track was really bumpy with gravel and stones in the clay. If you push your car too hard you will just make a mistake or loose control of the car. You go faster by going slower was certainly true at this track. 

In the semifinal I once more tried another tire, this time a medium AstroMax which I used the last time at this track. I had a pretty good lead but then started to make stupid mistakes, I lost focus. I think I need marshaling twice which meant the chaser behind me was right up my back. I tried to play it self at a double jump that was really tricky as it was very uneven depending on where you hit it. But I just played it too safe and instead made a stupid mistake once more so I got passed. But being very lucky it turned out we had just finished the race on the last lap so I still managed to take the win with a second. But that was close, I learnt I can't loose focus on this track and can't play it too safe.

Starting in pole for the final I got of to a descent start but made a little wobble again at the double jump but managed to control it and keep the lead. After that we had a couple of really close laps and it was fun and tight racing. The second car made a mistake and I could pull away. After that I only rolled once, but got up on my tires by myself, during the whole 20 minutes final and I lapped the whole field.

This meant another 200 points in the cup which is a perfect start of the season as you never know what type of problems could be waiting with a new car for the rest of the season.

The Ultron is now really in a quite beaten shape with a lot of play in the steering and some cracks in some parts. I really hope this was the last race because I don't know if it holds up for another race without proper maintenance. 

This was a great day with nice weather and fun racing with some audience as well. I hade some time to take pictures and film. You can see some of that on this page.

Next race will be on July 6 in Nyköping, this will be the last race before the Euros in Austria. I hope this will be my first race with the Rival as I really want to get some testing and racing done before going down.

The first race of the season in the Swedish Large Scale Cup was organized in Halmstad at a new track. The crew had made a great effort with the track and the rostrum, offering great parking and camping as well as a cafe and barbecue the whole day. I spent a day here last year when the track was still a work in progress and I really enjoyed the layout then. They made some small changes to the layout that I think was good and it offered a technical but fun track.  

I arrived at the track the day before to do some testing. My plan was always to race the Rival for the first time but since it has been delayed I had to bring back the Ultra. But without making any maintenance during winter I wanted to make sure everything was in shape. It was time well spent as I had some problems with bent hingepins and a carburetor that was not working correctly. Sorted out those issue and made some setup adjustments to the track that is quire slippery even if it's astro. You don't have the problem of traction rolling as you have at other astro tracks.

The practice and qualifier went well with many drivers showing fast pace, especially home driver Per who knowns this track very well. The first heat was probably my worst heat of the day as I kept making silly mistakes that costs much time here. I thought I was going to have to set for second place but I managed to pass the first place driver on the last lap to get a win. 

The quarter final and semifinal went by pretty uneventful. I found my pace and minimized the mistakes that made my wins pretty comfortables with a margin. I also set the fastest lap of the day in the quarterfinal.

I didn't do any changes with the car during the day except making the upper arms longer in the rear to get some more roll and gain some traction. I also put on some softer springs, other than that I didn't have any real problems or accidents. As the track markings was made of solid planks you could easily have some major impact and break or bend stuff so I took it really easy around the track and only used full throttle in a couple of places.

Just when our final was going to start in 4wd it started to rain as predicted in the forecast. I was prepared for this and had the mindset to be even smoother on the throttle as the astronauts gets really slippery in wet. I managed to get a really good start in the 20 minute main and was able to put some space back to the field already in the first couple of laps. I then just tried to play it cool but I couldn't help my self having some fun out there with power sliding around the corners. This resulted in some mistakes but I had the margin to play with but I was also very aware that it so easy to break the car or get hit by someone else during these circumstances so I really just cruised the last couple of laps to not gamble with the win.

So the first race of the season ended with a win in all heats and a full score of 200 points. I hope this was my last race with the Ultron but as the next race is already in 4 weeks in LInköping I'm not completely confident that I can retire my Ultron yet. Then I really need to do some maintenance, but that's for another day.

Three successful years with the NRP Ultron has come to an end. I started racing with the Ultron in 2022, before that my weapon of choice was the heavily modified TPR 5ive-X. But due to lack of development of the Losi platform I choose to move on and the choice fell on the Ultron. I immidiately fell in love with how easy and agile it was to drive and how well it handled our bumpy tracks in Sweden. I started the season really well with three wins in the Swedish Large Scale Cup. I choose to drive the 5ive-X in the Battle of the Nordics to save the car for the Euros. Unfortunately I had all type of problems at the Euros and that is probably the only race that caused me troubles with the car. Coming back home to Sweden I finished with a win and a second place to win the cup for the fourth time in a row. I topped of the season with a win in the autumn at a standalone race.

