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July 19, 2025

Bernadzik delivers on speed to take Q4 in Brisbane

Having been super quick throughout the first two days of action at the Australian round of the Asian Buggy Championships, Team Associated’s Alex Bernadzik finally delivered a TQ run when he took the penultimate round of nitro buggy qualifying at Pine Hills Dirt Racing track. Opening Day 3 of the event with a third TQ run in eBuggy, last year’s event Top Qualifier finally put together the run we were waiting for, setting a new fastest time as he ended up almost 5-second faster than the Sparko of Q3 winner Tyler Jones. Taking the opening two rounds on Thursday, Infinity’s Kouki Kato completed the Top 3, and with the just fifth & final quali to go it will be a three way battle for the overall TQ between Kato, Jones and Bernadzik – drivers’ best two to count. Getting a fourth for the round was Mayako’s Pekko Iivonen, the Top Seed now no longer in contention to be the Top Qualifier in Brisbane. Leading the Sworkz challenge this weekend, it was another solid nitro effort from Atsushi Hara, the former World Champion & Philippine Masters podium finisher, completing the Top 5 for his best run so far having got his first Top 6 yesterday.

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July 18, 2025

Jones TQs third qualifier at Asian Buggy Championships

With intermittent rain throughout the day interrupting the second official day of action at the Cayote backed Asian Buggy Championships in Australia, when Round 3 of qualifying finally concluded it was the Sparko of Tyler Jones who came out fastest. The American took the day’s only round, two originally on the schedule, ahead of last year’s Top Qualifier Alex Bernadzik by 0.273 of a second. Struggling with traffic throughout his run, Top Seed Pekko Iivonen took his Mayako to the third fastest time ahead of yesterday’s Q1 & 2 pace setter Kouki Kato – a 3-second mistake in the middle of the run denying the Infinity driver from three in a row at the Pine Hills Dirt Racing track. The big winner at last year’s Australian round of the Scotty Ernst promoted championship, Tekno’s Caleb Noble claimed a P5 with Atsushi Hara completing the Top 6. With rain affecting the running of the top heat of eBuggy, a rerun at the end of the day saw Bernadzik go one better than nitro to take his second TQ run of the event with Kato and Hara competing the Top 3.

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July 17, 2025

Kato again in Q2 as Iivonen throws it away under the lights at Pine Hills

Racing under the flood lights at the Pine Hills track in Brisbane, Infinity’s Kouki Kato made it two from two in qualifying at the third round of the Asian Buggy Championships. Again it was a last lap mistake that promoted Kato to the top of the timing screens, this time top seed Pekko Iivonen with the costly error. With driver errors the talking point of qualifying so far, Iivonen dropped two & a half seconds as a result of his mistake allowing Kato to back up Q1 with another TQ run by 1.358-seconds over the Finn’s Mayako. Racing under flood lights in order to get a second round of qualifying in the books as the forecast is giving rain for the morning, Jackson Beale would complete the Top 3 for Tekno. After an error in Q1 that left him P10, a clean run in Q2 allowed the 19-year-old to back up his strong showing in seeding. After a P2 in the first round, last year’s race winner Caleb Noble had two bad laps and ended up P5 behind Pine Hill Club President Zac Ryan. Opening with a P3, Jayden Edmunds again had traffic issues but this time it lead to a costly error and he ended the day with a P6. Opening the second round of qualifying with a TQ run in eBuggy ahead of Iivonen and Tyler Jones, Team Associated’s Alex Bernadzik couldn’t repeat in Nitro ending up 7th.

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July 17, 2025

Kato takes Q1 in Brisbane

The first round of qualifying is in the books at the third round of the Cayote backed Asian Buggy Championships and it was Infinity’s Kouki Kato who came out on top in Brisbane. The Japanese driver claimed the first TQ run of the weekend ahead of last year’s Australian round winner Caleb Noble, the Tekno driver benefitting from mistakes by a number of key contenders. Winner of the opening round of the championship in New Zealand back in March, Jayden Edmunds completed the Top 3 as the top Mayako, his team-mate Pekko Iivonen, having topped seeding, having a run he summed as ‘bad’. The Finnish driver said his tyres just didn’t feel right and he struggled ending up with a P12. Suffering a number of mistakes, Team Associated’s Alex Bernadzik had good speed but ended up P4 while having TQ’d the first round of eBuggy, Sparko’s Tyler Jones opened with a P5, the American another with a costly mistake in the run.

