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December 12, 2025

Sugiura crowned Japanese 1:8 Buggy Champion

Last weekend saw the running of the 2025 JMRCA Japanese National Championship for 1:8 Nitro Buggy where it was the Mugen Seiki of Yusuke Sugiura who took the win ahead of the defending champion Kouki Kato. Held once again at Futaba Buggy Track located in Ichihara, Chiba, with three rounds of qualifying it was Sugiura topping two rounds, who took the TQ ahead of Kato’s Infinity which was fastest in Q2. With the Top 2 progressing directly to main, with the rest of the 10 car grid having to come through the Semi Finals, after the 1-hour Main Sugiura, setting the fastest lap of the race, would take the win by half a lap over 2025 Asian Buggy Championships Champion Kato. In third Semi final winner Juriya Kajiwara would completed the podium for Kyosho just ahead of Ayashi Tsuruta and Youwei Huiye, the 3-waty battle covered by just 1.5-seconds.

Source: O.S. Engine [Facebook]

December 9, 2025

Volker wins EWS International 2025

Mugen Seiki’s Ronald Volker has won this year’s EWS International presented by Schumacher, the German taking the win ahead of Xray’s Alexander Hagberg and Schumacher’s Elliott Harper. Establishing itself as Britain’s top annual international touring car race, with last year’s winner Michal Orlowski not making the trip to Essex due to 1:12 racing commitments in China, it was multiple EWS International winner Volker who led for the weekend. Attracting a field of 40 Modified entries, Volker topped all four rounds of qualifying to secure the overall TQ with Hagberg lining up second, followed by Harper, Kyle Branson, Sören Sparbier, Christopher Krapp, and Lucas Urbain. He would convert his pole position in to wins in A1 & 2 for the overall victory, while the A3 win gave Hagberg the runner-up spot as Harper completed the podium. In Stock it was the Awesomatix of EWS Series Champion Zak Finlay who also dominated proceedings to take the TQ and win ahead of Denmark’s Jesper Rasmussen and Finley Whitelock. In FWD Xray’s Stefan Schulz took the win.

Image: Alexander Hagberg [Facebook]

December 7, 2025

Takahata becomes 2-time World Champion in Chile

It’s a very elusive club and up to now it has been exclusive to Italians, but today in Chile Mugen Seiki’s Shoki Takahata became a multiple 1:8 Onroad World Champion with a perfectly executed 1-hour main. Starting from fourth on the grid, once the 2019 World Champion worked his way to the front he would take control of the race eventually winning by over a lap from Simon Kurzbuch to give the new MRX7 a 1-2 finish. Takahata’s win would be made all the easier after issues for Top Qualifier Andrea Catanzani, who needed to make a body change in the race, and star of this week’s action Maxime Ripoll, the French teenager robbed of a second place finish as reward for his impressive efforts when his engine came to halt with 6-minutes remaining. While Kurzbuch benefited from this, with a fast charging Catanzani recovering ground, there would be a late & intense battle for the runner-up spot that also involved Capricorn’s Toni Gruber, the trio all running together on track. As the race approached the final minute, Catanzani having just got passed Gruber would then attempt a pass on Kurzbuch but contact was made resulting in his Serpent having a spin as the other two continued. The super fast Italian, who was the only driver to run a 17-second lap in the Main, would however get back up to Gruber and snatch the final podium position on the last corner of the last lap.

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December 6, 2025

Kurzbuch cruises back into contention in Chile with Semi win

Having missed out on a Top 4 direct to final qualifying position as he ended P5 at the end of the 6-rounds, Mugen Seiki’s Simon Kurzbuch has put himself back in contention for a second IFMAR 1:8 Onroad World Championship title by cruising to victory in his Semi final this morning in Chile. Winner of the World title in Brazil in 2015, a decade on the Swiss racer returned to South America as one of the pre-race favourites but on arriving at the CACH track in Santiago he struggled to find his true form. Leading away the second of the half hour Semis, Kurzbuch drove a calculated race with his crew executing a swift tyre change en-route to him winning by over a lap from the similar car of Britian’s Alex Thurston who together with third placed finisher Christope Louis progresses to their first World Championship final. The 24th running of IFMAR’s original World Championship, the first of the Semi Finals woulds see 15-year-old German driver Leon Fuhrmann head a Capricorn 1-2 from team-mate Thilo Diekmann, the separation 4.7-seconds at the finish. In third, a driver who needed the Last Chance Qualifier race to make Main here at the 1:8 GT Worlds back in September, Brazil’s Flavio Elias booked himself another 1:8 Onroad Worlds final appearance after recovering from a plug change during one of his pit stops to overtake leading Shepherd driver Tim Wood for the bump up position. Wood however would take the win in a very close finish to the 15-minute LCQ, 2/10ths of a second ahead of a Ricardo Hofmeijer, to become the 11th car on the grid and make it five different manufacturers in the final.

