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May 4, 2025

New Mayako prototype LCG eBuggy at Philippine Masters

The Mayako team is out in force at the Philippine Masters in Manila and has presented an all new prototype eBuggy that will be a future MPC (Mayako Members Programme) kit release. Designed by Joesph Quagraine, the Finn says the point of the MX8E LCG is to develop a car for the first ever IFMAR 1:8 Electric World Championships which are coming up in Portugal at the end of August. A very high grip, technical, 1:10 style track, JQ says now is time to develop the next generation of 1:8 buggies adding they will start with eBuggy, then Truggy, and then a nitro buggy based on the new design concept. He said the design goal is simple – low centre of gravity, low weight, and suspension geometry better suited to modern racing. JQ also explained that while the obvious thing people will see is the suspension, this is not the only reason why the car works, team driver Pekko Iivonen proving the car with his TQ run and A1 win in the eBuggy class here at Round 2 of Cayote backed Asian Buggy Championships. Mayako has developed new shock internals and new springs plus other undisclosed components for the project.

View MX8E LCG Prototype Chassis Focus here

May 3, 2025

Iivonen wins A1 eBuggy thriller at Philippine Masters

Mayako’s Pekko Iivonen pulled of one of the highlight drives of his career today in Manila as he took the opening round of eBuggy at the Philippine Masters after an epic final lap showdown with Top Qualifier Davide Ongaro. Having started the day by claiming a TQ run in the fourth & final round of qualifying at Round 2 of the Cayote backed Asian Buggy Championships, the Finn would like up P2 on the grid sandwiched between the two Team Associated’s of Ongaro, in front, and Alex Bernadzik, behind. At the start Iivonen and Bernadzik would come together and it looked like Ongaro was on for an even easier win than expected but the Italian would have a moment on lap 4, that for him proved costly. For the race’s record entry all watching on it would lead to them being entertain by a thrilling final lap, Scotty Ernst rising to the occasion on the mic and adding to the intensity. After Ongaro’s error at the end of the straight dropped him behind Iivonen, the two making contact, Bernadzik found his way to the lead to the cheers of the huge Australian contingent. It was short live however as a roll at the end of the straight allowed Iivonen to go to the front chased by Ongaro. As the clock ticked down, on starting their final lap Ongaro would go all out in on the front jump section sending it and jumping over the leader but at the next corner Iivonen made the inside line to hold the lead with a moment from the World Champion allowing hm to breath again if only momentarily. As they reached the back jump section Ongaro again tried tp pass in the air but contact sent the two tumbling. With Ongaro waiting for the leader to get turned around again in the right direction, they resumed for a 7-second dash to the line with Iivonen managing to stay in front to take a hugely popular win.

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March 23, 2025

Edmunds earns biggest career win at Asian Buggy Championships opener

Mayako Youth Mentoring Program driver Jayden Edmunds earned the biggest win of his career today with victory in New Zealand following an exciting season opener to the Cayote backed Asian Buggy Championships. With the Counties RC Car Club track hosting the first of the four encounters that make up the third season of the 1:8 Offroad Championship, Edmunds sent the first hint of his potential when he topped the second round of qualifying before the highly experienced Kyle McBride hit his stride to take the final two qualifiers and the overall TQ. Lining up P3 for the 45-minute final behind Sworkz’s Jayden Jamieson, after plenty of shuffling for position at the start, four different leaders in the opening four minutes, Edmunds would settle into serious contention when he took the lead from HB Racing’s Logan Toia on lap 33. With McBride and Toia, who had three stints at leading, both suffering multiple flameouts ending their challenges, Edmunds would find himself under attack from fellow countryman Caleb Noble. With a very fast car, his Tekno posting the fastest lap of the race, Noble went to the front with a nice pass coming onto the main straight however as both drivers made their final pit stops, Noble pitting a lap earlier, Edmunds’ stop helped him to retake the lead. Again Caleb appeared quicker but Edmunds played it cool. As they came around to start their final lap, a mistake by Noble gave Edmunds the breathing room he needed to secure a very popular first international race win. Finishing 6-seconds back, Top Seed Noble was clearly unhappy with his second place. Opening the event strongly with a TQ in the opening qualifier, before starting to feel under the weather on Saturday, Jamieson was happy to survive to finish P3 and claim the Kiwi’s first Asian Buggy Championships podium finish in Nitro Buggy. Just 3.6-seconds back, the WIRC of eBuggy podium finisher and local racer Kasey Dawson capped off an impressive weekend with fourth while Dylan Toia completed the Top 5.

