We're seriously considering the brushless drive, my brother is in contact with a local roboteer who successfully used a similar setup on his spinner at last year's event. So as soon as he's confident its doable I'll start sourcing the parts... We're looking at these motors and esc... they do look like an overkill but what the heck, as long as they fit inside !
Will be testing the gimson gearbox, if it survives good, if not then there should be alternatives me thinks

motors
http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store...0KV_1295W.html

and escs
http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store...s_Car_ESC.html