It was an amazing week of racing that put 1:10 Nitro Touring Car back in the World spot light and it was an honour for Red RC to travel to Club Automodellistico 5 Colli in Italy last month to cover the 2026 IFMAR World Championship. Capturing the atmosphere with his camera, Club Press Officer Marco Paffi has produced this very nice ‘Road to Glory’ video that relives the vibes of what was an epic week of race action. Nice work Marco!
Mugen Seiki’s Simon Kurzbuch is the new 2026 Euro Nitro Series Champion, the Swiss racer taking the 1:8 title with victiry at the season finale at the MyCandy track in Lentiai, Italy. In qualifying for Round 4 of the championship it was Infinity’s Dario Balestri who secured the TQ honours ahead of an impressive run from ARC’s Silvio Hachler topped the opening qualifier, Balestri taking the other three. Italian Infinity driver Jonathan Gandin secured 3rd on the grid ahead of Kurzbuch. In the final there would be a great battle for the lead between Balestri and Hachler who were clear of the field. With 3-minutes to go however Balestri ran out of fuel and it looked like Hachler had the win but cruelly with just 20-seconds to go in the 45-minute final the Swiss driver suffered a glow plug failure. Kurzbuch would take the win just 3/10ths of a second ahead of Gandin with a refuelled Balestri completing the podium ahead of Hachler who was classified 4th. In 1:10 Nitro Touring, the title already secured by Jilles Groskamp at Round 3 in Austria, it was the Capricorn of World Championship finalist Jakub Rozycki who took the TQ ahead of team-mate Toni Gruber and Groskamp’s Infinity. As the out going 1:8 ENS Champion, in the final it was Gruber who took the win from Rozycki with Groskamp finishing 3rd ahead of the Capricorn of Christoph Rohrmoser.
Image: Simon Kurzbuch [Facebook]
New from Cerberus Racing, the new brand of RC industry & racing veteran Josh Cyrul, comes this new 1:10 F1 body called the Vortex. Created with the intent to improve overall performance, steering and durability, the new Vortex is sure to turn heads with the aggressive nose that has been shortened and now features raised ribs to strengthen that stubborn cracking point over the front plate and tie-rods. The side pod has been re-shaped for a more aggressive shape with additional re-shaping/shortening at the rear for better airflow to the lower portions of the rear wing. The Vortex is available in both .015″ and .020″ polycarbonate.
New from 1:28 body producer Radbody comes the Mako Evo, an ABS hardbody with lexan roof. This latest hardbody is intended to complement Piranha on medium to large tracks. Mako Evo has been developed to flow through corners with less initial turn-in than Piranha, and transition to midcorner and exit with more rotation. With the side clips installed, the body should weigh just over 24 grams. The new wing incorporates a hump that drops down toward the rear for full chord height, but still picks up cleaner air farther from the body. Molded in 0.5mm for durability, it also features reinforcement ridges to reduce flapping, giving a more confident feel at high speeds. The roof remains 0.3mm, and it is higher than the lexan versions of the Mako. Radbody has raised the roofline to match Piranha for two reasons, firstly for aesthetics and secondly for downforce in the mid-front of the car. There are also vents in the rear of the body to reduce the “parachute effect”. Radbody recommends using thin tape to cover them for different handling characteristics.
Team Associated has expanded its 1:28 offering with the release of the F1 category RC28F Team Kit. Entering the 1:28 category in 2025 with the RC28 platform, and this year bringing racers the Team Associated 1:28 International race in Las Vegas, the RC28F Team Kit featuring a F1-style polycarbonate body and molded plastic wings, ample space for mounting electronics and overall weight reduction. It also gets a new F1-style inspired fixed arm style front end with optional molded upper arms to adjust caster and camber. The torsion side links (soft, medium, and hard included) replace the need for a side spring making setup easy while adding performance in areas a conventional spring does not. The new aluminium chassis and centre bulkhead allows wider 24mm battery packs and electronic mounting space while keeping overall weight to a minimum. The pitch, roll and droop can further be tuned/Adjusted with the threaded aluminium centre shock, spring collars and side damper tubes. The two-piece rear pod allows quick axle height adjustment utilising Factory Team carbon fibre shims.
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Max Machler’s MXLR brand has introduced new Front & Rear Body Supports for the X4 Touring Car platform from Xray. With the trend of feather light bodyshells and even higher top speeds, deflection of bodyshells became an issue for serious racers with MXLR coming up with this solution that fits the X4’25 / X4’26 & X4F’27. Preventing deflection of the bodyshell under higher speeds, it also reduces the risk of cracking the front wheel arches of the bodyshell resulting in extended lifetime of your bodyshells combined with better performance on the track as the shell will stay in its original shape and produce more downforce. In the design process MXLR took special care about the “flex” in this area and is designed to have the least flex influence possible. Also offering a Rear Body Support, each is made from high quality plastic, including MXLR laser engraving on each sides.
2011 IFMAR 1:8 Onroad World Champion Robert Pietsch is to come out of retirement with the German confirmed as one of a record number of World Champions who will race at the 20th anniversary of the Singapore International Nitro Grand Prix this month. Pietsch, who last raced at the 2023 European Championship in Portugal, travelled to the Leno track in Italy last week to break in new Ielasi Tuned engines under the guidance of Daniele Ielasi. Winning his World title with Mugen Seiki, Pietsch transitioned from racer to car designer for the Japanese manufacturer officially retiring from racing in 2023. For 2026 he moved into a new design team role with Infinity with Piestch set to race their IF18-3 at the Radio Control Modellers’ Club’s newly resurfaced track. With the race officially running on October 10/11, Pietsch joins a host of World Champions for the Singapore International Nitro Grand Prix including reigning 1:8 Onroad Champion Shoki Takahata, newly crowned 1:10 Nitro Touring Car Champion Naoto Matsukura and current 3-time Electric Touring Car World Champion Bruno Coelho. Red RC will be making the trip Singapore and is excited to cover the event for the very first time.
Source: RCMC Singapore [Facebook]
Xray’s Maxime Ripoll has successfully defended his FFVRC 2026 French 1:8 Onroad National, doing so in style with the TQ and win at the fifth & final round of the championship which was staged at Feriere aux Etangs. Securing the TQ ahead of Shepherd driver Fabien Baranger, who took his first Elite win this year at Round 3, in the 45-minute final Ripoll took a commanding win ahead of Mugen Seiki’s Christophe Louis with Gerald Colinet completing the podium. Unfortunately for Baranger he would retire from the race after just 13-minutes. As a season, 2025 World Championship finalist Ripoll claimed 4 poles, 3 victories, and two podium finishes on his way to the title.
Image: Maxime Ripoll [Facebook]
