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August 7, 2025

2025 IFMAR 1:8 GT World Championship – Stage 2 Report

The organisers of next month’s IFMAR 1:8 GT World Championships in Santiago, Chile, have published the Stage 2 report for what is building up to be an exciting title battle. Hosted by Club of Aeromodelos of Chile (CACH), the 3rd edition of the GT Worlds takes place at country’s very impressive CACH facility and has attracted all of the leading 2023 title contender with the strong entry led by reigning Champion Toni Gruber. The Stage 2 report details Sweep as the controlled tyre with their GT2-D40WP tyre. Priced at US$40 per set for practice, the Mandatory Race Package (3 sets) costs US$120. Also detailed in the Stage 2 report is the controlled 16% fuel supply. Italy’s Pepe Group will supply their Energy Flame GT with a can costing US$75 while Mandatory Race Fuel will be charged at US$60. Among those confirmed to take the title fight to Gruber & Hong Nor is 2023 Top Qualifier Alex D’angelo who this time leads the charge for Capricorn. 2023 podium finisher & newly crowned Italian National Champion Andrea Catanzani will front Serpent’s efforts while the Genius campaign is headed by Bernard-Alain Arnaldi. A World Championship podium finisher in 1:10 Nitro Touring Car, Alessio Mazzeo will put Raptor in the mix. Running his own car Natanaele Senesi adds further to the great variety of manufacturers represented. One interesting name on the entry list is Burak Kilic. The factory Mugen Seiki Offroad driver has used this year’s Italian GT National Championship to prepare for the trip to Chile and he will drive with Schepis Model. Red RC will be in Chile to report on how these World Championships unfold with our coverage starting on the opening day of qualifying which is scheduled for September 17th with the World Champion to be crowned on September 20th. Click here to view Stage 2 Report

Source: IFMAR Worlds 2025 [ifmarworlds2025.com]

August 4, 2025

Malaysia to host 2026 Asia 1:8 Offroad Championship

Malaysia will host the 2026 Asia 1:8 Offroad Championship, with FEMCA announcing the Putrajaya Offroad RC Park track located south of the capital city of Kuala Lumpur as the venue. Recent hosts of the Round 2 of the 2025 Malaysia National League, the track is scheduled to host the Asia Championship on August 27-30th, 2026. Formerly known as the FEMCA Championship, and the biggest title on offer to the 15 nations in Asia and Australasia that make up the FEMCA Bloc, the previous two 1:8 Offroad titles were decided in Vietnam with young Kyosho star Phi-Long Nguyen successfully defending his title this year at Huỳnh Vĩ ‘s L.A track. With new FEMCA President Leonard Kee announcing a rebranding of the FEMCA Championship to the more relatable title of Asia Championship in April, the new title will be awarded for the first time later this year. Due to officially open in September, the brand new Hongyu GDC facility in Foshan hosts the 1:12 & Touring Car Asia Championships this December which are also the official Warm-up race for next March’s IFMAR 1:12 & ISTC World Championships.

View Putrajaya Offroad RC track image here

August 2, 2025

Keller wins rain affected 1:5 TC European Championship

Germany’s Carsten Keller is the new EFRA 1:5 TC European Champion, the SCS M2 driver taking the win at Mini Circuit “Ville de Luxembourg” from 7th on the grid after rain arrived with just over 8 minutes left to run in the final. Having secured the TQ, reigning World Champion Markus Feldmann led away the 30-minute final closely followed by the Genius of 3-time Champion Bernard-Alain Arnaldi with defending Champion Emanuele D’amico from P5 on the grid moving up to third as the Top 3 quickly gaped the field. At half way distance the order remained unchanged with Keller running in P6. With drivers struggling for traction as the rain arrived with just over 8-minutes to go on 7-minutes there was a rush to pit lane for wets as the rain increased. With heavens opening up it would be Norway’s Marius Hetland who led until his car soon came to stop on the front straight. This promoted Keller, whose team made a super quickly & important call to pit first for wets, to the lead ahead of D’amico and Feldmann but the two chasers both hit problems allowing Keller to take his GRP shod Mecatech to victory by a winning margin of almost 14-seconds from Feldmann with Arnaldi completing the podium after a late crash with D’amico in the chaos of the rain.

