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April 14, 2026

Feldmann wins ELS opener at Lostallo

The opening round of the Euro Large Scale Series (ELS) 2026 took place at Lostallo in Switzerland over the weekend where it was reigning 1:5 Touring Car World Champion Markus Feldmann who took the win. In qualifying it was Feldmann who took his GRP equipped Mecatech to the TQ honours and a new lap record ahead of Italian’s Emanuele D’amico and Edoardo Repetti. In Super Pole shot out, it was D’amico who locked himself a direct spot into the half hour final. While D’amico set the fastest lap of the final he could not deny his German rival the win, Feldmann’s advantage after 75-laps being almost 10-seconds. With Repetti retirng from the race after 18-minutes, the podium was completed by Belgium racer Giovanni Verbrugghe who started from 10th on the grid. Behind him reigning European Champion Carsten Keller came home in P4. Round 2 of the Euro Large Scale Series takes place over the weekend of June 26-28, again at Lostallo, the race also serving as the official Warm-up Race for the Large Scale World Championships scheduled for August.

Image: Mecatech Racing [Facebook]

April 13, 2026

Kurzbuch wins Ielasi Tuned Trophy

Mugen Seiki’s Simon Kurzbuch enjoyed another win on Italian soil, the Swiss racer backing up his recent win of the Pepe Group International Race with victory at the annual Ielasi Tuned Trophy. A race first hosted by former World Champion Daniele Ielasi in 2015, the annual Ielasi Tuned Trophy again attracted some big names to the Northern Italian Leno track. While last year’s winner Dario Balestri was absent from this year’s line-up, qualifying for the 7th edition would see Kurzbuch secure the 1:8 TQ ahead of Capricorn’s Toni Gruber, Infinity’s Francesco Tironi and Serpent’s Mirko Salemi while World Championship Top Qualifier Andrea Catanzani ended up P6. While Gruber would post the fastest lap of the 45-minute final, the German could do anything about Kuzbuch taking the win, his margin 9.5-seconds at the finish. Kurzbuch’s father assisted in pit lane for the final by US racer Paolo Morganti who nlw heads up Ielasi Tuned America. Salemi would just hold off Simone Lotti for the final podium pacing. Catanzani would finish P5 ahead of Tironi who hit problems late in the first half of the race but rejoined after losing over a minute. In 1:10, Mario Spiniello took the TQ but retired from the final with Australian stalwart Gerhard Kandelhart, last year’s Top Qualifier but hitting trouble in the final, taking the win.

Images: Ielasi Tuned [Facebook]

April 13, 2026

Kaerup wins Savox Grand Prix in Taiwan

World Champion Marcus Kaerup took the wins at the annual Savox 1:8 Offroad Grand Prix which was staged at the RC66 track in Taoyuan, Taiwan. The servo manufacturer invited a number of their international team drivers to the event with Kaerup also joined by Korean Team Associated team-mate Jung Hyunkyu, Infinity’s Kouki Kato, and Xray’s Max Gotzl. With a total of 121 entries, racing on the unique track which is located under a highway bridge and was host of the 2023 FEMCA Championships, it was Kaerup who took the TQ in both Nitro and Electric ahead of recent Sunpadow Grand Prix winner Kato and the Chinese race’s runner up Hyunkyu. In the 50-minute final, Kaerup would hand the lead to Kato after a big error early on. The Asian Buggy Championships Champion would stay out front until lap 70 with the Japanese driver eventually having to settle for second 8-seconds back on the Dane. With Hyunkyu having a tough final suffering a broken rear shock after early contact he ran last of the 14 starters for a time before eventually finishing P9, it was the Wang Hao who completed the podium. In eBuggy, while Kato won A1, Kaerup took A2 & 3 for the overall ahead of Kato with Gotzl on the final step of the podium.

Image: Marcus Kaerup [Facebook]

April 7, 2026

Canas wins ‘Neoland’ on iconic race’s return

Sworkz’s Juan Carlos Canas has won Neoland, the Spaniard taking the Nitro Buggy win on the return of racing to Harper Adams in the UK over the Easter weekend. The spiritual home of Philip Mortstedt’s Neo Race, a race that was widely referred to as the 1:8 Buggy Indoor World Championships, well known international track builder and Buggyland race promoter Miguelo Izquierdo Rodriguez resurrected the Neo event after a decade, and while he was somewhat under the radar for most of the weekend Canas came good when it counted most to win the 45-minute final. In qualifying it was the Xray of David Ronnefalk who secured the TQ, topping 2 of the 3 rounds, ahead of Team Associated’s Davide Ongaro, fastest in Q3 and also taking the overall eBuggy TQ. The Sworkz’s Mattia Polito would line-up third ahead of Canas with Mugen Seiki’s Berkan Kilic and Team Associated’s Marcus Kaerup completing the Top 6 on the 15-car grid. In the final Ronnefalk would lead the way for the first 20-minutes with Canas pushing him ever harder. The pair would tangle but resume in the same order only for Canas to execute the pass he was trying to line up shortly after. Once in front he took charge of the race to win by 3.5 seconds from Ongaro. Making a wrong call on tyre compound, Ronnefalk would eventually drop to P6 with Ongaro taking second and the Sworkz of 7th place qualifier Elliott Boots completing the podium just ahead of Kilic. In Easter Sunday’s eBuggy encounter, while Ongaro won A1 it was Ronnefalk who took the title with wins in A2 & 3. Behind Ongaro in second, eBuggy World Champion Kaerup completed the podium from P10 on the grid with Kilic finishing fourth.

