Red RC » Racing

April 7, 2026

Inaugural FEMCA GT C/ship to be relocated from Vietnam

Asia’s RC racing governing body FEMCA has announced that the impressive new X-RC Complex in Lam Dong, Vietnam, will now not host the inaugural Asian 1:8 Nitro GT Championship due to the delayed opening of the areas new airport. Announced last November and originally scheduled to take place from July 17-19th, the event had attracted a lot of European interest with World Champion Alessio Mazzeo, European Champion Natanaele Senesi, and Spanish Champion Raul Daras Anton all intending to travel to the inaugural race that crowns the official Champion of Asia. With Vietnam hoping to return to host a future edition of the championship once the airport is opened, it appears Australia has stepped in in offering to host the 2026 event with the moved also expected to result in a new date being scheduled. Making the announcement on Facebook, FEMCA posted, ‘Racers, due to the airport opening being delayed, the journey to the new track will take on extra logistical challenge and will not be ideal. After discussions with the the organizer, it was decided that XRC will not host the race this year and will come back again when the new airport has finally been opened allowing for easier access to the venue. Another venue/country has come forward to request hosting the race and they are in the final process of getting everything in place. Announcements will follow once confirmation is provided.’

Source: FEMCA [Facebook]

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]

April 7, 2026

Thailand, South Korea, and Australia in running for IFMAR Worlds as racers asked for feedback

Continuing its process to reschedule the 1:12 and ISTC World Championships which should have concluded over the Easter weekend, IFMAR has e-mailed all registered drivers for the cancelled Chinese event a questionnaire to seek their input on 3 new potential host venues. Forced to cancel the originally planned back to back 1:12 and Touring Car Worlds just two weeks before it was due to start after the Hongyu GDC track failed to secure the necessary government approvals, the governing body are now in discussions with tracks in three countries in the FEMCA Bloc who have expressed interest in staging the championships. GRC (Galerno Racing Circuit) in Seoul in South Korea has the option to host the ISTC on its outdoor track and 1:12 on its indoor facility. HUGE RC in Bangkok, Thailand, which has hosted two Nitro Touring Car World Championships, can host both categories indoor, while John Grant International Raceway in Sydney Australia, hosts of both a 1:8 Onroad and 1:8 GT World Championship can run both events outdoor. Racers have been asked to rate each venue as Preferred, Acceptable, or Undesirable. In terms of timing racers have been asked to choose from periods of Early August 2026 – Late August 2026, Mid October 2026 – Early November 2026, Mid November 2026 – Early December 2026, Late January 2027 – Early March 2027, or Mid March 2027 – Late April 2027. Responses to the survey will be shared amongst the IFMAR Board of Directors and representatives from each of the four IFMAR member Blocs with racers having until the 20th April 2026 to contribute their input so IFMAR can progress with planning.

Source: IFMAR [Facebook]

April 6, 2026

Phend wins Psycho Nitro Blast

The 19th edition of the Tennessee based Psycho Nitro Blast took place over the Easter weekend where Xray’s Dakotah Phend took the win, completing a nitro double at the indoor race with the Buggy and Truggy victories. With just two rounds of qualifying it was Team Associated’s Brandon Rose who topped the opening round of Nitro Buggy with Phend topping Q2 which proving faster who secure the latter the overall TQ. Behind Sworkz’s Camden Lime secured P3 on the grid ahead of Tekno’s Spencer Heckert and Sworkz’s Silver State winner Mason Fuller with Xray’s Tater Sontag completing the Top 6. Doing the double last year, a repeat of his 2024 result, Ryan Maifield who qualify P13 for the 18 car A-Main. In the 30-minute final, Rose would take the early lead after a number of drivers executed their ‘Joker’ laps and who stay out front until the final minutes when Phend execute his shorter Joker lap to take the lead with 2-laps remaining. He would take the win by 2.5 seconds from Rose with Dirt Nitro Challenge winner Seth Van Dalen completing the Top 3 ahead of Lime and Team Associated’s Spencer Rivkin who started P11. In Nitro Truggy, having qualified P10 Phend took the win by 9-seconds from Top Qualifier Fuller with Maifield coming home 3rd. In eBuggy, Rivkin took the win by just 0.081 from Rose with the Sparko of Top Qualifier Jonah Wilson 3rd at the end of the 10-minute encounter.