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July 17, 2025

Iivonen tops seeding at Asian Buggy C/ships Australia

Mayako’s Pekko Iivonen has got his first ever visit to Australia off to a strong start, the Finn topping seeding for Round 3 of the Cayote backed Asian Buggy Championships in Brisbane. Racing on the oil treated Pine Hills track, Iivonen set the fastest 3-consecutive laps of the two seeding rounds ahead of another track first timer Kouki Kato, the Infinity driver 3/10th of a second off his rival. Heading the local challenge was last year’s Top Qualifier, the Team Associated of Alex Bernadzik just 8/100th off the Japanese visitor with the Tekno of fellow Aussie Jackson Beale fourth fastest. With 2025 the attracting Australian round of the championship’s biggest international entry, it was another visitor who completed the Top 5 with American Sparko team driver Tyler Jones travelling 29-hours for his first ever race outside of the USA. With a threat of rain showers tomorrow, the oil treated surface being very slick in the damp, drivers are in for a busy first official day of action in Brisbane as Race Director Scotty Ernst pushes to get two rounds of qualifying in the books today in case.

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July 6, 2025

Ronnefalk takes 4th European 1:8 Nitro Buggy title

David Ronnefalk is the new EFRA 1:8 Nitro Buggy European Champion, the Swede taking his fourth title in the category and bringing it back to Xray whose last title in the category also came in Portugal back in 2018. Racing at the upcoming eBuggy World Championship track of Barcelos Buggy Arena, it was defending back to back Champion Juan Carlos Canas who secured the TQ topping three of the 5 qualifiers. Chasing his first ever European Nitro title, reigning World Champion opened qualifying with a TQ run before ending up P2 ahead of Ronnefalk, who was fastest in Q4. Behind Mugen Seiki’s Berkan Kilic secured P4 with former 2-time Champion Elliot Boots completing the Top 5 for Sworkz. Winning the faster of the two Semi Finals it was Ongaro’s Team Associated which lined up on pole for the final ahead of Canas, winner of his Semi, and Robert Batlle, the Sworkz driver having a good Semi final to finish 2nd behind Ongaro having qualified 10th. Recovering from a bad start to his Semi, Ronnefalk would line up P5 behind Burak Kilic. In the final a mistake by Ongaro while under pressure from the fast starting Ronnefalk, handed the former World Champion a lead he wouldn’t give up. Towards the end Ongaro put in a charge setting the fastest lap but he was 3-seconds shy of the elusive first European title as Ronnefalk added a record fourth title, his last having also been at the Barcelos track in 2022. A mistake by Canas ended his hopes of three in a row, the Spaniard completing the podium 7-seconds up on fellow countryman Batlle.

Image: EFRA [Facebook]

July 2, 2025

Jones set for international debut at Asian Buggy Champs

US Sparko team driver Tyler Jones will make his international race debut when he travels to Round 3 of the the Cayote backed Asian Buggy Championships in Brisbane, Australia, later this month. With wins under his belt in some of the biggest US races including Wicked Weekend, Silverstate, and Pyscho Nitro Blast, Jones raises the competitive level even further at what promises to be a spectacular weekend of racing as Scotty Ernst’s high profile 1:8 Offroad championship returns to the Pine Hills Dirt Racing track for another year. On the announcement Jones said, ‘I’m pumped to be heading to Australia for the 3rd round of the Asian Buggy Champs! It’ll be my first time out of the US, and I’m stoked to race at Pine Hills!’

Source: Asian Buggy Championships [Facebook]

July 2, 2025

Repetti wins Euro Large Scale Series Round 2

The second round of the Euro Large Scale Series (ELS) took place in Luxembourg over the weekend where Edoardo Repetti took the win for Mecatech. With the race attracting 74 entries, qualifying at Mini Circuit “Ville de Luxembourg” would see the former European Champion Repetti secure the TQ honours ahead of fellow Mecatech driver Rick Van der Bol, the Italian setting the fastest time on his Q3 run while his Dutch rival’s best run came in the second round. Cedric Prevot from France completed the Top 3 at the end of the four rounds of qualifying. After Super Pole it was Norway’s Sindre Undheim who lined up P2 for the half hour final but setting the fastest lap of the race Repetti kept Undheim at bay to win by 1-lap with Prevot making it an all Mecatech podium.

Image: GRP [grpgandini.it]