May 13, 2026

Xray announces surprise Rheinard signing

Just hours after he announced his depart from Awesomatix, Xray has revealed that they have acquired the services of Marc Rheinard.  The reigning ISTC World Champions made the surprise announcement via a short video clip on social media with just the text ‘Legends & World Champions join forces’.  With Xray’s loss of Bruno Coelho to Infinity having been reflected in recent Modified results, the new signing of the multiple World Champion by the Slovakian manufacturer is a major coup for the Hudys.  He joins long time team driver Alexander Hagberg, who just recently took the European 1:12 title from the German.  The signing should also allow their 1:8 World Champion David Ronnefalk to focus his attentions on offroad, his transition to touring car with Xray having proved challenging for the Swede.  For Rheinard, whose career spans three decades, joining Xray marks only the fourth Touring Car manufacturer he has represented having raced for Awesomatix, Infinity and Tamiya, his TRF days one of the most iconic partnerships of our sport.

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]


May 12, 2026

Rheinard announces Awesomatix departure

Multiple World Champion Marc Rheinard has announced his departure from Awesomatix after six years with the manufacturer which only came into being at the height of the career of one RC racing’s true legends.  The electric onroad star has been their lead driver since his departure from Infinity at the end of 2019, the initial deal to run Aersomatix done through his brother’s successful Tonisport business.  While a fourth ISTC World title has eluded the German, achieving a podium in 2024 with the unique Oleg Babich designed touring car, they did enjoy plenty of successes including most recently the 2025 1:12 European title and the 2024 Electric Touring Car European title.  In a post on his social media, Rheinard said, ‘Hey Friends, Today I would like to announce my departure from Awesomatix. A bit more than 6 years ago, Oleg gave me the chance to join his fantastic race team.  At a time he backed me when I unfortunately did not have the best moments in my career and this will never be forgotten!  I would like to specially thank Oleg as well as Max Mächler for great years with good success for all of us.’  With 2026 marking 22-years since he claimed his first World Championship, he added, ‘A true honour for me but now it is time to move on!  I wish everyone in the team as well as the factory lots of success and I will always keep great memories in my mind!  Last but most important, I’m happy that after talking to Max and Oleg we end our cooperation in a good way and keep the relationship positive.  Thanks a lot for all and see you on track!’  With a huge following around the world, especially among Tamiya fans, it will be interesting to see what brand of car he will race next.

Source: Marc Rheinard [Facebook]


May 12, 2026

Rossing Designs B7 Series Waterfall Fan Mount

Texas based Rossing Design has introduced this Waterfall Fan Mount for the B7 Buggy series from Team Associated.  Designed to move the fan directly over your motor, to provide maximum cooling, it provides 20+ degrees Fahrenheit cooler temperatures from the stock fan location.  Made from proprietary extremely durable material, it fitting all b7.1, b7, t7, sc7 kits and is a non structural design meaning it won’t affect the flex.

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May 12, 2026

Power HD servos for Almonte

Leading servo manufacturer Power HD has announced that multiple ROAR Nitro Onroad Champion Jose R Almonte has officially joined its team.  The factory Serpent driver, who took the 1:8 GT win at this year’s 50th anniversary Florida Winternats, will officially represent Power HD as part of his dual 1:10 and 1:8 GT racing program.  On the announcement, the Dominican Republic racer, who other successes include the 2025 KO Propo Grand Prix, said, “I’m honoured to join Power HD. Their servos are known worldwide for their reliability, speed, and durability.  I’m excited to represent Power HD on the track, fight for more championships!’

Source: PowerHD [chd.hk]