Image: JConcepts [jconcepts.net]

April 6, 2026

’26 IFMAR 1:8 Nitro Offroad World C/ship Stage 1 Report

RC racing’s World governing body IFMAR has published the Stage 1 report for the 2026 1:8 Nitro Offroad World Championship which will be hosted by Thornhill Racing Circuit in the United States from the end of September. The Texas track, which is situated on 13.9 acres complex and has the unique feature of its 120′ x 200′ dirt track being fully covered, will stage the 20th running of the World Championship for the category from September 27th to October 3rd. 2026 marks the 40th anniversary of the crowning of the inaugural champion Frederic Vesseyre in France in 1986 and a decade since David Ronnefalk won the last US staged Worlds with victory in Las Vegas in 2016. As the current World Champion Team Associated’s Davide Ongaro will chase a record extending 4-in-row at Thornhill but the Italian will face strong opposition from US drivers as they look to become the first to win the sport’s biggest prize on home soil. This will be only the 4th time the Worlds has been stage in the United States.

View more Stage 1 Report here

March 31, 2026

Inaugural All Japan RC Motorcycle Championship

The first-ever All Japan Radio Control Motorcycle Championship was held at the K2 International Circuit, formerly known as Keitune Circuit, in Chiba over the weekend. The event featured three classes: Superbike, Stock Bike, and 1:4 Motard, with a total of 28 entries across six qualifying rounds and three finals. In the Superbike class, Andrew Ting dominated, achieving TQ in qualifying and pole-to-win victories in all three finals. In the Stock Bike and Motard classes, Toshinori Yanagisawa participated in both and achieved a remarkable double victory. This event served as a significant step towards raising awareness of the radio control motorcycle market, fostering skill improvement among the participants and demonstrating the importance of hosting such a large-scale competition.

View Stock Bike and 1:4 Motard Podiums here

March 30, 2026

24th Hobby Expo China

First held in 2001 and having establish itself as Asia’s most influential hobby and model exhibitions, April 17-19 will see the staging of the 24th edition of Hobby Expo China. Taking place in the Beijing Exhibition Centre in the capital city and covering 25,000 square metres of exhibition space, last year the expo welcomed more than 70,000 visitors who were greeted by more than 320 international & Chinese exhibitors showcasing their products and also using the opportunity to unveiled new products. One such exhibitor was Taiwan’s Hong Nor who gave its first public showing of its XB5 1:8 Nitro Buggy release which has proven a hugely successful return for the manufacturer to the competition offroad market. HEC has become a key platform for connecting global brands, distributors, and hobby enthusiasts across the entire model industry and is the country’s only International hobby exhibition approved by the Ministry of Commerce in China. It also brings together the entire industry chain, from design and manufacturing to distribution and retail. HEC serves too as a key gateway for international companies seeking commercial opportunities and market access in China. With Chinese manufacturers having become key established brands in the RC racing scene, Hobbywing and Flysky are among the home manufacturers taking part in the HEC while international exhibitors include legacy brands like Kyosho and Futaba. Red RC will be making the trip to Beijing to visit the 2026 Hobby Expo China which in addition to two halls of RC car related products also has halls covering RC aircraft and boats, diecast cars, scale models (military, civil, railway, aerospace), figures, collectibles, creative models, model-making tools & materials, and additive manufacturing for 3D printing.

View Floor Plan & more images here

March 30, 2026

Ripoll gets title defence off to perfect start

Xray’s top international 1:8 Onroad racer Maxime Ripoll has got the defence of his French National title off to the perfect start with a dominant performance at the opening round of the 2026 Championship. The first encounter of the 5 round FFVRC Championship was hosted by the BMVRC club in the south east of the country with over 70 entries. Greeted by cold weather conditions, rain would effect qualifying with just 2 of the 4 scheduled rounds run but with his time from Q1 it was Ripoll who took the Elite class TQ with his Max engined RX8 ahead Baptiste Jimenez and Jules David. In the final Ripoll and Jimenez held the top 2 positions for the opening 20-laps before the later hot problems and soon retired. With the fastest lap of the race, Ripoll would take a comfortable victory over the No.8 car of Christophe Louis who finished just held off Stephane Riccobono.

Image: Maxime Ripoll [Facebook]