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December 1, 2025

A decade on – life is different, but the drive & focus on winning in Chile are the same for Kurzbuch

2025 marks a decade since Simon Kurzbuch became the Champion of the World. A driver Red RC have had the pleasure of following on his journey up through the ranks and into 1:8 Onroad racing history books, we first got to know him through the early days of the Euro Nitro Series and as one half of the talented Swiss racing duo that was himself and Silvio Hachler. Unfortunately we would miss him claiming the biggest prize the sport has to offer, Brazil in 2015 the only 1:8 Onroad World Championship we have missed since going online in 2006. Thankfully Simon, being the super nice guy he is, hasn’t held that against us and just before he caught his long flight to Chile we had a quick chat to get his thoughts on where he feels he is at as he attempts to become only the 3rd driver to ever win IFMAR’s original WC category more than once. If he can pull off that feat he would also be the first non Italian to ever do so. While legend of the category Lamberto Collari won’t be in Santiago for a chance at a 10th World title, and defending Champion Dario Balestri’s chances of a hat trick are on hold as he also wont be there, Simon did address the big talking point around this year’s 24th running of the Worlds – the absence of the entire Infinity team. ‘I am disappointed that the Infinity drivers are not coming, it is a real shame for Kenji that none of them are coming, but no Infinity does not affect anything from my side in how we approach this race. In the end there are still very good drivers there and you need to beat them and to beat them you need to work properly before the race in your preparations and then work hard when you get to Chile. I have a really good focus on the race so from this side it does not change anything if Infinity are there or not.’

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November 10, 2025

Takahata takes MRX7 to JMRCA Japanese National title

With Mugen Seiki having only officially released their latest 1:8 Onroad Chassis at the end of last month, their factory driver Shouki Takahata gave the Robert Pietsch designed MRX7 its first major title by winning the 2025 JMRCA 1:8 Onroad Japanese National Championship. With a field stacked with World Champions, it was the 2019 World Champion secured the TQ at the K2 International Circuit ahead of multiple World Champion Naoto Matsukura while Infinity team-mate & defending Champion Takaaki Shimo ended up 3rd. While the Top 2 directly went to the 45-minute final, Shimo and 1:12 World Finalist Hayato Ishioka won the Semi finals to progress along with the other 6 drivers to make up the Main grid. In the final Takahata would take back he last held in 2024 with his Max powered MRX7 setting the fastest lap on his way to the win with the rest of the podium a repeat of last year – Matsukura second and double Nitro Onroad World Champion Tadahiko Sahashi third from 5th on the grid. Unfortunately Shimo would retire from the final just before the half way point. For Takahata the result is a nice boost ahead of the upcoming IFMAR 1:8 Onroad World Championships in Santiago, Chile.

Image: Mugen Seiki [Facebook]

October 29, 2025

Mugen Seiki MRX7 Onroad Car

With the IFMAR 1:8 Onroad World Championship just a month away and their factory driver Simon Kurzbuch one of the title favourites for Chile, Mugen Seiki has unveiled their latest 1:8 Onroad car, the MRX7. Using prototype of the Japanese manufacturer’s car, Kurzbuch was able to secure the TQ and runner-up tspot at the EFRA European Championship. The MRX7 has been fully adapted to the current requirements of the category and incorporates a few parts from its successful predecessor – Shoki Takahata winning the 2019 World title in the USA with a prototype of the MRX6. The Japanese driver is another who will fight for the title at the impressive CACH track in Santiago in early December. Mugen Seiki said that having spent a lot of time testing, rethinking existing parts the MRX7 has new suspension geometry and improved weight distribution.

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October 5, 2025

FIRST LOOK – Mugen Seiki 1:10 4WD Buggy Prototype

First making an appearance at the EFRA European Championships in Slovakia back in early August, Japanese manufacturer Mugen Seiki is debuting the prototype of its upcoming entry into the 4WD market here at thhe IFMAR 1:10 Offroad World Championships in Sydney, Australia. In the hands of team driver Burak Kilic, the buggy is off to a very impressive start setting the second fastest time in the opening round of qualifying today. Red RC was given a first look at the prototype just after its Q1 run. Having unveiled their first 2WD Buggy, the MSB1, at the previous 1:10 Offroad World Championships in Arizona 2-years ago, the 4WD is again the work of Japanese car designer Shin Adachi.

View Chassis Focus here