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May 26, 2026

Ben Mohamed again at 3rd round of French Nationals

Noha Ben Mohamed took another win in the FFVRC French National 1:8 Nitro Buggy Championship, the Sparko driver winning the third round hosted by Limousin Mini Racing Car over the weekend in Limoges. After the five rounds of qualifying it was the Round 2 winner Ben Mohamed who took the TQ honours with three fastest runs ahead of Hugo Tavernon who was fastest in Q1. Behind Remy Bermudez would end up 3rd ahead of Rayan Medjoubi with reigning Champion Clement Boda completing the Top 5. Winning his Semi from Boda, Ben Mohamed would start on pole for the 13 car/45-minute final. With some big mistakes from Boda, winner of the season opener, early on while the Team Associated driver but in a charge to chase down Ben Mohamed setting the fastest lap of the race he took the win albeit just by 8/10th of a second. Also finishing on the lead lap, Bermudez completed the podium for Xray.

Image: Noha Ben Mohamed [Facebook]

May 25, 2026

First French National win for Baranger

Shepherd driver Fabien Baranger claimed his first Elite Class National win over the weekend with victory at Round 3 of the FFVRC 1:8 Onroad National Championship. Having finished P2 behind reigning Champion Maxime Ripoll last month in Châteaubourg, young Baranger would go one better at the RSMA track near Paris. In qualifying it was Mugen Seiki’s Christophe Louis, podium finisher at Rounds 1 & 2, who secured the TQ ahead of Ripoll’s Xray with Baptiste Jimenez third and Baranger fourth. With Baranger winning his Semi Final he would bump up a spot to start P3 for the 45-minute final. With Louis leading early on, the race would see dramas for many racers including the leader, Ripoll and Baranger who suffered a flame out while in the lead. In the end strong pace, only himself & Ripoll posting 16-second lap times, would allow Baranger recover to take the win and end Ripoll run of race wins, the World Championship finalist recovering from his issues to finish 2nd. Louis would not be able to keep his run of 2026 podium finish going finishing fourth as Simon Bergoin, who initially took over the lead from Louis, claimed the final step on the podium.

Image: Shepherd Micro Racing [Facebook]

May 25, 2026

Matsukura takes Japanese 1:8 Onroad title

Naoto Matsukura is the new 2026 JMRCA 1:8 Onroad National Champion, the Infinity driver taking the title from reigning World Champion Shouki Takahata. Racing at 2023 World Championship host circuit Infinity International RC Speedway in Suzuka, the annual stand alone championship event would be effected by rain on Saturday causing the action to be cancelled. Managing to resume racing on Sunday, qualifying would be reduced to two rounds with Takaaki Shimo’s Infinity securing the TQ with his time from Q1. Topping Q2 ahead of Matsukura, Takahata’s Mugen Seiki claimed P2 with Matsukura ending up third. Having to come through from the Semi Finals Matsukura woould win his ahead of 2 time World Champion Tadahiko Sahashi. The other Semi final was won by the other half of the famous Japanese siblings Yuya Sahashi. In the 45-minute Main, 2024 Champion Shimo led from the front for the first 84-laps before Takahata took over at the front but he wouldn’t be able to repeat his 2025 win, as Matsukura found his way to the front where he would stay to win by just 4/10ths of a second. Setting the fastest lap of the race Shimo completed the podium on the same lap with Yuya Sahashi finishing P4.

Image: Infinity [Facebook]

May 19, 2026

FEMCA Nitro Onroad C/ships 2027 – Announcement

FEMCA, the governing body for RC racing that represents 15 nations in Asia and Australasia, has announced that the 2027 Asia Nitro Onroad Championships are to be stage in Brisbane, Australia. This is the second major international race awarded to England Park Raceway who stepped into host the 2026 Asia 1:8 GT Championships which where originally to take place in Vietnam. With each FEMCA Asia Championships stand alone race events that crown the ‘Champion of Asia’, the Onroad Championship will crown the 1:10 200mm and 1:8 Onroad Champions with the race scheduled to run from March 11 – 14, 2027. While based in Asia, the championships are open to drivers from around the world with the current FEMCA Electric Onroad Asia Champions both being Europeans. In 1:12, Schumacher’s current World Champion Michal Orlowski holds the title while in Touring Car the title is held by Infinity driver & 3 time back to back ISTC World Champion Bruno Coelho.