In 2023 I started on the back foot with engine problems but managed to salvage a second place, the rest of the 3 races I managed to take all wins. That year I unfortunately couldn't attend the final race of the season but managed to secure the cup regardless as we allow one drop race and the result was so good in the rest of the races.

Last year in 2024 I started with 2 wins directly but had a DNF in the final of the third race in Nyköping with a broken servo arm. But up until then I had 29(!) straight heat wins which was quite amazing and a solid proof of the Ultron's consistency. Again I had to make one drop race but attended the final race of the season where I ended in second place in Norrköping. At all the other tracks I felt like I had it all in my own hands and sometimes winning with a good margin but in Norrköping I couldn't match the pace of the winner. This was at a Astro track and I think that is the only weak point for the Ultron.
But the second place secured my sixth straight win in the Swedish Cup. Something I'm very proud of but also can thank the reliability and performance of the Ultron.

In total the Ultron brought me 3 cup wins, 10 race wins and 3 second places. That's pretty solid results for a car.

For this year (2025) I will be driving the Rival, the successor of the Ultron. I have very high hopes for this revolutionary platform as it delivers many inventions that I will think will raise the bar once again. Low center of gravity and low weight as well as a much easier layout to work on with only two sorts of screws. I'm very much looking forward to get my hands on the Rival when it arrives and take it for the first run. I'm also looking forward to bring it to Fehring once more for the Euros. Hopefully this will be a different story than last time with the Ultron.

In the end I want to thank NRP for bringing the Ultron to market but also to continuously develop and push the platform forward during those years. Lets take the next leap with the Rival!

Thank you Ultron for these years, you will be missed but not forgotten!

The Large Scale Offroad season was unusual short for me this year. Only four races as I missed the season finale race due to calendar conflicts with other engagements. This year I was also doing duties at the LSOR Euros as EFRA official, this was a race I might have attended otherwise.

It started the worst possible way with some engine problems in the first race that turned out to be a fuel filter issue. This made me start on the back foot having lost many important points for the rest of the season.

I knew it was going to be tough to be able to win the cup this year as my competitors have stepped up their game every year and it's now very close racing. This meant I have to pretty much nail all the other three races left of the season.

And that was exactly what I managed to do. I scored full points in all the rest of the races, 200 points, winning all the qualifiers, all sub finals and all finals, totalling 15 heats in a row that I won. I think this is what I'm most proud of, having to setup really hard goals and then reach them and even overdeliver on them. 

As my competitors also had some races where they scored less points, as it always happens during a season, I already secured the title even before the final race. It would have been fun for it to still be open for the excitement but I'm not complaining.

Maybe there is one more “fun” race left in the season, as you can see on the picture I haven't even cleaned my car yet after the final race on August I attended. 

I have now won the Swedish RCBash Large Scale Cup, the closest we have to a Swedish championship, five years in a row. Next year is a new season and new opportunities. Since I know I have many other plans for the next summer I think I will miss some races even next year. Maybe it will be a challenge again like this year for points, but I really hope I can attend the final as that is where everything should be decided.

Finally I want to thank N-R-P Large Scale Products for producing such a wonderful car, RN Tuning engine for a great powerhouse with the RV295 Pro and finally the NRP Powerclutch that connects the car and the engine into true harmony.

A triple in full score and the cup season is over for me!

I knew early on this season that I would not be able to attend the final race of the five race cup. With one drop race I had to perform good at every race and it didn’t start well in Sandhem with major engine problems. But after that I’ve come back and scored full points in every race I could potentially secure the total win depending on how I scored and my closest competitors would do.

Slottsbron has a new track layout with a new and huge (1.7m high) bridge construction. This would be very interesting to see what the best way to attack this would be. It had been raining during the week and Slottsbron is known for being somewhat in the shades and not dry out quickly so the track was fairly moisty and you would sink down at certain places on the track when you walked it. As described in earlier race reports the track surface is very unique at this track, some type of minced tree bark, it’s very soft and light so it moves easily to create big holes in the track. 

The practice went well, I mainly tried how to take the bridge in the best way as well as finding the racing lines with the new layout. They had raised the driver stand as well so you could see the track much better than before. Only the corner behind the bridge was a little bit secluded. The tire choice for this track is hard Astro Max.
I noticed after practice that the wheel rims were full of wet bark ships and creates almost like tree cement. This affects the rotation of the driveline and the engine, clutch and the center diff has to work really hard, creating a lot of heat.