Image: SCS M2 Engineering [Facebook]

July 29, 2025

Wood wins BRCA Nationals Round 5 at Wombwell

Shepherd’s Tim Wood has won the fifth round of the BRCA 1:8 Onroad British National Championship at Wombwell, ending defending Champion Alex Thurston’s recent run of wins. Winner of the season opener at the Brooklands track back in April, Wood would take his second win of the season by almost a lap over Top Qualifier Thurston after the Mugen Seiki driver had problems in the pits that led to a crash while he was leading. At the start of the half hour encounter, it was third place qualifier Andy Hasting who set about chasing down Thurston after he got the jump on a slow starting Wood but the former Champion would find his way back into second. Unfortunately for Hasting he wouldn’t see the finish as he hit problems that forced hm to retire allowing Shepherd team-mate Karl Dransfield to complete the podium. In 1:8 Electric, Serpent’s Mark Green took the TQ and win ahead of Michael Walton and Mark Boothman. Next up for the British Championship contenders is the EFRA European Championship with the UK’s famous Halifax track hosting the Euros from August 11-16th.

Image: BRCA 1:8 Section

July 28, 2025

Fuller takes big win at Wicked Weekend

Having hit the big time as he completed a clean sweep at the 2025 Silver State Indoor Championships, Sworkz’s Mason Fuller backed that up with the big win in Nitro Buggy at the ‘The Wicked Weekend’ in Gainesville, Georgia. The RaceTime Entertainment event attracted over 800 entries and in qualifying it was Kyosho’s young American star Phi-Long Nguyen who took the overall TQ armed with the new MP11. It was team-mate Ryan Lutz who opened the three rounds of qualifying at the top as he took Q1 but overall it would be Fuller, topping Q3, who secured P2 on the grid ahead of Team Associated’s Brandon Rose, last year’s winner Dakotah Phend, with Lutz ending up P5. In the 30-minute final it was Nguyen who led them away and was pulling clear until he hit problems as the race approached mid distance, dropping him out of contention. Taking over the lead, Fuller would get the win with a 6-second advantage over the Sparko of 6th place qualifier Johan Wilson with Xray’s Chase Lemieux completing the Top 3. While Phend and Ryan Maifield both had a rough Nitro Buggy main, in eBuggy Maifield took his Tekno to the win ahead of Phend and Top Qualifier Rose. In Truggy, Phend took his Xray to the win ahead of Rose and Jared Tebo after Top Qualifier Maifield hit trouble while out front.

Image: JConcepts [jconcepts.net]

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

July 22, 2025

Catanzani crowned new Italian 1:8 GT Champion

Andrea Catanzani is the new AMSCI Italian 1:8 GT National Champion, the factory Serpent driver compete a clean championship sweep with victory at the third & final round of the championship. Racing at the Miniautodromo Stradivari in Cremona, qualifying would see Catanzani secure the TQ honours with his Gimar powered SRX8 GT ahead of the Capricorn of 2023 Champion Alex D’angelo, 2024 European Champion Natanaele Senesi. Offroad racer Burak Kilic completed the Top 4 ahead of defending Champion Giaimo Rosario. It was a tough quali for newly crowned European Champion Filippo Beretta, the Genius Racing driver qualifying P9 but lining up 5th on the starting grid after winning his Semi Final. In the 45-minute final Catanzani would complete the perfect campaign winning taking win number 3 by over 2-laps from Beretta with Valente Leonardo completing the podium ahead of D’angelo. Unfortunately for Kilic, who opened the season with a podium in Sicily, would retire 1/3 the way into the race.

Image: Andrea Catanzani [Facebook]

July 21, 2025

Kurzbuch wins ENS Aigen

Mugen Seiki’s Simon Kurzbuch has won the second round of the Euro Nitro Series at the Aigen track in Austria. The reigning ENS Champion dominated qualifying with his MRX7 prototype topping all four rounds to secure the TQ ahead of Round 1 winner Toni Gruber. Former ENS 1:10 Champion Teemu Leino completed the Top 3 for Infinity with the Shepherd of last year’s race winner Lars Hoppe lining up P4 for the 45-minute final. In the final, Kurzbuch would be the only one to break into the 14-second lap times as he took the win by over 12-seconds from 1:8 GT World Champion Gruber – both drivers running the new ‘Piste’ engine from Ielasi Tuned. 2-laps down, Leino took the final step on the podium ahead of his team-mate Francesco Tironi with the ARC of Silvio Hachler completing the Top 5. In 1:10 Nitro Touring Car, Poland’s Jakub Rozycki made it two from two as he took the win from the TQ spot with Quentin Leroux and Christoph Rohrmoser joining him on the podium.

Image: Ielasi Tuned [Facebook]