May 11, 2026

TestLogger Manager v3

Finnish company TestLogger, owned by 2011 IFMAR Electric Buggy World Championship organiser Jussi Luopajärvi, has launched Manager v3, the production release of a rewritten platform that has been running in beta with real user data for the past 13 months.  TestLogger Manager helps RC racers keep a record of their runs, setups, conditions, lap times, and comments, and see how those connect to performance over time.  Version 3 introduces a redesigned user interface, long-term analytics tools, team functionality for data sharing, and Coach TQ.  Coach TQ is an AI assistant that automatically makes observations on each run and supports decision-making with plans, reviews, and guidance.  TestLogger Manager has always been free to use and remains so, with a new Pro subscription for users who want more out of their data.  For teams, Manager v3 adds shared workspaces so drivers, mechanics, team managers, and remote engineers can work from the same run logs, setups, and comments.  This is particularly useful at larger events where practice time is limited and team members need to compare data quickly across drivers.  Coach TQ, available on the Pro plan, can speed up the work around a track day in concrete ways.  It can generate a draft test plan from your run history before the event, and produce a debrief from the session data afterwards.  When direct lap time import isn’t available, Coach TQ can read your laps from a screenshot or even a photo of the results sheet. In chat mode, Coach TQ can also give new ideas when needed and explain technical concepts in context.

Source: Testlogger [testlogger.com]


May 11, 2026

Takashima D-13 TRF421X 1.1 | 1.2mm Spring Steel Chassis

Takashima D-13 has released their 1.1mm and 1.2mm spring steel chassis options featuring a black coated finish for the Tamiya TRF421X 1:10 Touring Car.  Like the previous releases in the Takashima D-13 spring steel chassis lineup, the chassis uses 120-degree countersunk screw holes, allowing perfect fitment on both the 1.1mm and 1.2mm thickness versions.  The black coating not only gives the chassis a unique stealth-style appearance, but also helps prevent rust and corrosion, eliminating one of the common concerns associated with spring steel chassis plates.  Developed for maximum consistency and performance, the new chassis is expected to be a strong option for dedicated Tamiya racing enthusiasts.

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May 11, 2026

Balestri & Groskamp win ENS season opener

The latest season of the Euro Nitro Series kicked off at Minidrom Ettlingen in Germany over the weekend where it was double success for Infinity with Dario Balestri winning 1:8 and Jilles Groskamp winning 1:10.  In 1:8 qualifying it was the Mugen Seiki of Simon Kurzbuch that set the pace, the Swiss driver topping all four qualifiers to secure TQ honours ahead of Balestri.  Counting two P2 runs it was the Capricorn of reigning champion Toni Gruber who completed the Top 3 on the grid ahead of Serpent pairing Marco Weigerding and Mirko Salemi.  In the 45-minute final, Kurzbuch would lead away but with 8-minutes done as the former World Champion exited pit lap after his second stop attempting to keep his lead he and Balestri made contact with the Italian land on his roof.  While Kurzbach waited this allowed Gruber to the lead.  The German would lead until the 25-minute to go mark when Balestri squeezed passed as the leader exited pit lane after refuelling.  Unfortunately just after stopping for new tyres Gruber would suffer a problem retire in pit lane.  This left Balestri to lead the race home for the final 20-minutes chased by Kurzbuch.  Starting from 11th on the grid, Dutch Infinity driver Robbin Hertong completed the podium ahead Weigerding, Rick Vrielijnck, and ARC’s Silvio Hächler.

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May 11, 2026

Ongaro wins Worlds Warm-up Race at Thornhill

With this year’s 13th annual The Dirt Lonestar Challenge doubling up as the official Warm-Up Race for the 1:8 Nitro Buggy World Championship later this year it was Team Associated’s Davide Ongaro who took the win.  Racing at the covered Thornhill Racing Circuit in Texas, it would be an Italian 1-2 as Ongaro was followed home by Sworkz’s of Mattia Polito while American Ryan Maifield completed the podium for Tekno.  In qualifying it was Ongaro who was fastest in the opening two qualifiers to secure the overall RQ ahead of Sworkz’s Mason Fuller who topped the third & final round.  Polito would end qualifying P3 ahead of the Kyosho of recent Asian Buggy Championships Indonesia winner Phi-Long Nguyen with European Champion Juan Carlos Canas completing the Top 5.  Winning his Semi final from Canas’ Sworkz, Ongaro would like up on pole for the 1-hour final ahead of the Spaniard, Polito and Brandon Rose winner of the first Semi.  From the front Ongaro, who will chase a fourth consecutive World title in September, took control of the race to win by 2-laps.  He would make it double winning weekend in Hutto, also taking the eBuggy win comfortably ahead of team-mate Spencer Rivkin and Fuller as Top Qualifier Nguyen dropped to fourth.

Image: Matrix Racing Tires [Facebook] 


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