Image: JConcepts [jconcepts.net]

April 6, 2026

Phend wins Psycho Nitro Blast

The 19th edition of the Tennessee based Psycho Nitro Blast took place over the Easter weekend where Xray’s Dakotah Phend took the win, completing a nitro double at the indoor race with the Buggy and Truggy victories. With just two rounds of qualifying it was Team Associated’s Brandon Rose who topped the opening round of Nitro Buggy with Phend topping Q2 which proving faster who secure the latter the overall TQ. Behind Sworkz’s Camden Lime secured P3 on the grid ahead of Tekno’s Spencer Heckert and Sworkz’s Silver State winner Mason Fuller with Xray’s Tater Sontag completing the Top 6. Doing the double last year, a repeat of his 2024 result, Ryan Maifield who qualify P13 for the 18 car A-Main. In the 30-minute final, Rose would take the early lead after a number of drivers executed their ‘Joker’ laps and who stay out front until the final minutes when Phend execute his shorter Joker lap to take the lead with 2-laps remaining. He would take the win by 2.5 seconds from Rose with Dirt Nitro Challenge winner Seth Van Dalen completing the Top 3 ahead of Lime and Team Associated’s Spencer Rivkin who started P11. In Nitro Truggy, having qualified P10 Phend took the win by 9-seconds from Top Qualifier Fuller with Maifield coming home 3rd. In eBuggy, Rivkin took the win by just 0.081 from Rose with the Sparko of Top Qualifier Jonah Wilson 3rd at the end of the 10-minute encounter.

Image: JConcepts [jconcepts.net]

April 6, 2026

’26 IFMAR 1:8 Nitro Offroad World C/ship Stage 1 Report

RC racing’s World governing body IFMAR has published the Stage 1 report for the 2026 1:8 Nitro Offroad World Championship which will be hosted by Thornhill Racing Circuit in the United States from the end of September. The Texas track, which is situated on 13.9 acres complex and has the unique feature of its 120′ x 200′ dirt track being fully covered, will stage the 20th running of the World Championship for the category from September 27th to October 3rd. 2026 marks the 40th anniversary of the crowning of the inaugural champion Frederic Vesseyre in France in 1986 and a decade since David Ronnefalk won the last US staged Worlds with victory in Las Vegas in 2016. As the current World Champion Team Associated’s Davide Ongaro will chase a record extending 4-in-row at Thornhill but the Italian will face strong opposition from US drivers as they look to become the first to win the sport’s biggest prize on home soil. This will be only the 4th time the Worlds has been stage in the United States.

View more Stage 1 Report here

March 30, 2026

Ripoll gets title defence off to perfect start

Xray’s top international 1:8 Onroad racer Maxime Ripoll has got the defence of his French National title off to the perfect start with a dominant performance at the opening round of the 2026 Championship. The first encounter of the 5 round FFVRC Championship was hosted by the BMVRC club in the south east of the country with over 70 entries. Greeted by cold weather conditions, rain would effect qualifying with just 2 of the 4 scheduled rounds run but with his time from Q1 it was Ripoll who took the Elite class TQ with his Max engined RX8 ahead Baptiste Jimenez and Jules David. In the final Ripoll and Jimenez held the top 2 positions for the opening 20-laps before the later hot problems and soon retired. With the fastest lap of the race, Ripoll would take a comfortable victory over the No.8 car of Christophe Louis who finished just held off Stephane Riccobono.

Image: Maxime Ripoll [Facebook]

March 30, 2026

Boda opens French title defence with win

Defending French National 1:8 Nitro Buggy Champion Clement Boda has got his title defence off to the perfect start, the Team Associated driver winning the opening round of the 2026 championship at the ARCF42 track near Lyon. Securing the title with victory at last season’s finale, Boda would not have a great run in qualifying as 2025 title rival Noha Ben Mohamed took his Sparko to the TQ honours at the end of qualifying with Boda ending up starting P3 in his Semi final. Regrouping for the finals, Boda would take the win in his Semi to secure pole for the Main which the 21-year-old would duly go on to lead from start to finish. After struggling in his Semi final, Xray’s Rémy Bermudez would improve his buggy for the Main and the 18-year-old was able to finish 2nd with Tekno driver Theo Lemaire completing the first podium of the 5 round championship.

Image: ARCF42 [Facebook]