Reminds me of two the war of barbies My doll is better no mine! i think you guys went far off the topic,.. the sadist thing about it is that all these engines that are top or not, from box or not, are all novarossi base, we forgot how engines works, ok guys Air/fuel........ the rest is up to you... we all may have some bad moment with a particular engine doesn't mean that is not good, it could be a lot off other issues to look in too: % fuel/climate, clutch adjustment,tire size,Gear ratio, track ...... I've raced from Novarossi, Rb, Max power, Picco, on my 1/8th from 7 ports to 9 ports,and all the flashes at the end of the day is about preferences,and what your $$ can Buy.
if your in to specs and what the Manufacture advertise,you're in for a treat!
the flash 2.9hp vs Max TQ9 2.95hp, but again rpm,when does it peak, is it low,mid,high, range.