Source: FEMCA [Facebook]

May 13, 2026

2026 1:8 Nitro Buggy European C/ship – Stage 2 Report

The organisers of this year’s EFRA 1:8 Nitro Buggy European Championship which will take place in Spain from June 23-27 has published its Stage 2 report for the event. Home to the annual Buggyland race, Club CARTT Fuencarral in Madrid will host the 44th running of the European Championship for the category with Xray’s David Ronnefalk heading the entry as the defending Champion. With the track prepared by Miguelo Izquierdo, the man who successfully brought back the Neo Race this year as Neoland, the race will be directed by Javier Garcia. View the full Stage 2 Report here.

Source: EFRA [efra.ws]

May 11, 2026

Balestri & Groskamp win ENS season opener

The latest season of the Euro Nitro Series kicked off at Minidrom Ettlingen in Germany over the weekend where it was double success for Infinity with Dario Balestri winning 1:8 and Jilles Groskamp winning 1:10. In 1:8 qualifying it was the Mugen Seiki of Simon Kurzbuch that set the pace, the Swiss driver topping all four qualifiers to secure TQ honours ahead of Balestri. Counting two P2 runs it was the Capricorn of reigning champion Toni Gruber who completed the Top 3 on the grid ahead of Serpent pairing Marco Weigerding and Mirko Salemi. In the 45-minute final, Kurzbuch would lead away but with 8-minutes done as the former World Champion exited pit lap after his second stop attempting to keep his lead he and Balestri made contact with the Italian land on his roof. While Kurzbach waited this allowed Gruber to the lead. The German would lead until the 25-minute to go mark when Balestri squeezed passed as the leader exited pit lane after refuelling. Unfortunately just after stopping for new tyres Gruber would suffer a problem retire in pit lane. This left Balestri to lead the race home for the final 20-minutes chased by Kurzbuch. Starting from 11th on the grid, Dutch Infinity driver Robbin Hertong completed the podium ahead Weigerding, Rick Vrielijnck, and ARC’s Silvio Hächler.

Continue reading here

May 11, 2026

Ongaro wins Worlds Warm-up Race at Thornhill

With this year’s 13th annual The Dirt Lonestar Challenge doubling up as the official Warm-Up Race for the 1:8 Nitro Buggy World Championship later this year it was Team Associated’s Davide Ongaro who took the win. Racing at the covered Thornhill Racing Circuit in Texas, it would be an Italian 1-2 as Ongaro was followed home by Sworkz’s of Mattia Polito while American Ryan Maifield completed the podium for Tekno. In qualifying it was Ongaro who was fastest in the opening two qualifiers to secure the overall RQ ahead of Sworkz’s Mason Fuller who topped the third & final round. Polito would end qualifying P3 ahead of the Kyosho of recent Asian Buggy Championships Indonesia winner Phi-Long Nguyen with European Champion Juan Carlos Canas completing the Top 5. Winning his Semi final from Canas’ Sworkz, Ongaro would like up on pole for the 1-hour final ahead of the Spaniard, Polito and Brandon Rose winner of the first Semi. From the front Ongaro, who will chase a fourth consecutive World title in September, took control of the race to win by 2-laps. He would make it double winning weekend in Hutto, also taking the eBuggy win comfortably ahead of team-mate Spencer Rivkin and Fuller as Top Qualifier Nguyen dropped to fourth.

Image: Matrix Racing Tires [Facebook]

May 9, 2026

Serpent legend Salven joins Ielasi Tuned

Ielasi Tuned engines has welcomed veteran 1:8 Onroad racer & Serpent legend Michael Salven to its team. The announcement was made at this weekend’s opening round of the 2026 Euro Nitro Series at Minidrom Ettlingen in Germany. A World Championship Top Qualifier, a European Champion, and multiple German Champion, Salven has been both successful as a racer, since joining Serpent in 1980, and as chief designer of their cars over the last three decades. In joining Daniele Ielasi’s engine brand, a racer with whom he enjoyed many on track battles, Salven joins Serpent’s star driver Andrea Catanzani in representing the Italian company and running their Pista Team Edition engine.

Source: Ielasi Tuned [ielasituned.com]