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September 10, 2026

Resurfacing work starts at Dutch Rucphen track

Well known Dutch onroad track Rucphen, and home of veteran 1:8 Onroad racer turned livestream commentator John Ermen, is getting a new surface after 21-years of racing on the current one. Ground works has started ahead of the new asphalt being laid next week, this will be the third resurfacing of the track since it was build in 1985. Last surfaced in 2001, that project overseen by Ermen’s late father, one of the first challenges of the latest project was securing an contractor. Talking to 5 different companies, 3 didn’t feel they could meet the technical spec required by the club – not all asphalt is equal. With the M.A.C. de Baanbrekers club founded in 1978, and made up of 110 members and growing, the Rucphen track is popular with 1:5 racers with Ermen saying they have a very specific asphalt they require to accommodate all classes plus it needs to be super flat. A host of 1:10 and 1:8 Onroad European Championships plus 1:5 EFRA GPs, the track has a current contract to host Euro Nitro Series race til 2030. As part of the track upgrades, the club are building new curbs with greater infield coverage to stop 1:5 cars from running over the grass and bringing dirt on to the track. The track will also lay seven timing loops to give the track a host of race data. This will be made up of a primary and backup loop, three sectors, a speed trap, plus pit in and pit out loops. With each requiring its only transponder the club are keen to anyone who might like to sponsor a decoder. Working together Pullstart.tv for broading events, they are planning to integrate an overlay each drivers the pit stop times on the feed. Choosing the start of the off season to do the works and then giving the surface tome to settle before the new season, Ermen said the hope to have all the work completed by October.

View more track work images here

September 10, 2026

Day 2 of Qualifying cancelled at Nitro Touring Worlds

With racers waking up to heavy rain in Gubbio, Italy, this morning, following a meeting of the International Jury it has been officially announced that today’s track action at the IFMAR 1:10 Nitro Touring Car has been cancelled. This means qualifying is now officially complete with the results of the four round of qualifying run yesterday the final official ranking with 2 from 4 rounds counting. This confirms Balestri as the Top Qualifier with Filippo Domanin, Naoto Matsukura and Kyle Branson joining him directly in Saturday’s Main final. In an official communication to team managers, IFMAR said they had ‘Unanimously’ decided to cancel race program of today before giving detail of the new schedule for Friday’s Lower Finals that will start with a 30-minute free practice before a round of grouped practice for drivers from the 1/256B finalist to 1/16A finalist. Saturday’s Main final day will start the same practice schedule. Thankfully after today’s rain, the weather for the rest of event looks more promising and most importantly dry.

View full IFMAR communication here

September 9, 2026

Dominant day sees Balestri secure TQ honours in Gubbio, again!

A decade after he claimed his first World Championship pole position, Dario Balestri will once again line-up as the Top Qualifier at the IFMAR 1:10 Nitro Touring Car World Championship after a dominant display of driving on the opening day of qualifying in Gubbio, Italy. Opening the day with a very convincing Q1 performance ahead of defending World Champion Jilles Groskamp, the Infinity driver would go on top all four qualifiers each time ahead of different driver. With expected rain tomorrow seeing the schedule revised from 3 rounds to running a 4th round, a rain shower would delay proceedings just before the half way mark of Q4 with 5pm in the evening looking more like night time as some very threaten rain clouds hovered over the track, but they would get the round completed just as the sunset. While the outcome tomorrow, even if they do get to run the final two rounds, is irrelevant to Balestri’s status as he is locked in as the Top Qualifier, their could be some movement in the magic Top 4, all directly qualifying into the 1-hour title decider. Counting a P2 from Q3 with a P3 from Q4, Xray’s Filippo Domanin holds P2 ahead of Naoto Matsukura and Kyle Branson, the British driver jumping ahead of Groskamp as he took 2nd in the final qualifier after a mistake from Matsukura. Having started out Day 1 of qualifying strongly with a P2, unfortunately that would be the highlight of Groskamp’s day and counting a P5 from Q2, he lies fifth in the overnight rankings.

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September 9, 2026

2 from 2 for Balestri as Matsukura closest challenger

Dario Balestri made it 2 from 2 in qualifying at the IFMAR 1:10 Nitro Touring Car World Championship in Italy, the Infinity driver again leading a 1-2 for the reigning World Champion manufacturer, this time however the gap much smaller to second fastest Naoto Matsukura. With an overcast Q1, the sun broke through the clouds for Q2, making for a slower track but learning from his mistakes in the first one Matsukura put in a error free run to get to within a second of Balestri who again was the only driver to manage 27-laps. Taking the same approach as Matsukura after he had two mistakes in the morning, Xray’s Filippo Domanin completed the Top 3, the finish order the same as how they seeded after practice after a missed lap for the Italian was picked up on the backup timing computer. With their star driver Toni Gruber struggling so far this week, an improved Q2 netting him a P6 for the round, it was returning 2018 podium finisher Kyle Branson who lead the Capricorn challenge. He would post the fourth fastest time ahead of defending Champion Jilles Groskamp while Alex Thurston who took his Mugen Seiki to P3 in the opening round set the 7th fastest time.

