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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 7, 2026

1:10 Nitro TC Worlds coverage presented by LensBodies, Energy, Gimar, and PowerHD

The 2-year wait is over with the week on which IFMAR will crown the latest World Champion of 1:10 Nitro Touring Car having finally arrived, and thanks to LensBodies, Energy fuel, Gimar engines, and PowerHD servos, Red RC are travelling to Gubbio in Italy to tell the story of how these championships unfold. Racing in the ‘world capital of nitro onroad racing’, the 2026 World Championships has attracted a bumper entry and one of the biggest nation counts in the classes history with over 120 entries from 21 countries. A decade since Club Automodellistico 5Colli previously hosted the championship, it is reigning World Champion Jilles Groskamp who heads the entry for Infinity on the return to the beautiful Gubbio track which is located in central Italy. The Dutch driver added the nitro title to his 2012 Electric Touring Car World title when he took the win at Huge RC two years ago, and he has been enjoying great form leading into the event claiming the Euro Nitro Series title with an emotional win in Austria last month. With numerous drivers capable of winning come Saturday, all looking to put heir names into the RC racing history records, we also must remember that particular at a World Championship things need to go right. As Jared Tebo famously said at the 2023 1:10 Offroad Worlds in Chico, USA, where he won the 2WD title, ‘To win you have to have so many things go right, to lose you only have to have one thing go wrong.’ With Nitro Touring Car you have so many inputs, and that’s what makes it so exciting. Red RC’s coverage will begin on Tuesday (Sept 8th) with Controlled Practice before we quickly get down to the serious business of 2 days of qualifying with it all culminating with the crowning of a new World Champion on Saturday (Sept 12th).

Coverage Update – Having been in Jakarta over the weekend to cover the season finale of the Asian Buggy Championships, a volcano eruption has lead to the closure of all airports meaning Red RC is currently grounded in Indonesia. While our original flight has been rescheduled to take off 14-hours later than planned, the situation is on going but it looks like we might be a little later getting to Gubbio than planned.

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September 6, 2026

Bernadzik wins ABC finale as Iivonen’s gamble fails

Team Associated’s Alex Bernadzik has won the season finale of the Asian Buggy Championships in Indonesia, his safe fuel strategy paying dividends in the 1-hour Nitro final as main rival Pekko Iivonen gambled on going one less stop, that high risk approach eventually ending the Finn’s quest for his first win of the championship. His first international race win, it would see Bernadzik pocket US$1,000 for his efforts. On securing the overall TQ at West Side Raceway on Saturday, Bernadzik declared he would ‘play it pretty safe’ in terms of refuelling in the final, a decision that was to be key to the Australian claiming his first ever international race win. From the front Bernadzik established a lead over Iivonen as they quickly pulled clear of the field with the first notable moment being the retirement of third pace qualifier Hyunkyu Jung at the 18-minute mark. Having won eBuggy earlier in the day the young Korean talent’s chance of a double was thwarted by drivetrain failure. While the differing pit strategies had still to play out, holding the lead on track, a mistake as the race entered the final 20-minutes saw Bernadzik on his roof and needing to be marshalled as Iivonen went through for the lead. The Mayako driver’s fuel gamble however was about to take this bonus opportunity of the leader’s mistake right back away from him. Coming in for his penultimate stop, he would run out of fuel rolling to a halt at the start of the pit lane. While JQ, who was positioned the other end of pit lane, got him quickly back up & running, Bernadzik was back in front and now with a 13-second lead. With Iivonen making his final stop and still on the lead lap despite his rear left tyre starting to come unglued, Bernadzik had the opportunity to play it even more save with a splash & dash with two minutes to go. As Bernadzik began his final lap, Iivonen’s gamble to run long would again get him as he ran out of fuel, this time before the loop, and losing a lap but rejoining to cross the finish line he still secured second spot. Behind Infinity’s Jason Nugroho would complete the podium a further lap down, the Indonesian championship regular delighted to claim his first podium ahead of the championship newly crowned overall champion Jayden Edmunds in fourth.

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September 5, 2026

Bernadzik ‘Top Qualifier’ at ABC Indonesia with blistering Q5 run

Team Associated’s Alex Bernadzik is the Top Qualifier at the Asian Buggy Championships Finale in Indonesia, the Australian putting together a blistering Q5 run to secure pole for tomorrow’s 1-hour Nitro Buggy main on the tie-breaker with Pekko Iivonen. Having hinted in the penultimate round of quali that he had the potential to better Iivonen’s Q2 time, a mistake on lap 6 of 8 ending that effort, with nothing to lose Bernadzik went for it in the decider. Opening with a 41.7 second lap he then added to his tally of fastest laps for each round by taking the benchmark down to a 41.098 with Iivonen unable to respond. Passing Sparko’s Ken NG on his final lap with just two corners to go, he look like he might again through it away when he clipped the pipping and sending his RC8 into a spin. Luckily he bounced off NG’s buggy to recover facing in the right direction and most importantly crossing the loop with a time that bettered Iivonen’s Q2 by 1.5-seconds. Despite adding a 3rd TQ run to his tally when he took Q4, with only 2 from 5 to count, Iivonen will start P2 tomorrow at West Side Raceway. Counting P2 runs from Q3 & 4, Hyunkyu Jung will line-up 3rd on the grid ahead of Indonesia’s very own Jason Nugroho. Newly crowned FEMCA Champion Jayden Edmunds completes the Top 5 on what will become a 15-car final after bump ups from the lower finals.

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September 5, 2026

Bernadzik takes Q3 at Asian Buggy Champs

Alex Bernadzik has kicked off Day 2 of qualifying at the Asian Buggy Championships finale in Jarkarta with a TQ run, the 3rd of the 5 qualifiers producing a Team Associated 1-2 as Hyunkyu Jung recorded the second fastest time on what was a slower track than yesterday. With Pekko Iivonen making the first day of qualifying at West Side Raceway his own, topping both qualifiers, it was Jung and Bernadzik who battled out Q3 as the Finn used the round to test a harder compound tyre. Unfortunately for Jung traffic in the closing stages of the run cost him the top spot with Bernadzik, once again setting the fastest lap of the round, securing his first TQ by half a second from the young Korean. With the run the slowest of the three so far, the track almost 5-seconds off yesterday afternoon’s Q2, the Top 3 would be completed by Infinity’s Jason Nugroho. A 46-second lap half way through the round saw Iivonen stop the clock with the fourth fastest time ahead of Jayden Edmunds, the Sparko driver struggling for pace after putting on a brand new set of tyre for the run.

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September 4, 2026

2 from 2 for Iivonen as last lap error costs Bernadzik Q2

Mayako’s Pekko Iivonen made it 2 from 2 on the opening day of qualifying at the fourth & final round of the Asian Buggy Championships in Indonesia, the Finn taking Q2 after a late mistake by Top Seed Alex Bernadzik. Having topped the opening qualifier, Iivonen set the early pace of the afternoon run but again setting the fastest lap of the round Bernadzik’s Team Associated went to the top of the timing screens 2-minutes into the 5-minute qualifier. On the final lap however a mistake from the Australian would see him drop 1-second on his previous lap time, allowing Iivonen to top times by 1.061 of a second. Behind it was Korean teenager Hyunkyu Jung who posted the third fastest time ahead of Jason Nugroho and Sparko’s Jayden Edmunds.

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