Everyone at Team Associated is very excited about this development for many different reasons. The synergy that we have already experienced with the Barlow /Red Bull /Bosch /RC10.COM team has been nothing short of remarkable. The partnership totally makes sense as both Team Associated and Barlow Motorsports have deep roots in off road racing, and are competitors at the top of their respective games. The amount of technology crossover between the full size short course trucks and pro level R/C race trucks is truly amazing. In addition, most of the Barlow/Red Bull/Bosch/RC10.COM crew members are already R/C car enthusiasts.

Steve Barlow is the main man behind Barlow Motorsports and he also wheels the Pro-4, a full-blown short course race truck with an 800hp V-8 engine, 4WD and 20 inches of suspension travel. Steve grew up in a family of off road racers and went pro in 1983, when he won the very first off road race he ever entered. Since that time Steve has managed to win many victories including the Baja 1000. Steve has also continued the off road family tradition and has both of his sons wheeling Team Associated GT2s.

Off road racing connections go deep here at Team Associated as well. This next fact may not be common knowledge among the R/C community, but Team Associated’s very own Cliff Lett and Barlow Racing’s Pro-2 driver Rick Johnson have been teammates once before when they both were part of the Yamaha Factory Pro Motocross Team. After racing professionally himself, Cliff retired to become Rick Johnson’s crew chief in 1984 and together they went on to win the AMA Pro Motocross National Championship that same year. Johnson continued to set numerous championship records, while Cliff changed gears to the R/C industry in 1988 and set numerous R/C records of his own. Now the team of Johnson and Lett are back together again in a “big” way.

Steve Barlow said, “It was clear to see that Team Associated and Barlow Motorsports would really complement each other. The AE guys have been a great addition to our team and we are excited to see what the future together will bring us.”

“Having Cliff back on the team has been great. The depth of his knowledge on engineering and suspension set-up has already proven to be a valuable asset. Not to mention that it has been really nice to have an old friend around that can fix my R/C cars!” added Rick Johnson.

Cliff went on to say, “The partnership between Team Associated and the Barlow/Red Bull/Bosch team took over a year to put together. It totally makes sense for Associated to be involved in this sport for more than just future product development. It is indisputably the closest full-size example of R/C off road truck racing that I have ever witnessed. Since Team Associated’s heritage is based on premium race vehicle design, which allows us to compete and win at the highest level of competition, we already see numerous ways that Associated can influence the future designs of full-size short course truck racing, and how these trucks can influence the future of high performance R/C race trucks. Also, working with RJ again is a real pleasure.”

Ricky Johnson holding his Factory Team GT2 in front of his full-size Pro-2. Which one do you want to drive?

The story of Team Associated’s deep roots doesn’t stop there. The man who builds the 800 horse- power engines for the Barlow Motorsports trucks is none other than Steve Chamberlain of Nogrady Racing Engines, who is also a longtime Team Associated racer, making a great fit even better.

So far the partnership has been a great experience for all of us at Associated. The Barlow/Red Bull/Bosch team has already come on strong in the early CORR events, with Johnson finishing 1st and 2nd during the first four events. Several of the 2008 CORR events are being televised live on NBC and/or the Speed channel. If you are able to attend any of the remaining CORR events, be sure to come by the Barlow/Red Bull/Bosch pits to check out all the action and see the Team Associated crew and products.

The Team Associated guys are caught in the act of trying to stay out of trouble. Would you like a catalog?

Ricky knows how to handle himself on two wheels as he takes the tight line to chop some time off of the lap.

Steve Barlow nearly flips his Pro-4 after getting tangled up with Carl Renezeder while jumping out of the pit at the Pomona Fairplex.