I started first in the qualifier and kept that position throughout an uneventful heat. I was 0.2 seconds from the fastest lap time and I knew the track was only going to be slower so that was almost a given to be the fastest lap.

I removed the protection shield in the back of the Ultron as the rear diff was almost clogged with bark. Went thru and cleared all gears so the driveline could run freely again. I started first in the 1/8 final and got ahead to a good start. Pulled away and took the win comfortably even if I did som stupid mistakes the end when trying some different things. 

Before the quarter final I removed the rear swayer to make the car more agile and adaptable to the more and more challenging track. The track started to dry up a little bit but I had to still clean out the whole driveline to get it to rotate freely again. In the quarter I got a good start again, but made a little mistake as it became harder and harder to not get in a hole that flips over the car. Have to find new lines and drive with less power, roll over and thorough the big holes. As soon as you drive too aggressively it will bite back. I regained the lead after 2 laps and then could take the win again.

I raised the car a little bit more in the semi final and decided to drive even calmer and more controlled, not make any mistakes. I just needed to win two more heats to take full points again and maybe have a chance for the cup win. In the semi I got a good start again and drove very good, I don’t think I needed any marshalling at all which was good. I could see on the lap times I only had the third fastest lap time. But at this track it’s about making the least mistakes, not going the fastest.

So with three wins I started in pole position for the final where we had 9 cars. I love when we have many cars on the track. It becomes more fun to navigate and manage the passes with more cars. It also increases the risk that an accident happens that you can’t control. It has happened before. I was also a little bit worried about the driveline, the engine and center diff has been pretty hot after a 10 minute race, now we will run double the time. Would that cause any problems? Fortunately the track had now dried out a little bit more which means it doesn’t clog the car rims as much. I went for the same plan as before, make sure to have a good start to get some distance and then slow down to just control the race. It worked really well but I had a couple of mistakes when I was trying different lines as the track now has no good line anywhere. It’s all about how you will take the holes and what holes you will drive through. There were a couple of times where it could have turned into more serious crashes, one car coming in the wrong direction on the bridge and one where a car was under a bridge and I didn’t see it. But I managed to get thorough all those situations and in the end lap the whole field. This brought home the third win in a row, 15 consecutive undefeated heats!

It was really a good feeling delivering such good results under pressure, and now I have done everything in my power to try and win the cup this year as well. The track was a blast to drive, the bridge was really fun, maybe they should lower it 20-30 centimeter so you could actually jump it. Now you mainly roll over it, but some drivers were more daring and jumped. But that doesn’t really save you any time and the risk of breaking the car or having a crash just increases.

After the day was done and calculating the total points in the cup it actually turned out that my main competitors for the cup win didn’t get enough points. There is now no theoretical chance they could win anymore. Which means I have now won the cup for the fifth time in a row. An accomplishment that I’m really proud of because it requires a lot of effort, focus, work to have your car and gear in order and to win all those races. And there are so many skilled and good drivers that are knocking on the door all the time so I have to raise my game every year to be able to win. But that’s what I enjoy, be challenged and raise to the occasion!

Finally I have to say that I have really found my way with the Ultron, I know exactly how it behaves on different tracks. I know how to drive it and also how to drive both fast and with control. My RV295 Pro engine has been solid giving me the power I need, especially on this track where the driveline was not rolling freely. It had to work really hard. This was the third time with the NRP clutch and again it gave me the smooth feeling but never fading even after being hot and working hard in these conditions. The whole package feels very solid and trustworthy. I'm looking forward to hopefully upgrade my Ultron this winter with some new upgrades that was tested at the Euros.

The N-R-P Clutch was a prototype at last years Euros in Fehring but is now production ready and has already been installed and used in many cars winning races. The clutch works in all cars that uses the F1 (narrow), Elcon (wide) or Losi/MCD type clutch. I've seen it's been used by many Elcon drivers successfully across Europe.

Before I used the trusted Oddified clutch but I'm always up for testing new things and see if they can improve my program. 

The clutch has 6 shoes, three in metal and three in some sort of plastic. I guess these shoes will engage at different times to get a smooth and controlled feeling but also really bite when you hit full throttle. You can also go all plastic or all metal to get different behaviors but I haven’t tried that. The clutch uses individual springs for each shoe and maybe you could change these as well to engage at different RPMs but otherwise there is no adjustments to the clutch, just put it in and drive. The quality is top notch and gives a very solid and trustworthy feeling, even if it’s one of the lightest (if not THE lightest) at only 83g (the F1 version). I will update the post when I can report about longevity of the parts.  

