News has reached us that senior design engineer Josh Alton has parted ways with Team Associated. The news comes at a time where the company has struggled somewhat to get on top of it’s public ‘beta’ testing phase of the RC8 prototype successor to RC8.2, not helped by a massive set back when the majority of parts were stolen mysteriously during the Dirt Nitro Challenge in February.
Alton posted on his Facebook the exact date which suggests an abrupt end to his two-year tenure at Team Associated, sources suggesting it was an acrimonious split, after internal pressure looks to have seemingly boiled over as patience ran out over the design of the new 1/8 Buggy, a car which perhaps unfairly was expected to deliver immediate results.
SEE ALSO: Video: Alton discusses the new RC8 Prototype
Alton previously served as design engineer for Hot Bodies and masterminded the D8 buggy which famously won the World Championships in the hands of Atsushi Hara back in 2008, a total of four D8s making the final.
However the short lived and never-released CR8 project proved a low, a car which showed promise, innovative thinking and design cues in a small industry not famous for it, never embraced by the team, a reshuffle saw designer Torrance Deguzman join Hot Bodies and Alton quickly departed for Team Associated.
Ultimately Alton’s time with Team Associated came to an abrupt end coincidentally on the first day of Neo14 which immediately witnessed factory driver Ryan Maifield TQ the first round of qualifying with the new prototype, proving the car has the pace on the particular style of track.
Looks like the CR8 will never be released after all…….
Maybe Josh will get the picture: the CR8 is not that good, stop trying to bring it to life.
So much for the new AE buggy…
Honestly who cares? The only people that buy 1/8 scale Asocciated cars these days are Associated fanbois and noobs. This could’ve been the greatest car…evar…and anyone with half a brain would steer clear, especially with all the speculation. Poor performances, them fakeing stolen cars to justify poor performances, yata yata…
ae cars have been fast in the past and the new car looked to have promise. your just hating cuz its the cool thing to do. there cars are cheep and f you can drive they can keep up with the other overpriced cars.
Where to now, then? Thunder Tiger? Mugen? Another company or two and he’ll equal Travis Amezcua’s record…
Why would Mugen want to go backwards and hire someone to build inferior cars?
I think he’d be a good fit at Durango.
Durango just built their new DN8 buggy. It’s ready for production.
It’s not. They stated at the Neo race that there’ll be six month. Hopefully they get rid of their two engineering oopses they showed in the named video … So or so, I don’t care about TD.
Six month of work I mean.
For all intents and purposes, the car is almost there. The only thing left are small bits like fuel tank, throttle linkage, top plate, etc. They’ve spent two years to get to this point. Durango would be stupid to let this hackjob come in and try and create a third version of his CR8 and completely omit all their work. Remember, Durango already has World Champion designers working for them (1/10). Josh hasn’t built one car that won anything.
D8 won the Worlds in 2008; as stated in the article.
It amazes me how we have racers that are so boisterous and opinionated and have absolutely no inkling of truth to their statements. Mr. Alton has designed multiple winning vehicles and prototypes capable but politics didn’t bring them to reality. He was designing cars before the racers such as yourself knew who was actually engineering our cars. For the sake of others that read your rubbish and believe it, just sit back, take a breath, and realize that you are making accusations about someones reputation and career because of reasons unknown.
I am sorry that once again Mr. Alton has fallen victim to internal politics. I drove the CR8 and understand why he keeps pushing parts of it. I wish him the best of luck finding a stable place to finalize his 8th design.
Thunder Tiger and AE are the same company. I think he will join Hara at Sworkz!
SWorkz seems to be doing okay copying old Mugen designs.
Who can’t stopp laughing? Kanai! He doesn’t make new cars often … and win for a decade with his car. The only company that didn’t jump on the narrow, compact chassis-train … and was successful! Xray FINALLY got it sorted also with the XB8’14 back to old school width!
People are lame! The cr8 is a one off and had been well proven by Jesse Robbers. The AE car is a one off with in it self. It has shown its more than capable.
True, the CR8 was a very cool buggy and very innovative. Without that type of engineering progression we cannot take steps in the right direction. Though the Cr8 did not work out because from what I hear the plastic chassis wasn’t able to dissipate the heat like a standard aluminum chassis would. The engines basically wouldn’t hold a tune / got hot. As Thomas Jefferson once said, “If I find 10,000 ways something won’t work, I haven’t failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward”.
Unfortunately! A possible reason was politics and the ultra famous Hara D8 edition car. He didn’t have his name on the cr8, wouldn’t make since for him to run it! Jesse actually won races with the cr8. Also qualified well with it at all races he attended. No engine issues for him or josh! Tessman, was doing his own engineering? Go figure! The last one standing!