Red RC » Racing

April 30, 2026

Boost for US Nitro Onroad scene as Groove R/C Raceway nears completion

In a major boost for Nitro Onroad Racing in the United States and in particular the Mid West, The Groove R/C Raceway in Sheridan, Illinois, took a significant step towards completion with the layout of its final asphalt surface. Located approximately an hour southwest of Chicago, the brand new track first broke ground last October. In April the drivers stand was lifted into position alongside the ribbon style track layout foundations and its raised pit lane. With ribbon style tracks less common in the US, the development of The Groove R/C Raceway is significant. A recent convert to 1:8 Nitro Onroad, the F1 of RC racing, famed race announcer Scotty Ernst summed up the importance of the asphalt being laid by posting ‘Well it is truly happening. A World class ribbon style track in the Midwest. Asphalt went down today so the dream is becoming a reality’. The track has already announced it’s first major event with the hosting of the inaugural United States Grand Prix on June 10-14.

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April 30, 2026

Ronald Volker talks FlySky

We have followed Ronald Volker’s career for quite some time, first meeting him in person at the conclusion of the inaugural ETS season at Andernach, Germany, in 2008 when he raced for Hot Bodies and pushed Atsushi Hara the win. Over the years we have tried to get the 2016 World Champion to ‘put pen to paper’ and give Red RC an insight into his racing. While we kind of missed the boat at a time when Ronald was just a driver, during his Yokomo days he literally did no work on the cars, now his duties are far wider. Not just racing for Mugen Seiki and being his own mechanic but also managing the Japanese manufacturer’s touring car race team. A long time Sanwa user, Ronald would be one of the first major touring car drivers to join FlySky as a sponsored driver and with the Chinese manufacturer just after unveiling their new premium Noble Mix transmitter at Hobby Expo China, he has sent us this first attempt at a column in which he gives his experience with the radio since making the switch. Take it away Ronald – ‘Since joining Flysky and running the Noble Pro Series of Radios for around 2.5 years, I am still amazed of the quality and functions. I visited Flysky and its office in late 2023 and could witness their dedication and motivation to become better and better and to be clearly seen as the top radio manufacturer. Most importantly, I’ve had zero failures or issues wherever I used it in the World. Everything is just simple and easy to use and manage – and there is even more to explore, the more you are willing to spend time with for.

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April 29, 2026

2026 Speed King Tour Rd2 – Report

The second round of the high profile Japanese Speed King Tour 2026 took place at the New Rush Next Circuit outdoor tarmac track in Chiba prefecture Japan last weekend where it was Xray’s Jin Sawada who dominated the Modified TC0 class from qualifying to final. His car showed overwhelming speed and nobody was able to catch him. Infinity driver Ryosuke Yamamoto finished second with the Xpress of Masaya Okazaki completing the podium. 2025 TC1 (Stock) class ‘Speed King’ Rento Sasaki still kept his speed and consistency with his XRAY car and made back to back win. Topic of this race was ‘back marker’ and the driver who managed smooth overtake got good result. Xpress driver Toyoki Yamada got second position of podium from 5th starting grid. Toshiaki Hirata finished 3rd. The TC2 class (G Force motor and ESC) A final race was a closely fought contest. Second place qualifier Atsushi Fujimaki won the race from Hiroyuki Tsurumi and Jin Endo finished 3rd from fifth on the grid. All 3 class races were a huge success and drivers are already focusing the next round which will be held at TM Circuit Wakayama outdoor tarmac track in Wakayama prefecture on May 24th.

View TC1 and TC2 podiums here

April 29, 2026

Teenager Langner joins Awesomatix

Awesomatix has announced there signing of promising 15-year-old German talent Phil Langner to its team. Previous representing Mugen Seiki, Langner has already built an impressive list of achievements and established himself as one of the most promising young drivers on the European scene taking this year’s ETS FWD Championship title. With speed, racecraft, and determination, he represents the future of RC racing. AS part of the Awesomatix line-up he will compete in ETS Pro Stock 17.5T and Euro 13.5T, alongside key events like the European Championship in Luxembourg, and the German Nationals. On the announced Langner said, ‘I am very happy to join Team Awesomatix after already driving their car privately from 2022 to 2025. It’s very exciting to work with this great team from now on and try to achieve the best possible results together. Thanks to Max Mächler for this opportunity.’

