Red RC » Racing

February 23, 2026

Ongaro opens Italian National Champs with double win

The four round 2026 1:8 Buggy AMSCI Italian National Championship kicked off over the weekend with 10-time consecutive Champion Davide Ongaro doing the double with wins in Nitro & eBuggy. Racing at the Nitro Plaza Off Road Marigllanella track near Naples, qualifying would see Ongaro’s Team Associated top the ranking with 3 TQ runs ahead of the Sworkz of Mattia Polito, who took the opening round, and Xray’s Alex Zanchettin. After Semi finals however it was Polito who would start on pole for the 45-minute main from Ongaro and Serpent’s Giuseppe Tescione. Despite laying down the fastest lap of the race, Polito wouldn’t be able to deny Ongaro the win. They would be joined on the podium by Mugen Seiki’s Burak Kilic, the Turkish racer winning the Last Chance Fnal to come from 13th in the grid to deny the WIRC of Andrea Trevisan a Top 3 finish. In eBuggy Onagro also took the TQ and win ahead of Polito with Trevisan completing the podium.

Image: Mauro Ongaro [Facebook]

February 23, 2026

2026 IFMAR 1:10 IC Track World C/ship Stage 1 Report

IFMAR, the World governing body of RC racing, has published the Stage 1 report for the 2026 1:10 Nitro Touring Car World Championship which will be hosted by Club Automodellistico 5 Colli a decade after the iconic track staged the previous European hosting of the race. The 11th running of the championships, it will take place from September 4th to 12th in the medieval town of Gubbio in central Italy and given the nations unofficial title as ‘the world capital of nitro onroad racing’ it is expected to attract a large and competitive entry. In 2016 it was Dominc Greiner who became World Champion with a flawless drive ahead of then Serpent team-mate Alessio Mazzeo, who gave the local crowd plenty to cheer about, with then reigning 1:8 World Champion Simon Kurzbuch completing the podium for Shepherd just ahead of Bruno Coelho. Since then the track has hosted the 2022 IFMAR ISTC World Championship, Coelho taking the win on that occasion, with the club highly regarded for its strong organisation and presentation of races. The previous two 1:10 Nitro Touring Car World Championships where staged in Thailand, the 2024 race held at Huge RC in Bangkok after original host Costa Rica hit issues surrounding noise. Jilles Groskamp would take a hugely popular victory at the former ISTC World Champion Surikarn Chaidajsuriya owned track, to become only the second driver to win the biggest prize in both Electric and Nitro Touring Car. View the full 2026 Stage 1 Report here.

Source: IFMAR [ifmar.org]

February 20, 2026

Izsay & Hudy to lead Xray’s onroad effort at MIBO International

Fresh from racing at the famous TITC last weekend in Thailand, Adam Izsay and Xray’s chief touring car designer Martin Hudy are confirmed to lead the manufacturer’s onroad efforts at this year’s upcoming MBO International race in the Czech Republic. Having already confirmed defending MIBO International 2WD Buggy Champion Bartek Zalewski and reigning EFRA 2WD European Champion Martin Bayer will lead their offroad team at the fourth edition of the race on February 27-March 1st, Izsay, as the defending Pro-Stock Champion, will also try to defend his title as well as race in the Modified class. The man responsible for creating the cars they will race, the X4’26, Hudy will focus his attentions on the Pro Stock class, Xray drivers winning the category in all three previous editions of the Hrotovice based indoor event.

View MIBO International Roll of Honour here

February 19, 2026

JConcepts Pioneer 2.2″ 2WD Buggy Slim Front Wheel

JConcepts introduces a new option of its distinctive looking Pioneer wheel in the form of a slim front for the modern 2WD buggy class. The dimensional aspect of the wheels matches the IFMAR World Championship winning Mono wheels, have an industry standard offset and are produced in durable material, inner reinforcing ribs and stout 12mm hex area pack this design. The 4 pack of wheels will be available in popular colours bright white, and fluorescent yellow. In addition, the Florida brand will add retro pink and stealth black colours for additional options. JConcepts offer titanium screws that work perfectly with these wheels, available separately, and in two different colours, burnt blue, and stealth black.

View colour options here

February 16, 2026

Yokomo confirm Krapp for 4th consecutive MIBO outing

Having attended all three previous editions of MIBO International, Yokomo has confirmed its return for the 4th annual running of the popular Czech race where it will once again be represented by 2022 ISTC World Championship podium finisher Christopher Krapp. The Japanese manufacturer’s lead international driver & team manager travels to Hrotovice to take on Mugen Seiki’s defending Champion Ronald Volker and his team-mate Soren Sparbier plus a host of other top drivers over the weekend of February 27-March 1st. A unique event, MIBO International brings together both electric touring car and electric offroad racers on the same weekend with the building of two indoor carpet tracks side by side at the Sports V Hotel. With everything from the track, restaurant, bowling alley and hotel rooms all under one roof, the venue has always been popular with racers. With a capped entry limit, the relaxed 2 & a half day schedule means plenty of time in the evening to wind down and socialise over dinner after each day’s racing. You can find full details for the 2026 MIBO International Race and register to be on the grid via the Mibosport website by clicking here.

