Red RC » Team Associated

July 19, 2025

3-in-row as Bernadzik is Top Qualifier ‘Down Under’

It’s the third season of the Cayote backed Asian Buggy Championships, the third time Pine Hill Dirt Racing track has hosted the Australian round, and completing the hat trick Team Associated’s Alex Bernadzik has just secured the overall TQ for the third year in a row. With this year’s event attracting its biggest ever international entry, it was the Australian who delivered in the deciding fifth & final round of Nitro Buggy qualifying. With Japan’s Kouki Kato and American Tyler Jones the other TQ contenders, having taken the first two rounds of qualifying on Thursday, Infinity’s Kato would be the first to bow out as he crashed on his first flying lap and suffered a flameout. Sparko driver Jones also crashed on his first lap giving Bernadzik, who already had the fastest qualifying run from Q4, the breathing space for a second TQ run. This time his closest challenger was Mayako’s Pekko Iivonen, the gap 1.531-seconds at the end of the 5-minutes. Overall, behind Bernadzik it will be Kato who lines up second on the grid followed by Jones, Iivonen and last year’s winner Caleb Noble.

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July 19, 2025

Bernadzik delivers on speed to take Q4 in Brisbane

Having been super quick throughout the first two days of action at the Australian round of the Asian Buggy Championships, Team Associated’s Alex Bernadzik finally delivered a TQ run when he took the penultimate round of nitro buggy qualifying at Pine Hills Dirt Racing track. Opening Day 3 of the event with a third TQ run in eBuggy, last year’s event Top Qualifier finally put together the run we were waiting for, setting a new fastest time as he ended up almost 5-second faster than the Sparko of Q3 winner Tyler Jones. Taking the opening two rounds on Thursday, Infinity’s Kouki Kato completed the Top 3, and with the just fifth & final quali to go it will be a three way battle for the overall TQ between Kato, Jones and Bernadzik – drivers’ best two to count. Getting a fourth for the round was Mayako’s Pekko Iivonen, the Top Seed now no longer in contention to be the Top Qualifier in Brisbane. Leading the Sworkz challenge this weekend, it was another solid nitro effort from Atsushi Hara, the former World Champion & Philippine Masters podium finisher, completing the Top 5 for his best run so far having got his first Top 6 yesterday.

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July 15, 2025

Cragg hits ‘Century’ of National Championship race wins

Former 1:10 2WD Buggy World Champion Neil Cragg pulled off an impressive achievement over the weekend when, 20-years after winning the biggest prize in the sport, he achieved a century of British National Championships race wins. Racing for Team Associated his entire racing career, Cragg added his latest 2WD win at Round 4 of the championships at Bury Metro. Securing the TQ ahead of reigning British Champion and AE team-mate Tommy Hall, 7-time European & 27th BRCA Champion Cragg won the opening two A-Mains to seal his 100th win. Behind Schumacher’s Luke Holdsworth came through for second place with Xray’s Lee Martin completing the podium with Hall in fourth. In Sunday’s 4WD action Schumacher’s Ben Smith claimed the TQ ahead of Martin before going on to win the final with Josh Holdsworth taking the final step on the podium behind Martin.

Image: CML Distribution [Facebook]

July 9, 2025

Team Associated RC10 Masami Edition ’89 Stealth Car Kit

At the 1989 IFMAR 1:10 Offroad World Championships in Australia, a certain Masami Hirosaka drove the then groundbreaking RC10 “Stealth” car to victory and now in its latest re-release series Team Associated are giving fans & collectors the chance to own one. The 1989 Team Associated Stealth Car prototype was a radical evolution of the RC10 platform, purpose-built for top-tier competition at the IFMAR World Championships. Designed in secrecy, it featured several innovative elements that set a new benchmark in 2WD offroad buggy performance. Most notably, it introduced the Stealth transmission—a compact, three-gear unit with an internal slipper clutch. Unlike the bulkier six-gear design of the original RC10, the Stealth transmission offered smoother, more efficient power transfer and a lower centre of gravity.

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June 17, 2025

Kaerup doubles at NXC Grand Prix

Team Associated rising talent Marcus Kaerup had a successful weekend in his home country with a double win at the NXC Grand Prix. Hosted by Hillerød RC Racing at their track north of the Danish capital Copenhagen, the event has double in size since 2021 with this year’s edition attracting a record 188 entries drivers from Sweden, Norway, Germany, Iceland, England, and Denmark. As the defending Champion Kaerup secured the TQ after topping 3 of the 4 nitro qualifiers with Xray’s Hampus Berg second having topped Q4. Hampus would book his position directly into the 45-minute after winning Superpole. The Mugen Seiki of Pelle Culmsee line up 3rd having win his Semi final while winning the other Semi 15-year-old Oscar Berg’s Xray started P4. Kaerup carried his form into the final but was kept honest by Culmsee, the separation at the finish 8-seconds. Having dropped down the order early on Berg set the fastest lap of the race as the Swede recovered to complete the podium. In eBuggy Kaerup also took the TQ and win with Berg second and Culmsee third.

