BREAKING NEWS

Hara with HB-Orion in 2006

It’s all change for Hara, and we’ve got the scoop! We’ve just had word that double World Champion Atsushi Hara, along with his signature pink-black-white colour scheme, is leaving the HPI family to ‘pursue another opportunity’.

Hara has been driving for HPI Racing and HB for 11 years now so this is obviously a major undertaking!

And what might those interests be? Well we are curious folks, so we’ve done a bit of asking around…

…we understand that Hara drove Martin Hudy’s car at the recent ETS race at the XRAY factory in Slovakia, driving in the ‘Dash for Cash’ race.

Rumors emerged that Hara would be leaving a very lucrative spot within the HB-HPI group, with his longtime mechanic ‘Pappa’ Miura, to develop a car of his own. This seems to follow the JQ plan of ‘be successful, make a car’, although it could be said that Hara has a much bigger ‘brand name’ and should be able to get funding and industry help much faster.

Stick around for more news and details as we get it…and remember: you heard it here first, on RC Racing TV!!

We now have the statement from Atsushi himself!

Dear All,
I would like to personally inform you of some major news regarding my racing career and that is that as of today following 13 successful seasons with HPI Racing and Hot Bodies Racing Team we have mutually agreed to part company. Although I signed a new 4-year contract in January of 2013, a positive judgement was reached regarding the dissolution of this extension that would have taken our partnership through to the 2016 season.
While I am sure this news will come as a big surprise to you all, I want to take this opportunity to thank HPI Racing and Hot Bodies Racing Team for the opportunity to represent them & their products and share a lot of glories. I am also very happy that we were able to part on such good terms. My gratitude to the wonderful people who assisted me in my HPI/HB racing endeavors together with the great support I always got from fans will never be forgotten.
While I am sure everyone wants to know what the future holds for me I can inform you that nothing yet has been decided but I can add that my plan is to take my time in making any decision to ensure that I find the best partnership possible.
Thank you very much for you attention.
Best Regards,
Professional RC Pro Driver Atsushi Hara