I tested the clutch for the first time in racing at the second leg of the RCBash Cup in Linköping. The track has dual surfaces, both hard packed clay which is fairly slippery as well as hard bite astro. On to pot that there are a lot of trick bumps where you sometimes need to accelerate quickly, a perfect test of the clutch.

Without testing back to back I can't really compare it directly to the feeling of the Oddified on the same track. But with that been said I was really getting the feeling of having smooth control at lower RPMs but at the same time being able to really punch the throttle to instant lock the clutch. I think this was one reason further to how I could run so much faster and more controlled compared to the other during the day. 

It was not a boiling hot day but it was quite warm (about 20 degrees) for being in Sweden. I felt no fading what so ever of the clutch even after the 20 minutes final. It's going to be interesting to see how this develops over time and how wear is.

I can recommend the clutch to all drivers that wants a reliable, smooth but with instant power when needed, works great for both 2wd and 4WD.  Good work by N-R-P!

Update 23-07-05: I have now driven it in another race with varying surfaces that shows how good the clutch is between both slippery (wood and stone) and high grip like Astro. I can verify the feeling from the first race. Very controlled and smooth but still delivers the instant power of you need. The temperature was around 22 degrees and the clutch never faded during the 20 minute final.

A grand slam in Formula One is when you get TQ, lead every lap in the main race and takes the win, and that is exactly what I managed to do in Nyköping but on top of that also win all the heats leading to a maximum of 200 points. And that is exactly what I need if I'm going to have any chance of defending the cup win as I'm not going to race in the final race this season and had a problematic opening race. 

Nyköping or the Brandholmen track as it's called just built a new driver stand before this event. It was a big improvement as the old stand was really low and didn't give you a good view of the whole track.

This track is our shortest track of the season but also the most technical as it has four different surface materials and also quite narrow corners. But this is exactly what I like, a lot of variation and you have to adapt to the track development even during one race.

I felt comfortable on the track already in practice. But everyone was noting it was quite bumpy with holes already starting the day. I choose to raise the car a little bit in the back to prevent it from hitting the bumps to bad and causing the rear to kick up.

I knew that the track was not going to improve so if I wanted to take the fastest lap I should probably try to do it in the qualification heat. I usually takes it easy to secure a start in the A-heat but I felt really good out there so pressured and set the fastest lap of the day with half a second, 28.044.

Starting in pole for the 1/16 final I got away to a good start but then got stuck in a corner on the second lap. That put me down to fourth position but I put my head down and climbed up the field to finish comfortable in first. Checking out the car after the race I found the metal string holding the pipe was off and the screw holding the front shock was almost unscrewed. This track is pretty hard on your car so you need to check all screws and go through the car to check it after every race.

People were trying different tires, including Astro Grip, Micro Stud and GRPs, but I stuck with medium Astro Max which had always worked before and I found them being the best compromise between all the different surfaces. I started with old ones so I kept checking and regaled them to not loose any tire on the track.

After lunch I put on newer back tires as the older ones was starting to give away. This made the car a little bit more aggressive and it took me a couple of laps to get comfortable with it again but I managed to win the quarter final as well.

The semifinal was the only race I didn't have the fastest lap, but I drove very consistent having an average time just a second more than my fastest lap. I didn't want to take any chances before the final as the track now was getting pretty nasty and anything could happen destroying your day. This was probably the closest race of the day to the second position.

In the final I got away with a really good start, the cars behind me were fighting for positions and I already had a comfortable lead after the first lap. But I was not going to be as passive as I were in the semi as I've done that mistake before. So I kept pushing ahead and fairly quickly starting to lap some cars and then trying to just keep out of trouble. I got stuck with some cars a couple of times on the tight track but nothing serious. I kept on pushing and extending the lead and after 20 minutes I was a corner from lapping the second position. 

I was really happy with how I performed out on the track, being both fast and keeping it clean. The whole package with the Ultron was on point, a couple of people commented on the car looking so stable and calm on the track event if it was super bumpy. The RV Engine was really revving and gave me all the power I needed. It was the second race using the NRP clutch and it was very smooth but gave me the power when I needed, I'm very happy with the feeling of it.

The next and final race for me in the cup this season is in August at the Slottsbron track which is rumoured to be rebuilt for the race. This is a very special track and it will be very interesting to see what they come up with.

Thanks for the organizers at Nyköping and the cup members who put on this great show every month. Also congratulations to all the second and third place in 4wd, Robin and Morgan for fighting with me on the track and for all the podium winners in 2wd.

Next up for me is the Euros in Starec as the chairman for LSOR in EFRA. That will be very exciting and a little bit nervous as this is the first time for me in that role.