If you’re new around here…welcome. If you’ve been around here for the last couple of months, you might recall that I’ve been building and racing the new Sparko F8e 1/8th scale electric buggy. Back in March, we shared the build story – going through what we liked (and didn’t) about the design and build process, saying at the time we’d be back once we’d had a chance to run the car properly. You might also remember that I like words…and lots of them!

The TLDR version of that original build review? Decent quality, went together well, a few fine details to be improved in subsequent versions of the car (fine clearance, instruction manuals, attention to detail). Shakedown run was promising.

The time has come to talk about what the Sparko is like to race. We’ve now got two complete club days on the car and feel like we’re able to make some observations. This isn’t the final word – we’ll share further thoughts over the next couple of months as we get to run at other tracks and start to try some of the Sparko option parts.

For context, I’ve been running the F8e at Brisbane’s Logan Offroad Track. Nicknamed “The Brickyard”, Logan’s surface is a fine clay that is watered and rolled regularly. It’s been a wet summer in east-coast Australia, so there is plenty of moisture deep down in the track at Logan, and over race nights this moisture rises to the surface – resulting in a smooth, polished clay racing surface that offers up a medium level of grip and a real challenge to tyre choice and chassis setup. The layout is fun, flowing, small-medium jumps and a mix of fast sweepers with tight hairpins. It’s been a popular layout since going down in February, and I personally love driving it.

For further context, Logan’s e-buggy scene is healthy. There are typically between 35-45 cars on a club night, with everything from state and national champs to a great group of enthusiastic newcomers. Qualifying and running in the A final is no easy task. On my previous visits I’ve typically qualified around the back of the A final, or top of the B. I’m always happy to get in, but (to be honest) rarely crack the top ten. That background might help make sense of the run report.

One further reminder: I set out to build the car in it’s kit standard form. I wanted to see how it would perform in this base setup – including geometry, diff and shock fluids and so on. There are no option parts on the car yet – they’ll come later. My F8e is set up with my Mach-1 RC Products servo, DXF Batteries Australia 4s LiHV battery and Hobbywing motor/esc.

Right out of the box, the F8e suits the Logan track and surface, and the way I like to drive a car. I immediately felt comfortable with the car, loved it’s capacity to get in to the apex well, and drive off the corner nicely. To be honest, over its first laps the Sparko just felt like a well-behaved car. I ran a few packs to break in drive-train and make sure I hadn’t missed anything in the build – but it felt comfortable right away.

Over the first two club nights I’ve taken the chance to experiment a little with basic setup, but sticking with the initial intent of running standard parts and starting with standard fluids. I’ve played with ride height, rear anti-squat, roll bars, battery position, rear roll centre and front shock mounting position (on the tower).

After those initial club nights, the changes to kit setup I’ve settled into are minimal: a little more anti-squat (a change to the D plate insert) and a rear roll centre change (one hole lower on the tower), and mounting my 4s DXF pack in the forward position. Everything else I’ve had time to experiment with, I’ve ended up back on kit settings (running the softer pair of supplied roll bars, for example, didn’t improve the car so I went back to the firmer pair).

Over the two nights, the car has been an absolute delight. I’ve dropped a couple of qualifiers with nuts and grubscrews working loose (lesson learned about the right threadlock I guess!), but otherwise perfectly reliable.

On the first night, I qualified 4th and finished 3rd in a 35 car field. That’s well up on my normal performances. On the second a self-inflicted quali failure (translation: I crashed) put me 11th, but managed to move forward and finish 7th in a 49 car field.

I’d gone into these first night with suggestions in the back of my mind that some drivers feel the Sparko packs quite aggressive steering characteristics, and some of the option parts (castor blocks, front suspension arm conversion) were aimed at smoothing it out. Now two club nights on one track, one surface and one grip level isn’t conclusive (we’ll get onto the very different conditions at other local tracks soon), but I didn’t find that at all. The car was balanced, easy to drive, and turned in well but not overly aggressive. At times (though there is evidence to the contrary!) I felt like I almost couldn’t crash it. I couldn’t have been happier with its first runs.

My experience with the Sparko so far has been very positive. I like the way the car is balanced, and handles on this particular track. In what is still a largely kit-standard setup I’m finding it easy to drive, consistent over the run, and delivering the kind of competitive lap and race-times I’ve not managed in a very long time. My days of contending for race wins are long gone – and the Sparko won’t change that at my age, my level of commitment to practice, and my tyre budget – but at my club, it’s letting me get into the thick of the A final mid-field battle – and that’s been super fun.

Next month I’ll get the car to at least one, and possibly two new tracks, and to a first regional event. That’ll give me a broader view of its capabilities, and the chance to start experimenting with option parts. First on the list are some different spring options, and the front suspension arm conversion.

For now though, it’s a “yes” from me – I’m delighted with what I’ve encountered in the car at my local club. And though I haven’t needed any yet – I’m happy to know that there is good parts support in Australia via SpeedyRC Online Store .

Thanks to Mick at Speedy for the review car. We’ll continue with the long-term review project and bring further updates over the next couple of months. And if you’re in south-east Queensland and want some amazing club racing…fortnightly events at Logan are hard to pass up.