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September 9, 2026

Balestri takes opening qualifier at Worlds as rain looms in Gubbio

Infinity’s Dario Balestri has taken the opening round of qualifying at IFMAR 1:10 Nitro Touring Car World Championship, the run even more important with the threat of rain looming at the Gubbio track in Italy. The top seed after yesterday’s timed practice which took place in sunny conditions, the first day of qualifying at Miniautodromo Internazionale Mario Rosati saw racers greeted by overcast conditions with very slight drops of rain even falling as the top two heats completed their the first of their six scheduled run. Originally set to be a day consisting of 3 rounds, with tomorrow looking like it will be rained out, the organisers have now revised the schedule to run four rounds today with the best 2 of 4 to count. Behind Balestri, it was reigning World Champion Jilles Groskamp who was second fastest but some bit back on his team-mate who was the only one to run 27-laps over the 7-minutes. Seeding P5, British driver Alex Thurston completed the Top 3, saying like Groskamp, it was a result of consistency rather than outright speed. Second fastest in seeding 2018 World Champion Naoto Matsukura had a mistake on his opening run that left him P20 of the 114 drivers to post a time. Competing the Top 3 on seeding, up & coming Italian talent Filippo Domanin would also have two mistakes on his run one involving another driver leaving the quick Xray driver to register a P8.

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September 8, 2026

2026 Asian Buggy Championships Rd 4, Indonesia – Chassis Focus Index

Indonesia played host to the season finale of the Cayote/VP Pro backed Asian Buggy Championships over the weekend, with West Side Raceway in Jakarta the battle ground that brought the fourth season of the high profile Asia based 1:8 Offroad championship to a close. It would prove to be a big weekend for Team Associated as their drivers took both the Nitro and eBuggy wins on the impressive Adrian Wicaksono designed dirt track. Securing the TQ honours, Alex Bernadzik went on to win the 1-hour final, the Australian claiming his first international race victory. It was also a major win for Hyunkyu Jung, the talented Korean teenager winning eBuggy ahead of Top Qualifier Pekko Iivonen. We got to photograph both winning buggies for our Chassis Focus as well as the title winning Sparko of new 2026 Asian Buggy Championship double Champion Jayden Edmunds. In total we featured buggies from five different manufacturers including all three nitro buggy podium finishers and fourth place, all representing different car manufacturers. In case you missed any of the Chassis Focus’ during our coverage of the race, we have compiled them all here in our latest Chassis Focus index.

View Chassis Focus Index here

September 8, 2026

Harper wins final round of British Championship at Adur

Having already secured the overall BRCA British Touring Car Championship title at Round 4 in West London last month, Schumacher’s Elliott Harper wrapped up his campaign with another win at the season finale. Round 5 took place at the Adur track where Harper would secure the TQ ahead of Matthieu Dambrine and Chris Grainger. With the back to back National Champion winning both legs of the A-Main, the podium would be the same order as they qualified. In 17.5 Stock it was Finley Whitelock who took his first National TQ ahead of Ollie Payne and Sam Nicholls, but taking both A-Mains it as Payne who claimed the win ahead of the Top Qualifier with Nicholls third. In FWD, Ethan Southall took the TQ and win.

Image: Schumacher [Facebook]

September 7, 2026

Double Buggyland win for Ongaro

Buggyland 12 + 1, the 13th edition of the signature event of Spanish track builder Miguelo Izquierdo Rodriguez, took place over the weekend where it was Team Associated’s Davide Ongaro who took the double win. Missing last year’s event due the 1:10 Offroad Worlds in Australia, having done the Buggyland double in 2024, Ongaro would dominate the weekend securing the TQ before going on to take 1-hour final by 20-seconds from the Sworkz of fellow Italian Mattia Polito. Setting the fastest lap of the final, Polito would have a good battle with team-mate & 2025 winner Juan Carlos Canas in the closing stages of the race. Qualifying 5th, the Spaniard would complete the podium 1.5 seconds back on Polito. Former European B Champion David Todd finished P4 having qualified his Mugen Seiki in 8th, the Top 4 all finishing on the lead lap. Behind the Spaniard, Sparko’s Adrian Pariente and Tekno’s Joao Figueiredo rounded out the Top 6. In eBuggy it was reigning European Champion Figueiredo who topped seeding but come qualifying Ongaro took the TQ ahead of team-mate & eBuggy World Champion Marcus Kaerup and Todd. Qualifying P6, Polito would force the decider to go to A3 as he won A2 ahead of Ongaro but repeating his A1 win in the latter took the overall. They would be joined on the podium Adrian Pariente.

Image: Matrix Tires [Facebook]