April 7, 2026

Canas wins ‘Neoland’ on iconic race’s return

Sworkz’s Juan Carlos Canas has won Neoland, the Spaniard taking the Nitro Buggy win on the return of racing to Harper Adams in the UK over the Easter weekend.  The spiritual home of Philip Mortstedt’s Neo Race, a race that was widely referred to as the 1:8 Buggy Indoor World Championships, well known international track builder and Buggyland race promoter Miguelo Izquierdo Rodriguez resurrected the Neo event after a decade, and while he was somewhat under the radar for most of the weekend Canas came good when it counted most to win the 45-minute final.  In qualifying it was the Xray of David Ronnefalk who secured the TQ, topping 2 of the 3 rounds, ahead of Team Associated’s Davide Ongaro, fastest in Q3 and also taking the overall eBuggy TQ. The Sworkz’s Mattia Polito would line-up third ahead of Canas with Mugen Seiki’s Berkan Kilic and Team Associated’s Marcus Kaerup completing the Top 6 on the 15-car grid.  In the final Ronnefalk would lead the way for the first 20-minutes with Canas pushing him ever harder.  The pair would tangle but resume in the same order only for Canas to execute the pass he was trying to line up shortly after.  Once in front he took charge of the race to win by 3.5 seconds from Ongaro.  Making a wrong call on tyre compound, Ronnefalk would eventually drop to P6 with Ongaro taking second and the Sworkz of 7th place qualifier Elliott Boots completing the podium just ahead of Kilic.  In Easter Sunday’s eBuggy encounter, while Ongaro won A1 it was Ronnefalk who took the title with wins in A2 & 3.  Behind Ongaro in second, eBuggy World Champion Kaerup completed the podium from P10 on the grid with Kilic finishing fourth.

Image: JConcepts [jconcepts.net]


March 30, 2026

Polito wins Italian Nationals Round 2 from Ongaro

Sworkz’s Mattia Polito took the win at the second round of the AMSCI 1:8 Nitro Buggy Italian National Championship reversing the result of the season opener as he beat defending Champion Davide Ongaro.  Racing at the OspyTeam track in the north of the country, after the four rounds of qualifying it was Polito who secured the TQ ahead of the Team Associated of Ongaro, Mugen Seiki’s Burak Kilic and Kyosho’s Marco Baruffolo.  Polito posted TQ runs in the opening three rounds with Ongaro topping the final round.  With Ongaro winning his Semi in the faster time, the 10-time consecutive National Champion secured pole for the final ahead of the WIRC of 5th place qualifier Andrea Trevisan who won the other Semi ahead of Polito.  In the 45-minute final, with the Top 3 quickly breaking away, on lap 3 a bobble from Trevisan allowed Polito to move into second.  Approaching the 7-minute mark a mistake from Ongaro would see him clip a corner pipe and spin around handing Polito a lead he would hold and extend to win by almost 4-seconds from the World Champion.  Half a lap back Trevisan completed the podium ahead of Kyosho’s Riccardo Berton and Xray’s Alex Zanchettin with Kilic completing the Top 6.  In eBuggy, Ongaro would make it two from two with the Round 2 win ahead of Top Qualifier Polito with Trevisan enjoying a double podium weekend with P3.

Image: Ielasi Tuned [Facebook]


March 9, 2026

Noble becomes back to back Australian Champion

New 2026 Sworkz signing Caleb Noble has become back to back RCRA 1:8 Nitro Buggy Australia National Champion, the 19-year-old successfully defending his 2025 title at the Canberra Off Road Model Car Club hosted title race over the weekend.  Having kicked off his new program with Sworkz with a dominant performance at the opening round of the Asian Buggy Championships in New Zealand a week earlier, Noble would secure the TQ in Canberra ahead of Team Associated’s Alex Bernadzik, both drivers recording two TQ runs each over the 4 rounds of qualifying.  A race that attracted 331 entries over the various classes, Aaron Dexter, Christian Wolhunter and Logan Toia completed the Top 5.  With Dexter and Wolhunter winners of their resoective Semi finals this would be the Top 3 order for the grid behind Noble.  After a number of lead changes in the early stages of the 1-hour final, Dexter, Jarod Mont, Bernadzik and Wolhunter all taking stints at the front, as the race approached mid distance Noble would get to the front and stay there to eventually win by a 2-lap margin over Team Associated pairing Lachlan Donnelly and Bernadzik with last year’s runner up Wolhunter missing out on the podium in P4.  In eBuggy Bernadzik took the title from the TQ spot ahead of Noble and Ment while in Truggy Noble added another National title with the win ahead of Felix Koegler and Dexter.

