Red RC » Events

November 5, 2026

Capricorn announce team for Asia Nitro Party

Italian manufacturer Capricorn has just announced a strong team line-up for the 2nd edition of the Asia Nitro Party at the world class Hongyu GDC track in China. Taking place from January 15-17, 2027 marks Capricorn’s official debut at the race as they field Toni Gruber in 1:8 Onroad, Kyle Branson in 1:10 Nitro Touring, and Gabriele Paloschi in 1:8 GT. Gruber becomes the latest World Champion set to visit the track in Foshan for the first time, the German sure to be a contender for the 1:8 win. Making an impressive return to nitro racing at the IFMAR Nitro Touring Car World Championships in Gubbio, Italy, this year, Branson also makes the trip to Hongyu GDC for the first time as does Italian Championship race winner Paloschi. A race that is quickly establishing itself as the international season opener in the same way Electric Touring Car racers have the TITC in Thailand, Capricorn’s factory entry further endorses the Asia Nitro Party international status which saw Infinity, Serpent, Genius Racing, Raptor, and O.S. Speed all send team drivers for the inaugural event. Attracting a high quality entry, with the multi circuit facility making a major impression on those visitors, it was Infinity’s Naoto Matsukura who took the 1:8 Onorad win from Italian Xray driver Filippo Domanin and Serpent’s Andrea Catanzani. In 1:8 GT, Frenchman Bernard-Alain Arnaldi took the win for Genius ahead of the Raptors of World Champion Alessio Mazzeo and Natanaele Senesi. With Southern China experiencing mild weather in January, the timing of the Asian Nitro Party is the perfect opportunity for European nitro racers to break-up the traditional Winter off-season and compete at an event that has already made a mark on establishing itself as a major annual event on the international nitro onroad race calendar. Red RC are looking forward to kicking off a busy season of race coverage by travelling to the city of Foshan and returning to this very impressive venue to cover the Nitro Party which will see the facility echo to the sound of nitro engines.

Source: Capricorn [capricornrc.com]

November 3, 2026

Hongyu GDC announces Kwok departure as Principal Manager

Having been the face of the world class RC facility that is Hongyu GDC in Foshan, China, it has been announced that Gavin Kwok has amicable concluded his relationship with Foshan Xiangyue Sports Technology Co., Ltd., the company behind the venue. The announcement was made that Kwok has officially departed his role as Principal Manager effective October 30, 2026. Only opened in September 2025, the Hongyu GDC International Racing Center was four years in the making with Kwok at the helm and using his own international racing experience to attract international drivers to the city of Foshan. While the track was dealt a major blow when it was forced to cancel the ISTC World Championship earlier this year, it successfully opened its first full season with the hosting of the Asian Nitro Party race which proved a massive international success. With the 2nd edition of this nitro onroad race already announced for January 15-17, 2027, and set to attract an even greater international attendance, Red RC understands that Kwok’s departure does not in any way effect the racing calendar at Hongyu GDC. Following the official announcement (see below), Kwok posted on his social media, ‘Looking back on these four years of building and running the race track, it has been an unforgettable journey. I am truly grateful to everyone who has given trust, support and companionship along the way. Being able to take part in and witness the gradual growth of this project is an incredibly precious experience for me. I have received many messages of concern recently, and there have been all sorts of rumours circulating. Please refer only to official announcements. Do not believe or spread unconfirmed information. With sincere gratitude, I wish everything the very best for the future.’

Read full statement here

November 2, 2026

Jung becomes Korean 1:8 Buggy National Champion

One of Korea’s promising young international talents, Team Associated’ s Hyunkyu Jung has claimed the country’s KMRCA 1:8 Nitro Buggy National title. Finishing runner-up at the 2025 Championships, Spain’s Daniel Pariente the winner, Jung would dominate racing at the ‘TheTrack’ in Gimpo in South Korea. With his eBuggy win at the season final of the Asian Buggy Championships in Indonesia one of the Jung’s 2026 international racing highlights, in qualifying for the Nationals Jung would top all three qualifiers to secure the TQ ahead of the Mugen Seiki of Tony Jeon and veteran Korean racer Dani Choi. Setting the fastest lap of the 1-hour final, Jung would take a comfortable win ahead of Choi, the Kyosho driver getting ahead of Jeon with them both finishing on the same lap.

Image: KMRCA [Facebook]

November 2, 2026

Polito crowned new Italian Champion

Mattia Polito is the new AMSCI Italian 1:8 Nitro Buggy Champion, the Sworkz driver securing the title with victory over reigning Champion Davide Ongaro. The fourth & final round of the championship took drivers to the Ongaroring where it was Ongaro, winner of the season opener, who took the TQ honours after the Team Associated driver topped 3 of the 4 qualifiers. Fastest in the final qualifier Polito would rank 2nd ahead of the Kilic brothers, Berkan in P3 with Round 3 winner Burak taking his Mugen Seiki to P4 ahead of Xray’s Alex Zanchettin. With Ongaro winning his Semi final he secured pole ahead of Kyosho’s Marco Baruffolo for the 45-minute concluding race of the 2026 season. In the final a close race would see Polito come through from fourth to win his second race of the season by 7-seconds from Ongaro, ending the multiple World Champion’s reign over the Italian National Championship. Burak Kilic would complete the Nitro podium. In eBuggy Ongaro, who already clinched the title at the previous round, took the TQ and win ahead of Baruffolo with Polito completing the podium.

