Red RC

June 1, 2026

British Buggy Nationals R3 wins for Holdsworth & Smith

It was a double success for Schumacher at Round 3 of the British 1:10 Offroad National Championships with Josh Holdsworth and Ben Smith taking the wins at the Robin Hood Raceway hosted event. In 2WD on Saturday it was Team Associated’s defending BRCA Champion Tommy Hall who secured the TQ ahead of Smith, winner of the opening two rounds, Holdsworth and the Xray of Lee Martin. While Hall opened the finals by winning A1, it was Smith who took A2 forcing the overall battle for the win to go to A3. This was duly won by Holdsworth and with a winning time just 0.024 of a second faster than that of Smith, this gave Holdsworth the overall win on tie break from Smith and Hall, all three drivers recording a win, a 2nd and a 3rd. In 4WD, Smith took the TQ after topping 3 of the 4 rounds with Scottish Team Associated racer Daniel Pole taking P2 after setting the fastest time in Q4. In the finals Smith led home 3rd place qualifier Hall as Pole dropped to the back of the field after a mid race mistake. Pole made up for his error in A2 with a brilliant last lap pass on Smith to take the win. In A3 Smith would keep Pole at bay to claim his first 4WD win of the 2026 season with Hall completing the podium. Round 4 of the BRCA Championship takes place at Southport on June 20/21st.

Image: Schumacher [Facebook]

June 1, 2026

Sparko F8SE Special Edition

Following 3 years of successful high-level competition racing in the hands of team drivers like Noha Ben Mohamed and Adrian Pariente, Sparko has just released a Special Edition of its F8 Buggy which it is calling the F8SE. The Taiwanese manufacturer claim the F8SE bringing together a Lightweight Race platform with reduced overall weight, sharper response, improved agility, and enhanced acceleration. Key features include new Lightweight Shock Towers with optimised front and rear geometry delivering improved steering precision, traction, and stability. An Adjustable Wheelbase Chassis (±2mm) allows you to fine-tune handling balance for different track layouts and grip conditions. Adjustable chassis stiffness system gives Dynamic Flex Tuning of the chassis and adapts from low-grip rough tracks to high-grip conditions. Standard 20° Steering C-Hubs give smoother, more linear steering with greater mid-corner stability and confidence on power. The Drivetrain Layout has also been revised with the centrally positioned differential improving balance, drivetrain efficiency, and throttle response. +3mm Long Shock Bodies enhance bump absorption and rough-track performance for superior control.
View F8SE parts images here

June 1, 2026

6MIK Joker 2 1:8 Buggy Tyre

French tyre brand 6MIK has released their new Joker 2 1:8 Buggy Tyre. Describing the new tyre as ‘high versatile’, 6MIK say the Joker 2 excels on hard dirt tracks with dusty sections. Its unique carcass gives it a different temperament compared to their Magma 2.0 or Scratch tyre. It’s recommended to use the Joker 2 with 6MIK own Mega rims and Black inserts.

Source: 6Mik [6mik-racing.com]

June 1, 2026

Sworkz S35-4/e EVO Alu Steering Bellcrank Plate

For the 2026 Summer racing season, Sworkz brings a new steering bell crank option for the S35-4/e EVO and T2/e EVO series in the form of this Alu Steering Bellcrank Plate. The CNC machined aluminium plate provides a more solid reinforcement for hard crashes and creates a smoother steering response. It also comes in new Samurai Black colour with diamond cuttings for a high quality look. Additionally Sworkz has also released a new 3D-Printed Low & High Downforce Front Wing Set. This includes two front wings (low & high downforce) to fine-tune your setup. and increase front grip and corner speed depending on track conditions. Another new release for the S35 platform is a Durable Carbon Centre Diff Plate with bigger bearings for the brake cams to increase durability and lifetime. Finally there are also a set of 4 Performance Carbon Rear Wheel Hub Easy Handling Adjustment Plates. Optimised the rear hub geometry, they deliver a more stable rear end while maintaining steering, resulting in a smoother and more consistent driving feel across several track conditions.

View more images here

June 1, 2026

Garcia appointed IFMAR Interim IC Section Chairman

Well respected race referee and former EFRA President Javier Garcia has been appointed the IFMAR Interim IC Section Chairman. Making the announcement over the weekend, the Spaniard will take over the role for the remainder of the 2026 season from Sander de Graaf. After decades of service to the World governing body, Dutch native Graff made his final appearance in the role at the 1:8 Onroad World Championship in Chile last December. Garcia, who has vast experience of the sport having served as president of the European governing body for 5-years and referred numerous World Championships, has always been respected for his approachability and his ambition for the better promotion of racing and the RC hobby in general as well as always striving for a better racing experience for racers attending sanctioned events. In being appointed to the role, Garcia has promised to prepare a 4-year plan with the goal of leading IFMAR into a much needed new era as an organisation.

