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November 9, 2025

Kato takes thrilling last lap SIGP victory in China

Infinity’s Kouki Kato has just taken one of the most exciting wins of his career, the Japanese driver winning the Sunpadow International Grand Prix after a thrilling last lap duel with Top Qualifier & majority race leader David Ronnefalk following 45-minutes of racing around the very challenging 3 Circles track in Xiamen. With Chinese host track of the 2017 1:10 Offroad World Championships famed for its challenging bumpy conditions, it looked like Ronnefalk had taken control of the race with the main battle being for second place between Kato and his team-mate Bruno Coelho. However a track that even the world’s best respect as being one of the most challenge there is, it didn’t take much for Ronnefalk’s lead to be eroded. Passed by Kato on lap 56 of 80, the 19-year-old with hold the former World Champion at bay for 9-laps until a mistake with 7-minutes remaining, the local crowd invested in the racing and providing exciting audio as the leading drivers fell foul of track conditions. Back in front and with the clock ticking down, Ronnefalk would again get tripped up by the track on the penultimate lap. Coming of the main straight side by side to start the final lap, just as the computer signalled the finish of the 45-minutes, the pair took the jump on to the back straight and touched in the air both buggies tumbling but Kato having the better luck landing on his wheels. While Ronnefalk tried to get back in touch over the remainder of the 34-seconds lap it wasn’t to happen and Kato took the win, the crowd appreciative of the thrilling finish. Behind, by over 8-seconds, it was once again Coelho, winner of the eBuggy finals, who completed the nitro podium while Pekko Iivonen and Jung Hyunkyu were best of the rest in fourth & fifth.

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November 9, 2025

Coelho takes eBuggy win at SIGP

Bruno Coelho has taken the eBuggy win at the annual Sunpadow International Grand Prix, the Infinity driver pocketing himself almost $2,800 for his efforts around the challenging 3 Circles track in Xiamen, China. Lining up as the Top Qualifier, the Portuguese driver taking pole position counting 2 TQ runs & a P2 from the 5-rounds of qualifying, it would be the Xray of 2024 winner David Ronnefalk who would be his biggest challenger in the finals. Starting from P2 on the grid having topped 2 qualifiers together with a P3, Ronnefalk would have the fastest car in A1 and while the Swede piled the pressure on Coelho he couldn’t find a way to the front, a number of mistake meaning he had to catch back up for repeated attempts. In A2 again Coelho wasn’t the outright fastest on the bumpy track but he had the consistency and after some early challenges from Ronnefalk he would take win to wrap up the overall victory. Ronnefalk’s challenge ultimately ended when he tangled with third place qualifier Kouki Kato, waiting on the Japanese driver who needed to be marshalled after the contact. With Kato’s Infinity recording the fastest lap he would finish 2nd ahead of Ronnefalk as they both retook the Mayako of Pekko Iivonen who buckled under the pressure while holding second going into the final stages of the race. With Coelho using A3 as a test session and not taking up pole position, the race would see Ronnefalk take the win ahead of Iivonen and Kouki, the latter have a costly off while holding second and having to work his way back up in to the Top 3. This result meant Ronnefalk (2nd) and Kato (3rd) would join Coelho on the eBuggy podium while Iivonen claimed fourth ahead of Team Associated’s Jung Hyunkyu and SIGP regular Joseph Quagraine.

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November 8, 2025

Ronnefalk is Top Qualifier at SIGP as Coelho takes Q5

David Ronnefalk is the Top Qualifier at the 2025 Sunpadow International Grand Prix, the Xray driver securing his direct stop in tomorrow’s 45-minute Main in Xiamen, China, thanks to his outright fastest TQ run in the penultimate qualifier. With it all to play for going into the fifth & final qualifier, Ronnefalk and Infinity’s Kouki Kato both having two TQ runs each and a second, neither would be able to deliver a third TQ run. Instead that would come from Bruno Coelho, the Infinity driver appearing to have finally found his way just in time for finals. After a trouble start to the day, with Q2 & 3 becoming throw outs, Pekko Iivonen was another to conclude qualifying on a positive as he set the second fastest time in Q5 with his Mayako. Overall while Ronnefalk doesn’t have the worry of Semi finals, the TQ secured on the tiebreak, in the final qualifying order it was Kato who ended up second to give the Japanese driver pole in the second of the 25-minute Semis, while Coelho’s 3rd overall means he lines up on pole for the first Semi. Iivonen’s strong finish to the day bumped him up to 4th ahead of leading Team Associated contender Jung Hyunkyu while Jason Nugroho made it three Infinity IFB8s in the final Top 6 qualification ranking.

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November 8, 2025

Ronnefalk delivers in Q3 at SIGP

David Ronnefalk has delivered a TQ run at the Sunpadow International Grand Prix, the Xray driver ending Kouki Kato’s reign at the top pf the time sheets as he took the third round ahead of the Japanese driver and his Infinity team-mate Bruno Coelho. Setting the fastest lap of the round with a 32.725, Ronnefalk would eventually finish a massive 13-seconds up on Kato who, like Ronnefalk the previous round, needed to be marshalled only in Kato’s case he had double the mistakes on each opposite side of the track. With drivers reporting track conditions as even more difficult for Q3, Coelho also had two bad laps resulting in him failing to run 15-laps however overall the time still gave him a three for the round. 5-seconds behind the multiple class World Champion, promising future hope Jung Hyunkyu enjoyed his best round result with P4 for the Team Associated teenager ahead of Mayako’s Joseph Quagraine. Unfortunately for JQ’s lead driver Pekko Iivonen it was another throw away round as he lasted just over 2-minutes before his engine moved.