Image: ModellismoRC [modellismorc.net]

November 2, 2026

Double JMRCA 1:10 Offroad titles for Kaino

The Japanese Federation JMRCA hosted their annual 1:10 Electric Buggy Nationals over the weekend where Mugen Seiki’s Yui Kaino completed the title double. Hosted again at RC Park Gojo, venue of the 2025 Championships, having taken the TQ in 2WD defending Champion Kaino went on to successfully defend his title ahead of the Associated of Infinity factory driver Kouki Kato with the Xray of Nana Kaiho completing the podium. In 4WD, it was again Kaino who took the TQ honours this time ahead of Kaiho with defending Champion Kato qualifying 3rd. In the triple finals the order would remain the same with Kaino the new champion.

Image: Kouki Kato [Facebook]

November 1, 2026

Hobby Culture Festival China – Planting Seeds for the Future!

While Friday was officially the opening day of the 2nd Edition of Hobby Culture Festival China (HCFC), it was Day 2 that really saw this interactive Expo come to life as we witnessed first hand how it was actively planting the seeds for the future of the hobbies it represents! Having walked in with ease on Friday morning while most people wrapped up their work week, on arriving at the Hangzhou International Expo Center on Saturday morning the queues where already out the door. With no school to attend, the stand out of those queues was the number of young kids – each and everyone of them buzzing with excitement waiting to check out the two halls of goodies inside. Impressed by the Expo organiser’s various interactive set ups we seen on Friday, now we were seeing how above all the noise of the thousands of visitors these were engaging kids and their families. Sitting in the media centre, every time a goal was scored over at the RC Soccer track the cheers & roars of the families rose above everything (so did the Refs whistle!) – that was kids & their parents having a very positive hands on first experience of RC and that was just one of many RC activities around the Expo. Of all the activities, one that really stood out for us was due to just how simple yet effective it was and how it was subtly ‘Planting Seeds for the Future’ with the kids. Getting the attention of 200 families (that’s almost 500 people) is not easy but with a simple car body painting competition the Expo was doing just that.

Continue reading here

October 30, 2026

Hobby Culture Festival China – Entertaining & Engaging the Crowds

Hobby Culture Festival China (HCFC) opened today and on arriving at the huge* Hangzhou International Expo Center for the very first time we were greeted by a very familiar face & good friend of Red RC, none other than Masami Hirosaka. The RC Racing legend is here at the 3-day show as a guest of the show organisers to give demonstrations & entertain the tens of thousands of visitors expected to attend this very much interactive Expo. After catching up with Masami and trying his unique ‘1 of 2’ hand built custom radios for size, we would later find out that his appearance on the show’s RC Rallying stand ties in nicely with a category that is currently enjoying huge growth in China. Chatting to well known Chinese industry figure YST over on the Hobbywing booth, he told us sales of RC Rally cars is witnessing huge growth thanks to its ‘play with it anywhere’ appeal. With both the Chinese National Crawler and Drifting Championships being staged at HCFC, with two very well presented ‘mini venues’ for each championship, while Masami is no stranger to drifting it appears he has been sucked in by crawling! Having checked out the Crawler course, he told us he now wants to have a go. On that request, the show organisers have told him they will see what they can do about getting him some track time in between the official running of what appears from our visit to Crawler pits to be a very busy National Championship schedule. One cool element of the main Crawler course, there being a number of courses for the different scales competing, is the real road going Volkswagen that is part of the course with competitors driving in through the back seats of the car. This is a pretty cool link up with Volkswagen who have branding and car information boards around the course. With the Crawling appearing to be a very family orientation competition, VW might be onto something with supplying the car as a element of the course!

Continue reading here

October 30, 2026

ROAR issues clarification on TC Body Approval List

Following its announcement on New Touring Car Body Rules earlier this month, ROAR has issued a clarification regarding it Body Approval List. The governing body for RC racing in the United States & Canada, said that while the Avalon Vortex will be removed from the list on December 31st, as it fails to meet the new GBS-II Touring Car rules, there are other bodies that some mistakenly concluded will also be removed. With 4-year approval terms that were due to naturally expire on December 31, 2026, in order to correct this misunderstanding ROAR has automatically extended the expiration date to October 31, 2027 for all legal TC bodies that would have otherwise expired naturally on December 31st. In the clarification ROAR also highlighted that there are other TC bodies that are likely to fail the GBS-II rules, but these bodies have never been submitted to them for inspection so were never on the ROAR-Approved list.

Read full Clarification post here