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September 18, 2025

Mazzeo tops Q5 to remaining in the hunt

Raptor’s Alessio Mazzeo remains in the hunt for the overall TQ at the 1:8 GT World Championships in Chile, the Italian delivering his second TQ run in the fifth & penultimate round of qualifying this morning. With fog delaying the start of Day 2 of qualifying at the Club de Aeromodelos de Chile track by an hour, once the action got underway the sun would come out in force. While it was overnight TQ holder Andrea Catanzani who set the initial TQ pace for the first 6-laps, once Mazzeo’s tyres came in the 33-year-old took charge of proceedings. With Catanzani’s Serpent losing pace in the later part of the run, setting the fastest lap Mazzeo would take the all important TQ by 1.6 seconds forcing the battle to become the Top Qualifier to go to the sixth & final round. While always saying his car worked better in the hotter conditions unfortunately today noticeable increase in temperatures could hamper Mazzeo quest for the overall TQ honours as he needs another TQ run to match Catanzani but needs to do it in the fastest time to deny his fellow Italian the top spot. Catanzani’s Q4 run from yesterday is the fastest so far and Mazzeo’s latest TQ run was some 4-seconds shy of the pace needed. While all the attention was on the Mazzeo/Catanzani battle, behind them it would be Natanaele Senesi who completed the Top 3 after Alex D’Angelo’s Capricorn ran out of fuel on the last lap.

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September 17, 2025

Catanzani takes control in Q2 & 3

Serpent’s Andrea Catanzani has taken control of qualifying at the IFMAR 1:8 GT World Championships in Chile, the Italian producing back to back TQ runs as he topped the times in the second & third rounds of qualifying as things warm-up a little in Santiago. With a cold start to qualifying this morning, the sun finally burned it’s way through the earlier fog with the snow capped mountain in the distance making up the back drop to the track as Q3 completed the first half qualifying. Complaining of the cold after Q1, Catanzani would outpace Top Seed and Q1 winner Alessio Mazzeo by 1.1-seconds at the second time of asking, this time three drivers managing to put together 20-lap runs, the third of those being Capricorn’s Alex D’Angelo. With Mazzeo having to pit during Q3 for an engine adjustment, D’Angelo would get a P2 for that round but Catazani’s advantage was now 2.2-seconds as he improved by almost 3-seconds over the 7-minutes despite feeling his car’s performance faded in the later part of the run. Natanaele Senesi completed the Top 3 ahead of the WIRC of Brazilian nitro onroad racing stalwart Elias Flavio which overall means as it currently stands at the half way stage it is an all Italian line-up in the all important Top 4, direct to final, qualification rankings.

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September 15, 2025

Maifield does the buggy double at 2025 SikCross

Tekno RC’s Ryan Maifield did the buggy double at the 2025 SikCross over the weekend winning both Nitro Buggy and eBuggy at The Drake Raceway hosted race. A track that was saved earlier this year thanks to the intervention of RC racing’s most famous couple, Adam & Ronda Drake, SikCross made its returned to the Southern California venue with 200 entries looking to enjoy the races unique start/race format. With two 15-lap races determining the grid for the finals it was to be Kyosho drivers who came out on top – Ryan Lutz taking the eBuggy TQ with his young team-mate Phi-Long Nguyen the Top Qualifier in Nitro Buggy, Maifield ending up P2 in both categories. In the triple 30-lap each finals, Lutz would have a tough time in eBuggy, Maifield winning A1 and A3 for the overall win with Nguyen winning A2 to claim second as the Team Associated of Tyler Fenster completed the podium ahead of Lutz. In Nitro, Nguyen opened with a win ahead of Maifield but suffered a DNF in A2 as Maifield took the win and repeated again in A3. Jimmy Fishback made it a Tekno 1-2 overall with Nguyen having to settle for third as Lutz again missed the podium with fourth. Nguyen would get a win however taking the title in Nitro Truggy ahead of Fenster, Lutz and Adam Drake.

Image: Tekno RC [Facebook]

September 15, 2025

Feldmann wins EFRA GP at Lostallo

Reigning 1:5 Touring Car World Champion Markus Feldmann enjoyed a perfect weekend in Switzerland as he took the TQ and win the concluding EFRA GP for Large Scale at the iconic Lostallo circuit. With the 3rd GP of the season attracting 91 entries to the 2026 World Champion host track, qualifying would see the German driver take his GRP Tyres shod Mecatech to pole position with the fourth round of qualifying proving fastest. Behind him, 2024 European Champion Emanuele D’Amico was second fastest followed by France’s Cédric Prevot and 2022 European Champion Edoardo Repetti. In Super Pole it was Repetti who booked his direct spot into the final behind with D’Amico winning his Semi Final to line-up 3rd with Prevot winning the other Semi to carry No.4. In the half hour, despite setting the fastest lap Repetti couldn’t deny Feldmann the win. With D’Amico having issues, it was Belgium’s Giovanni Verbrugghe who completed the podium ahead 2023 European Champion Dario Veseli from Croatia.

