Red RC » Gas

November 8, 2022

Greiner fastest in 3rd round of seeding

Dominic Greiner finally hit the top of the times sheets in seeding practice ending Tadahiko Sahashi’s run of fastest times in the first half of the day at the 1:10 Nitro World Championship. Only P9 in the day’s opening round, the Capricorn driver improved to P4 in Round 2 before going fastest in Round 3. Mister consistent in practice Jilles Groskamp was P2 for a third time with Sahashi, whose Round 1 time is still the fastest of the day, completing the Top 3. Another of the leading contenders to struggle in the opening round, Shoki Takahata improved his Mugen to post the fourth fastest time. For reigning World Champion Naoto Matsukura, the penultimate round was his best so far as he set the sixth fastest time behind team-mate Carmine Riola. Top qualifier at the previous 1:10 and 1:8 World Championship, Dario Balestri has had a challenging day with the Italian having a best run of P8 in Round 2 leaving him currently sitting 11th which would see him seeded in the second fastest heat for qualifying.

Continue reading report here

November 7, 2022

Greiner on top as free practice concludes at Nitro Worlds

Having waited four years for it to come around, it is go time at the 1:10 Nitro Touring Car World Championship in Thailand with Dominic Greiner at the top of the time sheets as controlled practice concludes at RC Addict. After the 14-rounds of practice over the past 2 days, the Capricorn driver set the fastest 3-consecutive laps followed Infinity’s Jilles Groskamp. Reigning Champion Naoto Matsukura completed the Top 3 just ahead of team-mate Jesse Davis while behind it was a trio of 1:8 World Champions. 2017 winner Dario Balestri posted the fourth fastest time from 2013 Champion Tadahiko Sahashi with reigning 1:8 Champion Shoki Takahata completing the Top 6 before the go into four rounds of seeding practice tomorrow (Tuesday).

Continue reading report here

November 6, 2022

“I never give up wanting to win”, Balestri says 1:10 World Title “the missing piece”

The first ever event Red RC covered was the 2007 1:10 Nitro Touring Car European Championship in Madrid, Spain. The class was still the new kid on the block and there was plenty of hype about the category. The race would be Xray’s first venture into nitro with them bringing in star names Teemu Leino and Jilles Groskamp from electric touring car in their quest to win with their new NT1. Dario Balestri was the defending Champion and the real star of nitro onroad. He was Italian, he exclusively raced nitro, and he was one of chosen ones for iconic Italian engine manufacturer Novarossi. This was a time when your engine sponsor was the most important element of your race package – without the right power you weren’t going to win and the makers of these little engines were very selective about who got one of the ‘special’ ones! The market also had a newcomer in the engine department in Team Orion, headed up by a certain Adrien Bertin, who to this day is still the only driver to have achieved the double of being World Champion of both 1:8 and 1:10. This was a golden era of 1:10 nitro onroad.

Continue reading here

November 4, 2022

Greiner “very confident” ahead of World Championship despite no previous RC Addict experience.

It is hard to believe that this will be only the fourth 1:10 Nitro Touring Car World Championship appearance for Dominic Greiner. Think about 1:10 Nitro Touring Car and the German is going to be one of the first drivers to come to mind. If ever a driver was branded a class specialist it is Greiner. Making his World’s debut in 2014 he took the TQ and finished on the podium despite a damaged car following a roll during the race. In 2016 he switched that order qualifying third but achieving what mattered most, finishing first to endorse his outright raw speed and put his name in the history book of World Champions. A driver who wears his emotions on his sleeve, we love the passionate energy Dominic brings to big races. Never afraid to speak his mind, Dominic goes to RC Addict for his very first time as one of just three drivers vying to become a double World Champion of the only IFMAR class that up to now hasn’t had a repeat winner.

Continue reading here

November 3, 2022

Vejrak “just excited to race again” as WC returns to scene of his 2012 World title.

