ROAR NATS: Tekin GEN 3 motor spotted in pit area

0 Aug. 7, 2015, 8:28 p.m.

By Aaron Waldron
LiveRC.com

Marquee racing events are often used as a proving ground for new products, as manufacturers know the marketing potential that a big win over notable competition can provide. It's also a chance for team managers to network with their drivers from near and far, educating them on how to provide proper support for local customers and bringing them up to speed on the development of new products. That's why I found Reedy's upcoming Sonic Mach 3 motor being tested on Wednesday, and it's the same reason I stumbled across a third-generation motor from Tekin tucked away in a pit bag.

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Tekin team manager Randy Pike is pulling double-duty this weekend, racing both modified buggy classes and providing support for Tekin team members and customers racing at the Nationals. He had to bring a lot of equipment to do so, and he's often bouncing around between the track, his own pit spot, and helping others.

I went walking through the additional pit room in the back where Randy's work area is set up, and I noticed something unusual tucked into the corner of one of his gear bags.

And I couldn't help but wonder if it had something to do with the cryptic cover photo and profile picture that had been recently added to Tekin's Facebook page:

Posted by Team Tekin Racing on Thursday, August 6, 2015

So, naturally, I grabbed the motor for a closer look.

The deep red endbell and jet-black can belong to a new GEN 3 brushless motor, which I can only imagine will be offered in additional winds to complement this 17.5-turn stocker. Unlike Tekin's previous Redline motors, the GEN 3 has huge cutouts all over the can for additional cooling.

I put the motor back in the bag and slinked away before Randy caught me snooping. A short while later, I walked back to ask if he'd tell me more info about it - but he had already packed up and left for the hotel.