Red RC » Sunpadow

June 24, 2025

Wins for Sawada and Coelho at SIGP Onroad Grand Prix

Sunpadow Batteries’ annual SIGP International Onroad Grand Prix took place over the weekend in Xiamen, China, where Infinity pairing Jin Sawada and Bruno Coelho took the big wins. In 1:10 Electric Touring Car it was Japanese driver Sawada who took the TQ ahead of the Xray of Singapore’s Nicolas Lee with Kouki Kato’s Infinity in P3. As the defending SIGP Champion, Coelho would line-up 5th for the triple finals. Fending off Coelho in A1, Sawada was able to win again in A2 to take the victory while winning A3 Coelho secured P2 with Lee completing the podium at the impressive 3-circle ARC International RC Racing Track. Making a return to his roots after a long absence from the category, in 1:8 Nitro Onroad Coelho would secure the TQ ahead of his Australian team-mate Jesse Davis and Andy Moore with former 1:10 Nitro Touring Car World Champion Meen V in fourth. After the Semi finals it was Capricorn driver Meen V who would start P2 behind Coelho but the Portuguese ace had lost none of his nitro skills and setting the fastest lap was able to take the win by 4-laps from Davis and Moore with Meen missing out on the podium in P4.

Image: Sunpadow [sunpadow.com]

April 23, 2025

Coelho confirmed for SIGP Onroad Race

Sunpadow Batteries has confirmed that 3-time Touring Car World Champion Bruno Coelho will return for its annual Sunpadow International RC Onroad Grand Prix in China having won the event on its return last year. Taking place in Xiamen from June 18-22, Infinity driver Coelho will chase his third consecutive touring car win at the event which continues to offer one of the biggest prizes in the sport. The race hands out a total prize fund of $25,000 over the categories that include 1:10 Modified Touring Car, 1:10 Stock Touring Car, 1:8 GP onroad, and 1:8 GT. The SIGP Onroad Race, the track also hosting a separate SIGP Offroad event later in the year, takes place at the 2017 1:10 Electric Offroad World Championship ARC Track with both the onroad and offroad tracks built side by side next to Sunpadow’s battery production facility.

Source: Sunpadow [sunpadow.com]

April 11, 2025

2025 SIGP Onroad Race – Announcement

Sunpadow Batteries has announced that its annual SIGP International RC Car Onroad Grand Prix will this year take place from June 18-22. Resuming last year following a break due to Covid, the race would see Bruno Coelho take the big win in electric and Jeff Hamon the victor in nitro. Held at the 2017 1:10 Electric Offroad World Championship venue in Xiamen, both the onroad and offroad tracks are built side by side next to Sunpadow’s production facility. The SIGP Onroad, the track hosting a separate Offroad event later in the year, will continue to offer one of the biggest prizes in the sport with total prize money of $25,000 on offer over the categories which include 1:10 Modified Touring Car, 1:10 Stock Touring Car, 1:8 GP onroad, and 1:8 GT. Registration will open on May 1st.

Source: Sunpadow [sunpadow.com]

December 18, 2024

2024 SIGP Offroad Chassis Focus Index

After a 4 year break, the last SIGP Offroad Race being held in 2019, China’s top annual international offroad race returned with its best entry yet as three World Champions made the trip to the former 1:10 Offroad World Championship host track in Xiamen. With almost 100 entries in Nitro Buggy and 53 in Electric Buggy, racers’ biggest rival of 2024 will be remembered as the track, even the best in the World describing it as their most challenging race of the year. While the European visitors dominated, Italian Mattia Polito really impressing and putting on a great show in the final against a certain Davide Ongaro, we had the opportunity to include the Ming Yang buggy of 2023 FEMCA Champion Jeff Wang in our Chassis Focus. The Taiwanese driver was the top Asian qualifier and finisher, coming home in P7. Featuring buggies from Team Associated, Sworkz, Xray and Mayako, we were also able to photograph each of the podium finishing eBuggies. One buggy we couldn’t include in our Chassis Focus was the WIRC of 18-year-old Italian racer Gabriel Astorino, both his Nitro and eBuggy running new front hubs that are set to appear on the Italian manufacturer’s 2025 kits early next year.