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November 30, 2024

Battle confirms Mayako departure

A little over a year after David Ronnefalk’s departure, Mayako’s other former World Champion Robert Battle has official confirmed his departure from the manufacturer via his social media. Joining the team for the 2023 season from Mugen Seiki, the 2012 World Champion put his Mayako in the final at this year’s IFMAR World Championship in Redovan. Confirming his departure, the Spaniard expected to be headed to Sworkz, he posted, ‘Thank you Mayako Community for that amazing two years, I learnt so much about RC and life. Experience that I will never forget. Now it is time to take another chapter, I hope you can understand the decision, I’m sure you will. Thank you again for everything you did for me, you will have my help at tracks forever!’

Source: Robert Battle [Facebook]

January 11, 2024

Mayako MX8-24 Nitro Buggy

Mayako has released its latest challenger for the ultra competitive 1:8 Nitro Buggy market with the new MX8-24. Building on the success of the European Championship winning MX8-22, the MX8-24 is the next step in Mayako’s journey to providing the best car in the industry. Working with the Mayako Community, the configuration of the MX8-24 has been tailored to suit most conditions and drivers with a High KPI front end (KPI1/Caster1) to give drivers the confidence to drive the car how it is designed to be driven. Soft arms give increased durability while Front and rear upper links produce a more forgiving car. The buggy has height adjustable rear differential commonly used by drivers of all levels to adjust the handling for track conditions. The use of CVDs front and rear makes for an easy to drive car with maximum traction. Optional UJ’s available for more rear support on higher traction tracks. The MX8-24 shares the same design with the MX8-24MPC (for Mayako Community members only), with many spares and option parts shared. The MX8 is designed to be easy to drive and adjust out of the box. With an extensive information base available to all Mayako drivers, no one can get lost with the MX8.

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January 10, 2024

Mayako MX8E 1:8 Electric Buggy

Mayako has released its first 1:8 eBuggy with the announcement of the MX8E. Sharing the design philosophy of their simultaneously announced MX8-24 nitro car, the electric variant is the product of years of prototype testing from the Mayako Performance Community, with input gathered through much discussion and meetings. With the front and rear ends interchangeable between nitro and electric models, the centre section of the MX8E features the option to run either shorty or standard brick pack LiPo’s along with adjustable weight distribution by moving the battery.

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December 27, 2023

Tebo and Mayako part ways

Having announced earlier this year that 2023 would be his final year as a professional driver, Jared Tebo and Mayako have announced they are to part ways after just one year. On signing with Mayako, the America racer was announced in a dual role as both an international team driver and Mayako USA Community Manager. Through his JTP RC business Tebo was also selling Mayako products. In a post on social media, Mayako said, ‘Mayako and Jared Tebo will part ways at the end of 2023. Mayako would like to thank Jared for the past year and wish him the best in the next stages of his career! His insight and interaction with the Community have really shown the knowledge built up over his excellent career! Good luck in the future Jared!’ On his own personal Facebook page Tebo wrote, ‘Holy smokes has 2023 been a year. I need to announce that my time working together with Mayako has come to an end. Definitely not the way I thought it would turn out, but we gave it a good try, and I’m proud of that. This year has been one of my toughest and most challenging years mentally, for a lot of different reasons. I’ll say it was a big transition year, with different surprises. I decided to retire from professional RC car racing, something I’ve done since I was 14 years old. That’s been my “identity” for over half my life. With that, I’ve had so many mixed emotions, good and bad, happy and sad. 2024 will look a lot different … new experiences, new challenges, new adventures await!

Source: Mayako & Jared Tebo [Facebook]

September 8, 2023

Ronnefalk & Mayako part ways

While en route for our coverage of the IFMAR 1:10 Offroad World Championships in Arizona, former 1:8 Offroad World Champion David Ronnefalk and chassis manufacturer Mayako has announced they are to part ways. Ronnefalk made a surprise departure from long time chassis sponsor HB Racing and joined the new brand 2-years ago. Formed from the JQ brand, the new partnership delivered a European Championship and 2nd place at the World Championship in the hands of the Swede in 2022 however this year they haven’t been able to build on the initial success. Issuing a joint statement Mayako said, ‘The 2023 season is coming to an end, and Mayako Performance International would like to thank David Ronnefalk for his contribution to the successful launch of the brand over the last 2 years. This included a European Championship, RCGP Championship, 2nd place at the IFMAR World Championships, DNC eBuggy Win, and numerous other wins and podiums. We would like to wish David all the best for the future, and look forward to many tough battles on the track.’

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