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November 8, 2025

SIGP Day 2 qualifying opens with another Kato TQ run

Day 2 of qualifying at the SIGP in China has opened with Infinity’s Kouki Kato laying down another TQ run, the Japanese driver carrying the form that saw him top seeding and Q1 yesterday into another very hot day in Xiamen. Managing to better his Q1 time by 3.5 seconds, Kato would lead an Infinity 1-2 as Bruno Coelho set the second fastest time 2.5-seconds adrift of his team-mate. Having opened qualifying with a P2 yesterday evening, David Ronnefalk looked to be close to challenging Kato this morning but on his fuel stop in lap his edgy looking Xray crashed and needing to be marshalled he lost over 7-seconds to drop back to record the third fastest time. After his P4 in Q1, round 2 would end up being a throw away for Pekko Iivonen, the Mayako driver entering the pits with caution after yesterday’s timing issues but finding a new bump that caused him to crash which he then followed up with a far more spectacular crash exiting the pits. This allowed Indonesian Infinity driver Jason Nugroho to record the fourth fastest time ahead of Team Associated’s young Korean talent Jung Hyunkyu with Mr. Mayako Joseph Quagraine completing the Top 6.

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November 7, 2025

Kato tops seeding at SIGP in China

Japan’s Kouki Kato is the top seed at the SIGP Offroad Race in Xiamen, the Infinity team having the early advantage in China on the challenging 3-Circles track as team-mate Bruno Coelho managed to set the second fastest 3-consecutive laps. Over the two rounds of controlled practice Kato would set his best time in CP1 while Coelho would top the second round improving on his earlier time but unable to better that of Kato. Fresh from his double win last weekend at the new Hongyu GDC track in Guangzhou, Xray’s David Ronnefalk completed the Top 3 with his opening effort. Building his confidence on the bumpy track, Korean youngster Jung Hyunkyu took his Team Associated to the fourth fastest time ahead of Mayako pairing Pekko Iivonen and Joesph Quagraine.

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November 7, 2025

Hongyu GDC to add permanent indoor carpet track

Having had the opportunity to inspect in person the very impressive new Hongyu GDC earlier this week on our way to cover this weekend’s SIGP Offroad race in Xiamen, the World Class facility has announced plans to add a permanent indoor carpet carpet track. Originally consisting of an outdoor asphalt track, a covered dirt offroad track (which hosted its opening race last weekend), and a covered asphalt track, it is the latter that will be redeveloped as the new indoor carpet track. The host venue for next year’s 2026 IFMAR 1:12 & ISTC World Championships, with 1:12 requiring to be run on carpet in a climate controlled area, Hongyu GDC has decided to create a more permanent track that meets these requirements and which can host future electric onroad race offering a replacement for the old GDC indoor track. With new transparent material sides (not glass) enclosing the original structure, based on the attention to detail in the rest of the facility, they will then lay and finish the carpet track to cover all the needs electric onroad racers would have. With the track work beginning imminently, the new track will open with the hosting of the 1:12 Asian Championships on December 4-7th, these followed the next weekend by the Asia Touring Car Championships. With no official Worlds Warm-up Race, the Asian Championships will be an opportunity for racers to test at the new carpet facility before the Worlds at the the end of March. As part of the new carpet track build Hongyu GDC has a number of billboards available to manufacturers. Registration for the 1:12 Asia Championships can be made here for Stock & here for Modified.

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November 2, 2025

Ronnefalk doubles at Hongyu GDC opening Offroad race

The Offroad track at the impressive new Hongyu GDC multi track facility in Foshan, China, hosted its opening race over the weekend where Xray’s David Ronnefalk completed the double winning both 1:8 Nitro and 1:8 Electric Buggy. The first race on the roof covered dirt track, the layout the work of Spanish track builder Miguelo Izquierdo Rodriguez, it would attract a number of international entries with Ronnefalk the benchmark in qualifying. In Nitro, the Swede took 3 of the 4 rounds to secure the TQ ahead of the Infinity of Asian Buggy Championships Champion Kouki Kato, the Japanese driver fastest in the opening qualifier. Finland’s Pekko Iivonen would secure third with his Mayako ahead of the Team Associated of Korea’s Jung Hyunkyu with Infinity’s Bruno Coelho rounding out the Top 5. With 2016 World Champion Ronnefalk locked-in for pole in Main final, a Semi win for Coelho lined him up P2 while winning the other Semi Kato started P3 ahead of Hyunkyu. Leading from start to finish over the 45-minutes, Ronnefalk would win by over a lap from Coelho while finishing on the same lap as the Portuguese driver Hyunkyu took the final podium step ahead of Iivonen. Problems for Kato saw him retire and classified P9. Setting the fastest times in all 4 rounds of eBuggy qualifying, Ronnefalk was the Top Qualifier ahead of Iivonen and Kato. He would go on to secure the overall win after taking the first two 5-minute encounters. Winning A3, Kato took second overall ahead of Coelho.

Image: Hongyu GDC [Facebook]