Red RC » Electric

August 10, 2025

Lutz crowned RC Bike World Champion

Germany’s Marc Lutz is the new RC Bike World Champion, the two time Vice Champion finally taking the top step on the 1:5 Superbike podium at the 19th running of the championships which took place in Brisbane, Australia. Hosted by Queensland Radio Circuit Car Racing Association at England Park Raceway, this being the first time the World Championships was held outside of Europe, qualifying would see Lutz secure the TQ honours for Italian manufacturer RG Evolution ahead of Melbourne’s David Varricchio as he topped 4 of the 5 rounds. With his Jabber Two prototype, Andy Bishop completed the Top 3 on the grid ahead of former IFMAR 1:8 Onroad World Champion Kenji Osaka from Japan. In the triple finals, Lutz would win A1 and A2, coming under late pressure in the second encounter from Varricchio, to secure the title while a win in a rain delayed A3 promoted Osaka to Vice Champion. A 2nd in A1 and 3rd in A3 secured Bishop the final step on the podium ahead of Varricchio, the owner of the World Championship title sponsor Holeshot Hobbies. In Stock Bike, it was Singapore’s EZ Apandi Ismail who secured the TQ but from 2nd on the grid it was Italian Massimiliano Ciccacci who became the new World Champion after a battle with defending Stock Bike Champion Bernhard Renner from Austria. While Ciccacci won A1, third place qualifier Renner took A2 meaning it all came down to A3. Ciccacci’s Jabber delivered win ahead of Singapores’s Andrew Ting, the final podium order being Ciccacci, Renner and Ting, the latter two using RG Evolution bikes. The next RC Bike World Championships will be hosted by the A.S.D Model Drivers Arezzo track in Rome, Italy, in 2027.

View Stock Bike podium here

August 9, 2025

2025 IFMAR 1:8 Elec. Offroad Worlds – Stage 2 Report

IFMAR has published the Stage 2 Report for the upcoming inaugural 1:8 Electric Offroad World Championship which takes place in the northern Portuguese city of Barcelos. Beginning with 7 rounds of practice on Tuesday, August 26th, the event will see the first ever eBuggy World Champion crowned on Saturday, 30th of August, with the final entry expected to reach just over 120 drivers. While a predominantly European entry, one new addition is 4 time 1:10 Offroad World Champion Ryan Cavalieri who joins a relatively small team from the Offroad powerhouse nation that is the United States. Among those making the trip from Stateside are former 1:10 Offroad World Champion Ryan Maifield and reigning ROAR National Champion Dakotah Phend. With an official entry list due to be published next week by IFMAR, on the European side triple back to back reigning Nitro Buggy World Champion and back to back European eBuggy Champion Davide Ongaro heads the list of title favourites. That list also include Juan Carlos Canas, winner of the Barcelos track’s annual signature International Buggy Challenge race, and David Ronnefalk who just won took his fourth European Nitro Buggy Championship title there last month having also won his previous title at the track in 2022.

View Stage 2 Report here

August 5, 2025

2025 EWS International – Announcement

Headed up by well known race announcer Oli Meggitt, the team behind the EWS International has announced details for the 2025 edition of the Electric Touring Car race. Now established as one of the UK’s premier independent events on the European Touring Car calendar, the race returns on its established weekend of 6-7 December, 2025, with entries set to open on September 15th. Catering again for Modified Touring, Stock Touring and Front Wheel Drive, interest from overseas drivers is already high as drivers will compete against the best from the UK. In addition to EWS International they also announced details for their popular five-round Essex Winter Series. The series will feature an un-changed format across the one-day events and there is also consistency in the race classes, with Modified and Stock (17.5) Touring continuing to use the Rush 30CPM tyre, whilst the Front Wheel Drive class uses the Ride TR09 tyre and the latest Hobbywing electronics combo.

View Essex Winter Series Calendar here

August 2, 2025

Ronnefalk crowned European 4WD Buggy Champion

David Ronnefalk is the new EFRA European 1:10 4WD Buggy Champion, the Xray driver taking the title for a third time after an exciting finals at the Hudy Arena in Slovakia. Starting from fourth on the grid, the back to back 2018/2019 Champion claimed his first electric European title since moving to Xray with victory over Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski and Xray’s 18-year-old young charger Bartek Zalewski. Fresh from winning the 2WD European title earlier in the week, it was Xray’s Martin Bayer who would again secured the overall TQ honours ahead of Orlowski, Zalewski, Ronnefalk and Team Associated’s Joona Haatanen. In A1, an early mistake from Bayer handed Orlowski the lead which he held to the end despite pressure from Zalewski who in turn was under pressure from Ronnefalk. A2 would see Bayer lead tone to tone shadowed by Orlowski until the 2023 Champion made a mistake with just 50-seconds on the clock allowing Ronnefalk through for second. All coming down to A3, it was the third encounter that provided the real excitement. After one & a half minutes of the drivers running in order, Orlowski executed a pass on Bayer, the Czech driver trying to come back at him until he rolled his Xray at the end of the straight at mid distance ending his chance of a European title double. This gave Orlowski a commanding lead as Zalewski came under pressure from Haatanen and Ronnefalk. With a minute to go Zalewski however was all over the prototype of Orlowski but a double pass from Haatanen and Ronnefalk suddenly dropped him to fourth. Then on the penultimate lap a mistake from Orlowski turned the race on its head. Haatanen briefly led before Ronnefalk forced a pass with further contact from Zalewski dropping him to third. Out front Ronnefalk lead the final lap to come home the winner from Zalewski with Daniel Kobbevik third from Haatanen, the win giving the Swede the overall title to go along with the 1:8 Nitro Buggy European title he won last month in Portugal. Orlowski with a 1 & 3 took second while a pair of seconds gave Zalewski the final step on the podium ahead of Bayer and Haatanen.

