Red RC » Gas

February 12, 2024

Groskamp wins 48th annual Florida Winternats

Infinity’s Jilles Groskamp has won the 48th annual Florida Winternats. The iconic US nitro onroad, now hosted annually at the Nuggets Ranch RC Raceway in Arcadia which was built in 2010, attracted 170 entires this year with 1:8 Open the biggest class with 46 drivers. With five rounds of qualifying, each driver counting their single fastest 4-minute run, it was the Dutch driver who took the TQ with Q3 run ahead of the Capricorn of Germany’s Thilo Diekmann and Mugen Seiki of former 1:10 Nitro World Champion Ralph Birch. In the 30-minute final, Groskamp lead early before Burch had a stint at the front until hitting problems and dropping to fourth at the half way distance. This allowed last year’s Top Qualifier Diego Morganti’s Capricorn to lead briefly before Groskamp resumed the lead again. Swapping position with Diekmann over pitstops, Groskamp’s Picco powered IF18 took the win by 3.1-second as Burch recovered to complete the podium. With the fastest lap of the race Morganti finished 4th while 2023 Champion Eric Dennett came home P6. In 1:10 Nitro Touring Car, Serpent’s defending Champion Bryce Butterfield topped qualifying from team-mate Jose Almonte but at the end of the half hour final it was Almonte who came away with the win. Butterfield lead initially but was out just as the race reached 1/4 distance. Behind Almonte it was John Hodges and Franco Machado who completed the podium. In 1:8 Nitro GT it was IGT8’s Paolo Morganti who secured the TQ ahead of 2023 Champion Amonte. Setting the fastest lap of the race, Morgani would go onto to win from Lazaro Alonso after Almonte retired in the early stages of the final.

Image: Jilles Groskamp [Facebook]

February 11, 2024

Berton wins Montpellier GP

Infinity’s Riccardo Berton has won the Montepellier GP, the Italian winning the 18th running of the French classic ahead of reigning European Champion Juan Carlos Canas and reigning World Champion Davide Ongaro. In qualifying it was the Sworkz of Canas that secured the TQ topping two of the 4 rounds after rain forced the cancellation of Q5. Fastest in Q3, Berton took 2nd followed by the Xray of David Ronnefalk who mastered the Circuit du MBM in Q4. Aiming his third Montepellier GP win in a row, Ongaro’s Team Associated ended up 4th. Winning his Semi B Final, the top 3 setting faster times than the winning time Canas in the Semi A, it was 2016 winner Berton who lined up on pole position for the 1-hour 14 buggy final ahead of Ongaro, Jonny Skidmore with Canas P4. In an exciting final Canas would be the long time race leader but with his OGO tyres equipped pre-production IFB8, Berton went to the first in the last third of the race to secure the win by just over 1-second from his Spanish rival. After a rough start that left him at the back of the pack, Ongaro set the fastest lap of the race to recover and complete the podium at the European 1:8 Offroad season opener. Making it four different manufacturers in the Top 4, Mugen’s Burak Kilic finished fourth ahead of Elliott Boots and Theo Lemaire.

Image: Circuit du MBM [Facebook]

February 11, 2024

Lutz opens Asian Buggy C/ships campaign with NZ win

Kyosho’s Ryan Lutz got his Asian Buggy Championships campaign off to the perfect start with victory at the season opener in New Zealand. After the inaugural ABC in 2023, the expanded four round 2024 season has been upgraded to full championship status with Lutz taking maximum points from Round 1 which was hosted by the Counties RC track in Auckland. Putting his Alpha powered MP10 on pole for the 45-minute Nitro Buggy Final ahead of Tekno’s Caleb Noble and Kyosho team-mate Kyle McBride, Lutz would go on to dominate the race. McBride had managed to stay with Lutz until the first round of pitstops but as the second stop approached ran out of fuel and lost a lap as a result something that would happen again to the Aussie later in the race. Early drive shaft issues put Caleb out of contention with his race over at 25-minutes and so it was the HB Racing of top New Zealand qualifier Logan Toia that came through to finish second. Recovering from his fuel dramas, McBride complete the podium just ahead of the Xray of Jayden Jamieson. In eBuggy, Lutz made it a double clean sweep winning from the TQ spot ahead of Noble and McBride. In Nitro Truggy, Top Qualifier Jamieson got the win ahead of Shane O’Connor while eTruggy honours went to the Xray of Kenley Brown. Round 2 of the Asian Buggy Championships travels to the Philippines in the middle of April for Asia’s biggest and most famous offroad race the Philippine Masters where Lutz will be aiming to extend his championship lead. Red RC will be returning to Manila again in 2024 to coverage all the action from the always impressive Circulo Verde track.