Read full announcement here

June 1, 2026

Baruffolo wins 26th edition of Kyosho Masters

Italy’a Marco Barufollo has won the 26th edition of the Kyosho Masters which took place at the RC94 track in France over the weekend. In qualifying it was multiple European Champion Renaud Savoya who took the Nitro Buggy TQ ahead of 2025 Champion Riccardo Berton, both drivers posting two TQ runs each but Savoya getting it on the tie-break. Barufollo would claim 3rd ahead of German driver Tim Kraus and Sweden’s Jessica Palsson. With Berton and Barufollo winning the Semi Finals, Barufollo’s win ahead of Savoya the faster, the Top 3 on the grid for the 45-minute final would be the reverse of qualifying order. From the front and setting the fastest lap of the race Barufollo would take the win by half a lap from Berton despite rain making an appearance during the final. Savoya would gamble on changing tyres for the rain but it didn’t last and with the track drying quickly he struggled to eventually finish P4 behind British racer Olivier Nattress who completed the podium. In eBuggy it was Barufollo who took qualifying but retiring from the first of the four 10-minute finals, he would lose out to Berton on tie-nreak after the both counted two wins and 2nd each.

Image: Marco Barufollo [Facebook]

May 31, 2026

Coelho wins ETS season opener

Fresh from getting married last week, Infinity’s Bruno Coelho has won the opening round of the 2026/27 ETS at Apeldoorn in the Netherlands. The World Champion would secure the overall TQ honours ahead defending series champion Michal Orlowski with two TQ runs compared to the Schumacher driver’s single TQ run in the fourth & final round. Fastest in Q3, Awesomatix’s Simon Lauter completed the Top 3 on the grid ahead of Serpent’s Dominic Greiner and Mugen Seiki’s Ronald Volker. Making his high profile debut for Xray at the Dutch race, Marc Rheinard would line up 7th on the grid. In the opening A-Main on Saturday evening it was Orlowski who came out the winner. Having got by Coelho on lap 1 when the pole sitter lost the rear of his car coming onto the straight, Orkowski would then run wide on the final lap. With Coelho going for the pass as Orlowski came back across to try get the line for the next corner the pair made contact. With Lauter in third, this should have played into his favour but as Coelho’s car landed the German made contact and was out with a broken car – Orlowski getting through for the win ahead of Volker with Coelho in third. Sunday’s morning’s A2 saw a dominant win by Coelho which he again repeated in A3 to take the overall ahead of Orlowski with Volker, winner of the previous ETS’s season finale, completing the podium ahead of Lauter, Greiner and Rheinard. In Pro Stock Olivier Bultynck got his title defence off to the perfect start, the Awesomatix driver securing the TQ and win ahead of the Xray of Jan Ratheisky and Dutch Awesomatix driver Timon Coenen.

Image: Bruno Coelho [Facebook]

May 31, 2026

Catanzani finally crowned European 1:8 GT Champions

Having led with 3-minutes to go in 2024 only to lose 2nd gear and the win, then crossed the line in 1st place only to have his fuel tank fail post tech in 2025, Serpent’s Andrea Catanzani is now finally the new EFRA 1:8 GT European Champion. Racing at the Vila Real track in Portugal, the rapid Italian would become the fourth champion of the nitro category with victory over the Genius racing team-mates of outgoing champion Filippo Beretta and two time champion Bernard-Alain Arnaldi. In qualifying it was the Raptor of World Champion Alessio Mazzeo who took the TQ honours ahead of World Championship Top Qualifier Catanzani, both drivers recording two TQ runs each but Mazzeo getting the tie-breaker with his Q5 time. Joining them directly onto the A-Main grid, Arnaldi secured 3rd, with the Q3 TQ run, ahead of Beretta. In the 45-minute final Mazzeo led them away and was leading at the half way mark when he broke a tyre and spinning out he was collected by another car which resulted in a broken servo ending his race. While Beretta took over the lead for a number of laps, it was Catazani, who set the fastest lap of the race, who led them home winning by a lap and a half. With 2024 Champion Natanaele Senesi finishing P4, it meant Catanzani’s win came ahead of all previous three champions. In GTE, Mazzeo would completed the perfect campaign securing the TQ and wrapping up the title with straight wins in A1 & A2. He was joined on the podium by the similar car of Burak Kilic, winner of A3, and Senesi. Xray’s defending Champion Adam Izsay would finish P5.

Image: Filippo Beretta [Facebook]