Image: Schumacher [Facebook]

July 30, 2025

Bayer takes first EFRA 2WD European title

An emotional Martin Bayer is the new EFRA 1:10 2WD Buggy European Champion, the Xray driver taking the title at the Hudy Arena indoor dirt track in Slovakia 12-years after he held the 4WD European title. With the race coming down to A3, it was Bayer’s team-mate David Ronnefalk who finished second with Team Associated’s Joona Haatanen completing the podium. In qualifying four different drivers produced TQ runs, the first coming from Bayer with a second TQ run in Q5 declaring him the Top Qualifier. Fastest in Q3, Schumacher’s defending Champion Michal Orlowski would start second ahead of former Champions Ronnefalk, who took Q2, and Sworkz’s Joern Neumann who set the pace in round 4 of qualifying. In A1, the Top 3 ran in close order for the first 3-minutes until a mistake from Orlowski that dropped him into a battle with Team Associated’s Joona Haatanen but contact put them both out of the hunt for the win. Coming under pressure from Ronnefalk, Bayer was driving defensive and with just over half a minute to go the Swede made a pass for the lead and made it stick. In A2 we would see Orlowski’s title defence end just after the 1-minute mark with a mistake coming onto the back straight. With Ronnefalk promoted to second he chased down Bayer but the Czech driver held on for the win while Team Associated’s Joona Haatanen completed the Top 3. With A3 an Xray shootout, Ronnefalk didn’t take long to get passed Orlowski setting things up for a great race but then a series of mistakes dropped him out of contention allowing Bayer to take the win ahead of team-mate Bartek Zalewski, the Polish driver finishing fourth overall.

Image: EFRA [Facebook]

July 27, 2025

Sobue regains Japanese National title

Having opened the month of July with a debut international win for Axon’s new TC10/4 Touring Car at eSIC in Singapore, Akio Sobue has concluded the month by adding the Japanese National Championship title to the car’s credentials. Racing at the Tsukuba RC Park, formerly known as the World famous Yatabe Arena, former champion Sobue would secure the TQ in qualifying ahead of Xpress paring Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa & Yugo Nagashima with Infinity’s Ryosuke Yamamoto securing P4 while team-mate & defending Champion Jin Sawada qualified P8. In the finals Sobue took A1 ahead of Yanagisawa however in A2 under pressure from the Xpress driver they touched side by side on the front straight on lap 4 resulting in Sobue getting stuck the the corner marker. With Yanagisawa taking the win from Nagashima and Sobue 5th it was all to play for in A3. Setting the fastest lap, Sobue would enjoy his biggest winning margin finishing 6/10ths up on Yanagisawa to lift the title for a 5th time with Yanagisawa (2nd) and Nagashima (3rd) joining him on the podium.

Image: Atsushi Hara [Facebook]

July 27, 2025

Orlowski goes 12-in-a-row at ETS Aigen

Michal Orlwoski has extended his winning streak in the ETS to 12, the Schumacher ace winning a shortened rain effected Round 2 at Aigen in Austria. Battling rain interruptions throughout the event, it would be Orlowski who secured the overall TQ after topping 2 of the three 4-minute qualifiers that they managed to complete. Taking the second round of qualifying Marc Rheinard’s Awesomatix would secure P2 ahead of Mugen Seiki’s Ronald Volker and Infinity’s Bruno Coelho, the World Champion having a tough seeding and finding himself running in the third fastest heat. With Sunday’s weather showing little possibility of any racing, it was decided to end Saturday’s action with the Modified finals. In A1 reigning ETS Champion Orlowski controlled the race from the front followed home by Rheinard and team-mate Simon Lauter, who benefited from contact between Coelho and Volker. In A2 it was another perfect drive from Orlowski, an early spin by Rheinard making his drive to 12-wins a row that bit easier. Coelho would take second ahead of Volker after the German succumbed to the intense pressure from his Portuguese rival. Winning A3 Rheinard locked in second overall while Volker held off Coelho in second to claim the final step on the podium. Lauter would finish 5th overall behind Coelho with the second of the three new Infinity IF14 Speciales in the final securing P6 with Viktor Wilck. With the rest of the classes decided on qualifying order, it was Awesomatix’s Olivier Bultynck who made it two from 2 having also won the season opener at Apeldoorn. Behind the Belgian, Louis Kretschmer made it an Awesomatix 1-2 with the ARC of Enrico Jung in third.

Image: Schumacher [Facebook]

July 24, 2025

2025 Asian Buggy Championships Rd 3, Australia – Chassis Focus Index

Last weekend Australia played host to the third round of the Cayote backed Asian Buggy Championships, with the Pine Pills Dirt Racing club in Brisbane welcoming its biggest international entry yet. The third year the oil treated dirt track has been a stop on the Asian Buggy Championship calendar, the race would see Infinity’s Kouki Kato make his eBuggy debut with the Japanese manufacturer’s new prototype electric buggy and win, while in a rain shortened Nitro Buggy final Alex Bernadzik took his Team Associated to victory. Unfortunately we were unable to photograph the winning Electric and Nitro Buggies – Kato’s eBuggy still at prototype stage and Bernadzik’s RC8 B4.1 featuring special rear hubs that the US manufacturer was not yet ready to show to the public. Red RC’s first time to visit the highly praised Pine Pills Dirt Racing track, which is locate in very nice setting of the James Drysdale Sporting Complex, during our coverage of the race we did still get the opportunity to photograph 8 buggies from 6 different manufacturers. In case you missed any of the Chassis Focus’ during our coverage ‘Down Under’, we have compiled them all here in our latest Chassis Focus index.

View Chassis Focus Index here