when i first got into brushless, i bought the novak GTB 3.5R system for my hpi pro 4, and that motor could go up to like 10,500 and that was agessss ago
The Novak motors are rated unloaded I believe, which always gives much higher numbers. The Castle motors are rated under load, though; the 9000 will be a fair bit faster than a 3.5R.