World Champ Batlle severed five-year relationship with Novarossi

0 Feb. 12, 2015, 7:22 a.m.

2/12/2015
By Aaron Waldron
LiveRC.com

Rumors of an impending split between 2012 World Champ Robert Batlle and Novarossi, his engine sponsor for five years, was confirmed early this morning as the Spanish driver said goodbye to the Italian marquee.

While it may come as a bit of a surprise, Batlle is not the only top-level international driver to depart from Novarossi heading into 2012 - as Alex Zanchettin, Davide Ongaro, Jerome Aigoin, Ryan Maifield have all switched engines, as well as Mike Truhe trading his TOP engines for Picco in 2015.

A few weeks ago, Novarossi released a statement promising an upcoming announcement of its driver lineup for 2015 - saying that it would be comprised of “young, faithful, and loyal drivers.” While we will dismiss what could misconstrued as a bit of a dig at some of its departing stars, one can’t help but notice that the move feels not dissimilar to Team Durango’s dismissal of its factory team in preference of regional racers.

As for Batlle’s destination, the RBR36 Arena owner hasn’t made any indication - but Spanish brand Ultimate racing, with whom Batlle has shared a close relationship for several years and sells Batlle's Nitrolux fuel of choice, could be a contender. Batlle departed LRP at the beginning of last season, so that seems unlikely - and since LRP is the Spanish distributor for O.S., it doesn't seem like he'd go there, either. REDS Racing has been aggressive this offseason, and Picco is having a resurgence, so both could be possibilities.

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