Source: Awesomatix [awesomatix.net]

April 28, 2026

Wins for Smith & Holdsworth at British 1:10 Buggy Nationals opener

The first round of the 6 round British 1:10 Offraad National Championships was hosted by the Potteries Model Car Club over the weekend where Schumacher’s Josh Holdsworth the 2WD win on Saturday before team-mate Ben Smith went one better on Sunday to win 4WD. 2WD qualifying would see Holdsworth secure the TQ honours ahead of Team Associated’s defending BRCA Champion Tommy Hall with Smith lining up P3. Winning the opening two encounters it was Holdsworth who claimed the first win of the season with voctry in A3 and a 2nd in A1 allowing Smith finish ahead of Hall. In 4WD it would be Smith who took the overall TQ ahead of Holdsworth with Xray’s Lee Martin 3rd. The back to back British Champion also of 4WD, Hall would kick off his title defence from P4. Unlike the previous day’s action, deciding the overall win would go all the way to A3. While Smth won A1, Martin took the A2 victory ahead of the Top Qualifier. In A3 it was the Team Associated of junior driver Daniel Pole who took the win from Smith the second was enough for Smith to bag the first win of the season. Overall Martin was the runner up with another podium for Holdsworth while Pole finished P4 and took the Junior Win. The next round of the championship will take drivers to Bingham Model Raceway in just 2-weeks time (May 9/10).

Image: Schumacher [Facebook]

April 28, 2026

2 from 2 for Ripoll in French Championship

Maxime Ripoll made it two from two over the weekend, the Xray driver winning the second round of the FFVRC French 1:8 Nitro Onroad Championship at the Celtic CPB Racing 35 track in Châteaubourg. In qualifier the World Championship finalist & defending French Champion would secure the TQ honours ahead of Baptiste Jimenez and Christophe Louis. Over the 45-minute final Ripoll, who took the Round 1 win last month, would eek out a gap to win by a lap over the Shepherd of Semi Finals winner Fabien Baranger. The Mugen Seiki of Louis, second at the season opener, completed the podium ahead of Jimenez who would set the fastest lap of the race and be the only driver to dip into the 14-second lap times.

Image: Maxime Ripoll [Facebook]

April 27, 2026

Ben Mohamed wins French National Round 2

Sparko’s Noha Ben Mohamed has won the second round of the French National 1:8 Nitro Buggy Championship which was hosted by the TTRC 90 club in Bermont in the northeast of the country. Ben Mohamed would top all three qualifying rounds to secure the overall TQ with Tekno driver Theo Lemaire securing second followed by Sworkz Jordan Lot and the Team Associated of defending Champion Clement Boda. Winning the faster of the two Semi finals Ben Mohamed would start on pole with Remy Bermudez winning the other Semi to start second. Racing the 45-minute final on a demanding track that would caught out a number of drivers, Ben Mohamed would have an intense battle with Round 1 Boda with the pair separated by just 2/10ths of a second at the line. Coming through from 8th on the grid Xray’s Rayan Medjoubi completed the podium ahead of Lot and Mugen Seiki’s Hugo Tavernon.

Image: Noha Ben Mohamed [Facebook]

April 27, 2026

Branson wins BRCA Nationals opener at Cotswolds

Kyle Branson has won the opening round of the BRCA British Touring Car Nationals. The first of the 5 championship rounds was stages at the Cotswold track where in practice reigning champion Elliott Harper would break the track record with his prototype Schumacher, Branson also managing to break 21 laps. In qualifying it was Branson who was fastest but only marginally over Harper. Topping 3 of the 4 rounds, Branson posted a 21/5:07.13 compared to Harpers 21/5:07.49. Behind Peter Eagles and Chris Grainger completed the Modified class Top 4. In the finals, the British Championship running double A-Mains, Branson won the first by 2.5-seconds from Harper with Grainger moving up to third. A2 would see Harper go for a gap but unfortunately spin out after side-by-side contact. Setting the fastest lap of the harper would manage to finish second just behind the winner with Eagles in third but overall it was the veteran Grainger who competed the podium. Round 2 of the championship will take drivers to Stafford on May 25th.

Image: Schumacher [Facebook]