Image: Marcus Kaerup [Facebook]

June 11, 2025

Team Associated RC10 B84 1:10 4WD Buggy

Six years on from bringing the B74 platform to the 1:10 4WD Offroad competition market, Team Associated has announced the reigning World Champion chassis’ successor, the B84. The latest kit from the iconic American manufacturer features Molded Height-Adjustable Gearboxes Front and Rear with Additional +2 Rear Gearbox for High-Grip Conditions. The all new buggy also has Long-Arm Suspension Geometry for improved grip and predictability in all conditions. An optimized Steering Bellcranks and Rack improves bumpsteer control at all ride heights. Chassis Bracing allows fine tune chassis flex characteristics with upper and lower chassis bracing front and rear. The kit comes with Standard and HRC (High Roll Center) Rear Hubs with insert adjustable caster block with 0, +/-1, and +/-2 degree inserts. Forward and Back Motor Positions are used for further weight bias adjustment with a Highly Adjustable Battery Holder with Thumb Tabs giving more fine tuning of weight bias. A 2.5mm Thick Tapered 7075-T6 Aluminium Chassis has 10 Degrees of Kickup and Improved Departure Angle. Other elements of the new kit include a Decoupled Slipper Clutch, Aluminium Center-Mounted Servo Mount, Low-Profile Body, Shock Tower Covers Front and Rear, 3.5mm Turnbuckles and Ballcups and 13mm Big-Bore Shocks. The kit is also available as a RC10 B84D kit intended specifically for Dirt track racing.

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June 8, 2025

Ongaro defends European eBuggy title in Spain

Team Associated’s Davide Ongaro has defended his EFRA European 1:8 eBuggy title winning the 9th edition of the championship at Valladolid in Spain. Qualifying would kick off with Bruno Coelho and his prototype Infinity eBuggy topping the first of the four rounds but fastest in the next three qualifiers it was reigning European Nitro Buggy Champion Juan Carlos Canas who secured the TQ with his Sworkz. Behind the Spaniard it was Ongaro, last year’s Top Qualifier in France, who lined up second ahead of Coelho. Italian Sworkz driver Mattio Polito secured P4 with the Sparko of young French talent Noha Ben Mohamed in fifth as David Ronnefalk completed the Top 6 as the leading Xray. In the first of the 10-minute triple final encounters, late contact between Canas and Ongaro handed Coelho the win. In A2 a mistake from Canas early on saw him give the lead to Ongaro who would lead home Coelho and Ronnefalk. Unfortunately Canas’s hopes of retaking the title he last held in 2022 were over after he suffered a DNF trying to make his way back up the order. While Canas finally delivered a win in A3, second was enough for Ongaro to take his third eBuggy Euros title with Coelho the runner-up as Canas completed the podium. Finishing P4, Ben Mohamed took the European Junior title. A big year for 1:8 Electric Buggy, drivers will now turn their attention to the first ever IFMAR World Championship for the category which takes place in Portugal in August.

Image: EFRA [Facebook]

June 3, 2025

Phipps claims first BRCA 1:10 Offroad National win

Team Associated’s Thomas Phipps claimed his first BRCA British 1:10 Offroad National Championship win over the weekend when he won 2WD at Round 2 of the championship. Racing at Boughton Raceway in Norfolk in the East of the country, in 4WD it was Schumacher’s Ben Smith who took the win. Topping 3 of the 4 qualifiers, Neil Cragg managing the fastest time in Q2, Phipps secured the overall TQ ahead of the similar buggies of Cragg and Round 1 double winner Tommy Hall with Smith securing P4. In the finals an incident filled A1 saw Hall win from Smith as Phipps finished P4. In A2, the 20-year-old was able to convert pole into victory finishing 2-seconds ahead of Cragg. In A3 having pulled an early lead, Phipps was then chased back down by Hall but as the reigning champion attempted a pass the pair tangled handing the lead to the Schumacher’s Josh Holdsworth. Holdsworth stayed out front to win the leg ahead of Phipps and Smith but P2 was enough for Phipps to claim his first National race win. Josh Holdsworth (2nd) and Hall joined him on the podium. In 4WD, Smith would take the TQ and win ahead of Martin, who won A1, with Josh Holdsworth competing the Top 3 ahead of back to back champion Hall.

Image: Thomas Phipps [Facebook]