This week drivers from around the world are setting off on their travels to Asia and more specifically Bangkok, Thailand after a longer than usual 4-year wait between World Championships. The 2022 IFMAR World Championship for 1:10 Nitro Touring Car is returning to RC Addict in the capital city exactly a decade after hosting the event when it had a fairytale finish. Not really featuring on anyone’s radar when he made his World’s debut in the USA 2 years earlier, in 2012, Bangkok born & bred racer Meen Vejrak took the title. Winning a World title is a thing of dreams but winning it on home soil surrounded by those who supported you from your very first days of racing takes it to an even higher emotional level. It turned out 2012 was a special year for ‘local boy done good’ as a few months earlier we witnessed Jilles Groskamp become ISTC World Champion at the very track on which he honed his skills as a kid. With the Worlds returning to his home track and his name coming up as one that is expected to be in the mix, Meen isn’t phased by the pressure but instead is relishing the opportunity saying, ‘I’m just excited to race again’.

Continue reading here

October 23, 2022

Kurzbuch announces Team Shepherd departure

Former 1:8 Onroad World Champion Simon Kurzbuch has announced his departure from Team Shepherd. The Swiss driver leaves the German chassis manufacturer after representing the brand at the top of the sport for 12 years. In 2015, Kurzbuch & Shepherd achieved the ultimate prize in the sport when he was crowned World Champion in Brazil. Other highlights of the partnership include the 2018 European Championship and a string of titles during the height of the Euro Nitro Series. Announcing he will leave Shepherd on social media, he said, ‘It all started 2010 with the club race at our home track. I drove the first time my Shepherd Velox, it was so exciting. Today it ends, with the club race at my home track I’m so excited for the “last dance” with my Shepherd Velox! But it’s much more. Almost half of my life I’ve been going through a crazy adventure and I’m so f##king thankful for every single moment! Thanks to the whole Schäfer family and PiccoBello, Beat and Käthi, who brought me on this way to meet so many people (Sorry to not name you all but you are in my heart!), winning every possible title in this category – I have tears in my eyes because it was so great and we will always remember it – forever ever! Every End is a beginning of something new – cant wait to tell you more about!’ An official announcement on his new team is expected in 2-weeks time.

Source: Simon Kurzbuch [facebook.com]

October 13, 2022

Minidrom Ettlingen seeks support to prevent closure of famed track

A favourite among some of the best racers in the World, German track Minidrom Ettlingen is looking for the support of the RC community as plans for a Biogas Plant look set to see the track closed by 2024. The club has been operating for 40-years and the track has attracted some of the best racers from around the global to the city of almost 40,000 through events such as IFMAR World Championships, EFRA European Championships, Euro Nitro Series and the ETS. Built on land owned by the city, the ground has been earmarked as the site for the new 50,000 ton organic waste fermentation plant. The club is looking to highlight the value of the track to local tourism in terms of hotels, restaurants and suppliers and on a wider level how vital the track & its strong club are for R/C racing in Germany and also Europe. Red RC have been guests of the club for many races there over the years. The racing has always been entertaining and the club have always looked after us well. We also love the banking around the track which makes for great spectating. Already World Champions Dominic Greiner, Simon Kurzbuch and Robert Pietsch, among others, have got behind supporting the club.

You can support the club in their quest to ensure Minidrom Ettlingen remains a favourite track among racers for years to come by signing the online petition which can be found by clicking here.

October 11, 2022

Thurston crowned British 1:8 Onroad Champion for 3rd time in a row

Alex Thurston was crowned British 1:8 Onroad National Champion for a third time in a row over the weekend, the Capricorn driver being presented with his trophies at the 7th & final round of the championship at Halifax. Having already locked in the championship with 5 TQs, 4 wins, a 2nd and a 3rd, Thurston attended the season closer to support fellow Capricorn and Ielasi Tuned drivers as well as giving newly crowned 1:10 Champion Stefan Chodzynski the opportunity to try 1:8 for the very first time and drive his championship winning car. The season finale was won by Team Shepherd’s Tim Wood who finishes as Vice-Champion with Capricorn’s Andy Hasting third. Thurston will now focus his attentions on 1:10 Nitro Onroad in preparation for next month’s World Championship in Thailand.

Image: Alex Thurston [Facebook]