View MIBO International Roll of Honour here

February 15, 2026

Easy A1 win for Orlowski as Coelho crashes out

Michal Orlowski has won the opening A-Main at the TITC, Schumacher’s defending Champion getting the win a lot easier than expected as main challenger Bruno Coelho crashed out on the first full lap. Starting from second, Coelho piled the pressure on the Top Qualifier on the opening lap but on the first full speed entry into the sweeper at the end of straight, the cars having lined up for the start a lap earlier on the straight, he came in too tight launching his Infinity over the kerb and into the outside. Breaking a corner off the car, his A1 challenge was done much to the disappointment of the crowd lined-up around the track. While Orlowski gapped the field, the pressure now off the Polish driver, the attention was on the battle for second, Akio Sobue and Simon Lauter gapping 5th place starter Marc Rheinard. While Lauter looked like he might have something to mount a serious challenge on Sobue’s Axon over the final laps of the race, a number of small mistakes mean’t the Awesomatix driver couldn’t get close enough to attempt a pass. With Rheinard finishing 4th it was Viktor Wilck who was the top Infinity in P5 while Xray’s Jun Sawada rounded out the Top 6. In Open Brushless it was also an easy win for Top Qualifier Lukas Ellerbrock, his effort made easier by early contact behind him between Oliver Bultynck and Natthawat Rungcharat. With RC Maker’s Shimazaki Shinya taking up second he would later crash out allowing Rungcharat’s Xray through to second with Bultynck’s Awesomatix getting 3rd.

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February 14, 2026

Orlowski to defend TITC title as Top Qualifier

Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski will defend his TITC title in Bangkok tomorrow from pole position after taking a somewhat anti-climatic final qualifier at RC Addict this evening to become Top Qualifier once again at the iconic race. His closest challenger, Bruno Coelho had injected a level of excitement into proceedings when he took the penultimate qualifier to set the stage for a showdown but the World Champion didn’t have the pace in the ‘Happy Hour’ evening conditions to prevent Orlowski taking his fourth TQ run of the event. While Orlowski and Coelho have the edge on the rest of the field, Akio Sobue again put in another Top 3 run and that’s where the 2-time Champion will start from, many predicting the Axon driver might in fact have locked in the best grid position should, as we have seen in the past, fireworks go off at the front. A great day from Simon Lauter sees the race’s 2024 Open Brushless class winner line up fourth on the grid ahead of team-mate Marc Rheinard, the chances of the 3-time World Champion winning again in Thailand two decades after his single TITC win looking a tall order. While many full factory drivers had their struggles and failed to make the A-Main, Korean racer Ji-Heon Yoo made Awesomatix the best represented manufacturer on the grid securing P6 ahead of Infinity’s Viktor Wilck, Xray’s Jin Sawada, Axon’s Hayato Ishioka, and Tamiya’s Souta Goto who got the tie break on the Mugen Seiki of 2024 Top Qualifier Ronald Volker to complete the grid. In Open Brushless having qualified & finished P2 last year, Lukas Ellerbrock is the Top Qualifier ahead of Awesomatix team-mate Oliver Bultynck who TQ’d the final qualifier. Winner of Q4, Thailand’s Natthawat Rungcharat starts 3rd for Xray.

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February 14, 2026

Coelho grabs Q4 at TITC, all to play for in final qualifier

Bruno Coelho has grabbed a TQ run in the penultimate round of qualifying at the TITC, the Infinity driver ending the dominance of defending Champion Michal Orlowski at the Bangkok classic. With the heats reseeded for Day 2 of qualifying, it was Orlowski who took all three of yesterday’s qualifiers who led away followed by Coelho and new to the top heat Akio Sobue. With it looking like it was going to be more of the same from Orlowski once things settled down, a super strong finish from Coelho would see the World Champion grab the TQ by 16/100ths of a second from his biggest touring car rival – the large crowd showing their appreciation for the run in anticipation of the showdown his performance has created for the ‘Happy Hour’ final qualifier. Putting together some impressive runs from the second fastest heat yesterday, joining the top heat Sobue would improve his counting runs by setting the third fastest time ahead of Awesomatix pairing Marc Rheinard and Simon Lauter. In Open Brushless we would see the potential for a qualifying clean sweep also disappear. Having made a slow start to the heat, overnight TQ holder Lukas Ellerbrock would get caught up in another drivers incident and end up with an 18.4-second lap, his fastest of the run being a 14.862. Up front it was Thai Xray driver Natthawat Rungcharat who took the round TQ ahead of the Awesomatix’s Olivier Bultynck and Xpress’ Mongkolphan Lomrose.

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