Image: RC Race Media [Facebook]


March 3, 2026

Canas wins Spanish Nationals opener

Champion of the highly competitive AECAR 1:8 Nitro Buggy Spanish National Championship, Sworkz’s Juan Carlos Canas opened his 2026 campaign with a TQ and win.  The Circuito RC Fernando Robles track in San Jose de la Rinconada played host to the first race of the 4-round championship with Canas taking 4 of the 5 qualifiers.  Behind Robert Batlle made it an Sworkz 1-2 with a string of P2 runs while Tekno’s Joao Figueiredo completed the Top 3 having TQ’d the final qualifier.  Winning his Semi final from Mugen Seiki’s David Todd Nieto, winner of the 2025 season opener, Figueiredo, and Sparko’s Daniel Pariente, winner of 2025 season finale, it was Canas who would start on pole, the Top 4 on the grid coming from the Semi A.  Winner of the Semi B, Battle would line up P5.  In the 45-minute final, Canas steered his Reds Racing powered Sworkz to the victory half a lap clear of Mugen’s Jose Miguel Sanchez with Adrian Pariente’s Sparko completing the podium ahead of Battle and Xray’s Oscar Baldo with Todd Nieto finishing sixth. In F2 category, the race attracting a combined 81 entries between F1 and F2, Saul Ordonez Ortiz made it a double celebration for Sworkz by also taking the TQ and win.

Image: Sworkz [Facebook]


February 19, 2026

Sworkz S12‑3C Option Parts

Sworkz has introduced two new option parts for their S12‑3C 1:10 2WD Carpet Buggy that was released last November.  A new Aluminium Rear Hub upgrades the rear end with reduced flex and increased stability.  This is the perfect option for all high‑grip conditions where precision and control matter most.  The other release is are Aluminium Gearbox Supports.  The left & rights supports strengthen the drivetrain as well as reducing flex and enhancing stability across all track conditions.

View Gearbox Support here


February 11, 2026

Spower Japan P7HP EUii Hand Modified .21 Onroad Engine

Spower, the engine brand of chassis manufacturer Sworkz, has released its latest 1:8 Onroad competition racing engine, the P7HP EUii.  With its top performance Spower “魂”(SOUL) series now going to the RC speed machine, the new factory hand modified .21 Onroad engine is based on the world famous OS Speed Euro II.  Spower have made some modification work and took it to another level.  Based on Euro II spec cylinder with 7 ports they have a new design with the cooling holes added to the bottom of the exhaust with the newly designed crankcase.  The Spower design team have hand modified all ports to make it more efficient.  The stronger DLC coating on new crankshaft has also 3 tungsten counterweights contributing to consistent idling and quicker RPM response according to the throttle movements.  It also comes standard with new Spower’s 1:8 Onroad Boost rear cover plate which helps this high RPM engine work more stable from the top speeds to the lower range.  The new printing technology with racing style colourful cooling head makes it blend in with your car.  With the factory combo setup that includes the latest OS MR05 Exhaust Manifold + EFRA 2196 pipes, P7HP EUii will provide a lot of power for your racing needs together with the best fuel mileage.

View Specs & more images here


February 8, 2026

Canas wins Montpellier GP after Ongaro error

Sworkz Juan Carlos Canas has opened the European 1:8 Nitro Buggy season with victory at the Montpellier Grand Prix, his second consecutive win of the famous French classic coming after a mistake from weekend dominator Davide Ongaro saw the Team Associated driver eventually finish P3.  With rain effecting proceedings at Circuit du MBM, qualifying for the 20th edition of the race would after the completion of 3 rounds see Ongaro take the TQ honours ahead of Mugen Seiki’s 2025 Montpellier GP race leader & podium finisher Berkan Kilic.  Canas would complete the Top 3 ahead Sworkz team-mate Mattio Polito, the Mugen Seiki of last year’s Top Qualifier Burak Kilic, and Tekno’s Joao Figueiredo. Winning their respective Semi-Finals, it was Ongaro and fellow Italian Polito who lead away the field for the shortened 45-minute main.  Last winner of the Montpellier GP in 2023, Ongaro looked on target for the win having built up a huge lead however a high speed mistake resulted in contact with a fencing post which gifted his rivals the race as he struggled with buggy after the impact.  With the Top 3 finishing on the same lap, Canas’s took the win by 9-seconds from an impressive Polito with Ongaro a further 7-seconds back.  Behind, Figueiredo, Sparko’s Adrian Pariente, and Sworkz’s Elliott Boots completed the Top 6.

Image: Sworkz [Facebook] 


February 3, 2026

Sworkz confirm Boots & Widmaier for MIBO International

Sworkz RC has confirmed that it will be represented at the fourth edition of MIBO International later this month by factory drivers Elliott Boots and Micha Widmaier.  Sworkz are past winners of the Czech race with former team driver Joern Neumann winning 2WD Buggy at the 2024 edition of the race that brings together offroad and onroad racing under the one roof of the Sports V Hotel in Hrotovice in the South of the country.  Austrian National Champion & European Championship finalist Widmaier is a MIBO International regular returning this year for his third appearance.  Two time European 1:8 Buggy Champion & World Championship podium finisher Boots however will make first appearance at the Michal Bok organised race, the British racer hoping to make an impression as he continues to reacclimatise with 1:10 Offroad.  Full details of the 2026 MIBO International Race, which takes place on February 27-March 1st, can be viewed on the Mibosport website by clicking here.

View MIBO International Roll of Honour here


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