View Chassis Focus Index here

December 15, 2024

Ongaro beats impressive Polito as Italians dominate SIGP

Team Associated’s Davide Ongaro has won the SIGP in Xiamen, China, the World Champion being made to work hard for his latest race victory by a very impressive Mattia Polito. Describing the race himself afterwards as the ‘the hardest final of the year’, Ongaro and the Sworkz’s Polito provided all the entertainment as they quickly established themselves the class of the field in the 45-minute final. With Xray pairing Bruno Coelho and David Ronnefalk no match for the Italian duo, Top Qualifier Polito led the way from Ongaro with the first lead change coming during the second of fuel stops, the drivers one lap apart in stopping. With the pair running nose to tail and at times side by side, the middle third of the race would get plenty of reactions from the crowd. With Polito leading as the race entered the final 15-minutes, the 21-year-old would suffer a roll over that handed Ongaro a lead he would relinquish and second mistake later in the lap cost Polito a total of 6-second which despite a valiant effort he wouldn’t recover. In the end just 10-seconds would separate them while 2-laps down Coelho crossed the line to complete the podium at the 3-circle ARC International RC Racing Track.

Continue reading here

December 12, 2024

SIGP favourites expect challenging race in Xiamen

With 2024 marking the return of the SIGP Offroad Race with its highest profile international entry yet, the three leader contenders for the race’s major cash prize have all predicted a challenging weekend ahead in Xiamen. Organised by Sunpadow Batteries, the entry for this year’s edition of the race is led by Team Associated ‘s 3-in-a-row World Champion Davide Ongaro. The first time the Italian has been to the former IFMAR 1:10 Offroad World Championship track, on paper his biggest rivalry should come from Xray pairing David Ronnefalk and Bruno Coelho but talking to all 3 at the end of Thursday’s free practice they all believe it’s the track surface that is going to be their biggest challenger. The dirt offroad track, which together with an onroad track and 200m long driver stand!, is located on the grounds of the almost 500 strong workforce 3 Circles factory that manufacturers batteries, has not seen race action since the last running of the SIGP in 2019. Joern Neumann was the winner on that occasion, but having lay idle for 5-years the track had to undergo some significant preparation to clean it up with Max Lim, who put on the World Championships here in 2017, tasked with the track preparation over the last three weeks. Getting the track back to looking like an active one, it is the surface bumps that are going to challenge man & machine with buggies being very unpredictable to drive.

Continue reading here

November 7, 2024

Ronnefalk confirmed for SIGP International Offroad GP

The organisers of the SIGP International Offroad GP in Xiamen, China, have announced David Ronnefalk as the latest driver who will compete for a share of the race’s total prize money of almost $25,000. The Xray driver & 2016 1:8 Buggy World Champion is the third World Champion winner to be confirmed for the December 11-15 race with Team Associated’s Davide Ongaro and Xray’s Bruno Coelho having already been announced to race at the 3-circle ARC International RC Racing Track. The same venue that hosted the 2017 IFMAR 1:10 Electric Offroad World Championships, the race schedule will be made up of 5 classes including racing for 1:4 offroad bikes with the main action expected in 1:8 Nitro Buggy and 1:8 eBuggy. Red RC will be travelling to the SIGP for the post Covid return of the event to the international race calendar.

Source: Sunpadow [sunpadow.com]

October 31, 2024

World Champion Ongaro confirmed for SIGP debut

Triple back to back 1:8 Offroad World Champion Davide Ongaro is the latest driver to be confirmed for the SIGP International Offroad Grand Prix in Xiamen, China. It will be factory Team Associated driver’s first time to travel to China and the impressive 3-circle ARC International RC Racing Track, the Italian & current 1:10 4WD Buggy World Champion not yet racing 1:10 electric when the track hosted the IFMAR World Championship in 2017. With Germany’s Joern Neumann and American Ryan Lutz as past Champions, 2024 will be the first running of the SIGP post Covid with organisers confirming last week that Xray’s Bruno Coelho, winner of the SIGP Onroad event earlier this year, will return for its offroad event which takes place from December 11-15th.

Source: Sunpadow [sunpadow.com]