Source: Asian Buggy Championships [Facebook]

February 10, 2024

Lutz TQ at Asian Buggy Championships opener

Kyosho’s Ryan Lutz is the Top Qualifier at the opening round of the Asian Buggy Championships in New Zealand. The first international 1:8 Offroad event to be held in the country, the American secured the overall TQ in nitro buggy in dominant fashion his Alpha engined MP10 topping all four rounds of qualifying at the Counties RC in Auckland. The first of the four rounds on the extended 2024 ABC calendar, with stops in the Philippines, Australia and Indonesia making up the rest of the ambitious championship, Lutz’s main challenge was to come from Aussie pairing Caleb Noble and Kyle McBride. Driving his Tekno, Noble posted three P2 runs two of which were just a second off the TQ pace. Returning to his first international since the World Championship in Spain in 2022, McBride took his Kyosho to a P2 run in the final qualifier. Heading the local charge was Jayden Jamieson, the New Zealander taking his Xray fourth at the end of qualifying ahead of fellow Kiwi Logan Toia. In eBuggy it was also Lutz who secured the TQ while in Nitro Truggy it was Jamieson top came out on top.

Source: Asian Buggy Championships [Facebook]

January 29, 2024

Maifield & Rivkin win at TNR Fuels Amain Challenge 2024

Ryan Maifield and Spencer Rivkin took the big wins at the annual TNR Fuels A-Main Challenge which took place over the weekend at The Dirt at Perris track in SoCal. In qualifying it was the Tekno fleet of Maifield that led the way as he secured a TQ triple with pole position in Nitro Buggy, eBuggy and Nitro Truggy. As last year’s Truggy Champion Maifield would kick off finals day with victory in the 30-minute A-Main after a great battle with Tekno team-mate Spencer Heckert. Behind Rivkin completed the podium. In eBuggy Maifield won both A-Main encounters for overall win No.2 of the weekend, the first leg ahead of Frankie Contreras and the second ahead of Rivkin but a P4 and P5 was enough for Cole Odgen to finished runner up with Contreras claiming 3rd overall. Attracting over 400 entries, in the concluding races of the event it was to be 2023 winner Rivkin who again took the Nitro Buggy victiry after getting passed Maifield who had lead the first half of the 45-minute encounter. Qualifying P2, Kyosho’s Ryan Lutz would complete the podium ahead of Sparko Racing’s Ryan Cavalieri.

Image: AMain Hobbies [Facebook]

January 19, 2024

SIGP International Grand Prix registration opens

Sunpadow Batteries has announced that registration is now open for the return of the SIGP International RC Car Grand Prix Onroad with the event set to take place on March 20-24. Having established itself as one of the leading annual international RC events in China and attracted many of the sport’s top drivers, World Champion Bruno Coelho was the winner of the last onroad edition in 2019. The event takes place at the 2017 IFMAR Electric Offroad Championship venue in Xiamen where both an onroad and offroad track are built side by side next to Sunpadow’s production facility and overlooked by one of the World’s biggest driver stands. The SIGP will continue to offer one of the biggest prizes in the sport with total prize money of $20,000 on offer over the categories which include 1:8 GP onroad, 1:8 EP onroad, 1:10 Modified Touring Car and 1:10 Stock Touring Car. Having attended previous editions of the SIGP, Red RC will be travelling to Xiamen to cover the return of international competition on the Sunpadow Circuit.

Source: Sunpadow [sunpadow.com]

January 2, 2024

Zanchettin joins Xray

Xray has announced that multiple Italian National Champion Alex Zanchettin is joining its team and will race their XB8 platform. Zanchettin had previously raced for the Mayako team signing for them at the beginning of 2022 but in 2023 made an appearance as part of the ongoing Infinity Offroad project when he joined lead driver Riccardo Berton for The Italian Race during the Summer. Commenting on the Xray announcement Zanchettin said, “I’m so proud to join such prestigious and ambitious brand like Xray. I always looked up to Xray for dedication to work and for their winning attitude and I’m sure that hard work and their top quality products will be the key to achieve our common goals. Can’t wait to see you all at the track again”.

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]

January 2, 2024

Tessman calls time on career after 20-years of racing

2014 1:8 Buggy World Champion Ty Tessman has called time on an impressive career that puts him up there among the greats of offroad racing. The Canadian announced the decision to retire from the sport after 20-years of racing as he is set to become a father in 2024. Never an easy decision for any sports professional who has dedicate their live to achieving success, the decision by Xray to drop him at the end of 2023 after a 7-year partnership would certainly have played a factor in his departure from the sport. A driver who only represented two manufacturers during his extensive career, Tessman paid tribute to Hot Bodies for giving him the opportunity to turn professional in the sport with his father Gord and mother Leann a pivotal part of the ‘Team Tessman’ journey, the highlight of which was his World title win in Italy 10-years ago. Having witnessed and reported on many of Ty greatest wins over the years, Red RC would like to thank the Tessmans for the memories (late cold nights at the Dirt Nitro Challenge pitting in the Pro-Line tent particular stand outs!!) of some epic race battles and wish Ty all the best in his new family life. Who knows maybe the story will repeat itself in years to come.

Read Ty’s full announcement here