Image: GRP [grpgandini.it]

September 15, 2025

Tavernon claims Euro B title with last lap pass

Mugen Seiki driver Hugo Tavernon is the new EFRA 1:8 Offroad European B Champion, the French driver pulling off an impressive comeback drive at the Ospyteam R/C Off-Road Circuit in Italy to snatch the win from Top Qualifier Erik Lykke on the final lap. In qualifying it was the young British racer Lykke who impressed taking his Agama to the top of the times in 3 of the 4 qualifiers. Fastest in the final qualifier, Italian Dario Gabrielli would finish qualifying in P2 with his TLR ahead of Tavernon and Riccardo Masaggia. With Lykke winning his Semi final ahead of Samuele Senese and Thomas Musso with the fastest race time that would secure him pole for the Main ahead of Austrian Julius Siklodi who won the other Semi from Mirko Carrettin and Gabrielli. Racing in the same Semi as Lykke, Tavernon would suffer a DNF meaning he would have to win the Last Chance Final to progress and that is exactly what he would do. Lining up 13th & last for the title decider, over the 45-minutes Tavernon worked his way to the front and on the very last lap forced a pass on Lykke to become the 20th European B Champion. With the Top 3 all finishing on the same lap and covered by less than 3-seconds, Gabrielli completed the podium.

Image: Hugo Tavernon [Facebook]

September 14, 2025

1:8 GT World C/ship coverage presented by Sweep, Energy, and Hong Nor

Having covered our first ever 1:8 GT World Championship in Australia 2 years ago, Red RC is excited to be travelling to Santiago, Chile, for the next chapter in IFMAR GT class history. Drivers will not only battle it out to become the 3rd Nitro GT World Champion but also the inaugural eGT World Champion as the electric class gains World Championship status in 2025. Taking place at the very impressive Club de Aeromodelos de Chile (CACH) facility, our coverage of how these championships unfold is being made possible thanks to Sweep Racing, Energy Fuel and reigning GT World Champion chassis manufacturer Hong Nor. Sweep Racing are the official controlled tyre supplier for the event while Italian fuel manufacturer Energy is the controlled fuel for not only the 1:8 GT Worlds but also the 1:8 Onroad Worlds which also take place at CACH later in the year. Red RC is looking forward to travelling to South America, our last trip to this part of the world being for the 2012 1:8 Buggy Worlds in Argentina. Chatting to the winner of that World title, Robert Batlle, at the recent inaugural 1:8 eBuggy Worlds in Portugal about the upcoming GT Worlds, the Spaniard described CACH as the best facility he has ever visited – and he has raced at a lot of tracks around the world! Our coverage of the 2025 IFMAR 1:8 GT World Championships will, after a full day of travel, begin this Wednesday, September 17th, with the first round of qualifying. We hope you enjoy following our coverage as we get to tell the story of how the sport’s latest World Champions are crowned.

September 7, 2025

Kandelhart & Federico European 40+ Nitro Champions

The iconic Gubbio track in Italy played host to the EFRA 40+ European Nitro Onroad Championships where Austrian Gerhard Kandelhart and Italian Zugno Federico took the titles. In 1:10, it was onroad nitro racing stalwart & 2016 Champion Kandelhart who secured the TQ at the former World Championship host track as he topped four of the five qualifying rounds. Fastest in Q4 Swiss racer & 2022 Champion Traugott Schaer qualified second followed by Werner Spannbruckner from Austria. In the 45-minute final Kandelhart would control the race with his Infinity taking the win by a lap from Finnish racer Sammy Pajalin who from 7th on the grid just got the better of Schaer who completed the podium. In 1:8 qualifying went the way Italian Team Shepherd driver Felice Mollo over Zugno and Luca Martinelli. In the final it was Zugno would take the win just ahead of Fabrizio Iori , who started 6th, with 3-time former Champion Martinelli completing the podium ahead of Mollo in 4th.

View 1:8 Podium here

September 1, 2025

Gruber takes second ENS win of 2025

Capricorn’s Toni Gruber has claimed his second win of the 2025 Euro Nitro Series, the German taking the Round 3 victory at Apeldoorn in the Netherlands ahead of Mugen Seiki’s Simon Kirzbuch. Winner of the season opener at Ettlingen in Germany, Gruber would secure the TQ by topping the opening 3 of the 4 rounds of qualifying. Posting a TQ run in the final round, reigning Champion Kurzbuch, who won the previous round at Aigen in Austria, would qualify second on the grid ahead of Infinity’s Teemu Leino and ARC’s Silvio Hachler. Despite tricky weather conditions for finals day, the dry 45-minute Main would see Gruber dominate to win by almost 2-laps from Kurzbuch despite the Swiss driver setting the fastest lap. The big moment of the race would come as it approached the final minute, as Leino’s car had a problem and came to a halt, this allowing Hachler to complete the podium. In 1:10 Nitro Touring Car, Poland’s Jakub Rozycki continued to rule the season as he made it three wins in a row finishing 2-laps clear of defending champion Melvin Diekmann and Tim Benson.

Image: Ielasi Tuned [Facebook]