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September 4, 2026

Iivonen takes opening ABC qualifier in Jakarta

Mayako’s Pekko Iivonen has TQ’d the opening qualifier at the concluding round of the 2026 Asian Buggy Championships in Jarkata, Indonesia. The Finn took the first of the five scheduled qualifiers at West Side Raceway ahead of Top Seed Alex Bernadzik, the Team Associated driver 2.7-seconds off the TQ pace after a slow start on new tyres. Making it three different manufacturers in the Top 3, Sparko’s new FEMCA Champion Jayden Edmunds was a similar margin off his fellow countryman Bernadzik to open with a P3 effort. While taking the opening TQ in eBuggy ahead of Edmunds with his Team Associated, Hyunkyu Jung encountered traffic on the opening laps of his first nitro qualifier hampering his chances of a double, but it was a costly mistake on the teenager’s penultimate lap that meant the 4th fastest for Q1. Infinity’s Jason Nugroho upheld home honours as he set the fifth fastest time ahead of the Mugen Seiki of Australian teenager Zac Foster.

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September 4, 2026

World Champion Takahata confirmed for Singapore International Nitro GP

Mugen Seiki’s reigning 1:8 Onroad World Champion Shoki Takahata has been confirmed for October’s Singapore International Nitro Grand Prix. The Japanese driver joined a very exclusive club in Chile last December when he won the IFMAR World title for a second time having previously won in 2019 in the United States. Takahata joins Infinity’s defending Singapore International Nitro GP Champion Dario Balestri, the duo having held the World No.1 status between them for the last 9-years, for what will be an extra special edition of the race as it celebrates its 20th anniversary. Taking place on October 10-11, the same weekend as the Singapore F1 Grand Prix, over the last two decades the Radio Control Modellers’ Club’s annual international race has welcomed numerous World Champions. 2026 looks like attracting its most World Champion stack field yet.

Source: RCMC Singapore [Facebook]

September 3, 2026

Bernadzik tops first seeding in Indonesia

Alex Bernadzik topped the opening round of seeding at the season finale of the Asian Buggy Championships today in Indonesia, the Australian heading a 1-2 for Team Associated. Over the 41-seconds West Side Raceway lap, he would have a 4/10ths of a second advantage over team-mate Hyunkyu Jung as each drivers best two consecutive laps were recorded. A more technical track layout than the Championships’ previous 2024 visit to the dirt track, traffic seemed to be the biggest challenge for drivers in the randomly created seeding groups. Completing the Top 3 for the first of the two seeding rounds, the second getting Friday’s action underway here in Jakarta, was Mayako’s Pekko Iivonen who was 7/10ths off Bernadzik’s pace. The Sparko of Jayden Edmunds was next up, the Australia fourth fastest ahead of the Infinity of Jason Nugroho, one of the few drivers not to sauce his tyres, and the Sworkz of fellow Indonesian Adrian Wicaksono.

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September 2, 2026

Asia Nitro Party 2027 – Announcement

Having kicked off the 2026 season with the successful staging of the inaugural Asia Nitro Party, the Hongyu GDC track in Foshan, China, has announced that it has now locked in the weekend of January 15-17, 2027, as the date for the 2nd edition of the international nitro onroad race. Expanding to a 3-day event, the organisers have also confirmed the event will see racing for nitro onroad’s three main categories – 1:8 Onroad, 1:8 GT, and 1:10 Onroad, the latter set for one of its biggest World Championship entries next week in Italy. Attracting high quality entry for the first edition, with the multi circuit facility making a major impression on those visitors, it was Infinity’s Naoto Matsukura who took the 1:8 Onorad win from Italian Xray driver Filippo Domanin and Serpent’s Andrea Catanzani. In 1:8 GT, Frenchman Bernard-Alain Arnaldi took the win for Genius ahead of the Raptors of World Champion Alessio Mazzeo and Natanaele Senesi. With Southern China experiencing mild weather in January, the timing of the Asian Nitro Party is the perfect opportunity for European nitro racers to break-up the traditional Winter off-season and compete at an event that has already made a mark on establishing itself as a major annual event on the international nitro onroad race calendar. China also offers visa-free entry to most European passport holders, and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) is one of the country’s main international airports making attending the race very accessible.

Source: Hongyu GDC [Facebook]

August 31, 2026

Tellez crowned 1:8 Euro B Buggy Champion in Portugal

Usually a marker of more to come, Spanish racer Iker Tellez is the new EFRA 1:8 Nitro Buggy European B Champion, the Team Associated driver winning the title ahead of Top Qualifier Bradley Baird at the ACDB Os Beirões track in Guarda, Portugal. A champion that counts David Ronnefalk, Juan Carlos Canas, Riccardo Berton, and Mattia Polito as some of its past champions, in qualifying it was the Mugen Seiki of Northern Ireland’s Baird that secured the overall TQ with fastest times in the final 2 of the 4 rounds. Fastest in the opening round, British Agama driver Erik Lykke qualified in P2 followed by Tellez, fastest in Q2, and Portuguese Xray driver Pedro Gomes. Winning his Semi in the fastest time it was Lykke who started on pole ahead of Tellez, Gomes and Baird. At the start of the 45-minute final a strong start by Tellez saw him take a lead he wouldn’t relinquish with the fastest lap of the race helping him to a winning margin of over half a lap on Baird. Lining up 11 on the 13 car grid, Spain’s Erik Becerril Rodríguez came through to complete the podium with his Team Associated ahead of the similar buggy of Italy’s Andrea Cairoli.

Image: EFRA [Facebook]

August 31, 2026

Edmunds becomes double FEMCA Asian Champion in Malaysia

Australian Team Sparko driver Jayden Edmunds completed the double at the FEMCA 1:8 Offroad Asian Championship which took place in Malaysia over the weekend. Racing on the oil treated Putrajaya Offroad RC Park track which is located south of the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, the race to be crowned the official champion of Asia attracted just 49 drivers and with Kyosho’s back to back champion Phi-Long Nguyen not in attendance this year, the title was wide open. In qualifying five rounds saw Edmunds take the TQ with 3 fastest runs compared to the two of the compatriot Zac Foster whose Mugen Seiki took P2. In eBuggy, Edmunds, who only joined Sparko at the end of June, completed a clean sweep to lock in the TQ again ahead of Foster. In the 12-car eBuggy main, Edmunds took A1 and 2 to lift his first FEMCA title before going on to secure the double in the 1-hour 15-car Nitro final. From the front he controlled the race to win with a comfortable margin over Foster while from P4 on the grid it was Malaysia’s very own Ken NG who completed the podium with his Sparko.

Image: Jayden Edmunds [Facebook]

August 27, 2026

Balestri to defend Singapore International Nitro GP title

Two time IFMAR World Champion Dario Balestri is to defend his Singapore International Nitro GP title, with the Infinity driver confirmed to head this year’s entry list. Having last month claimed his fourth consecutive European Championship title, the Italian is relishing his first opportunity to race on the newly resurfaced RCMC track, which underwent huge work earlier this year. Set to take place from October 10-11, the same weekend as the Singapore F1 Grand Prix, a repeat win this year would be extra special as the race will celebrate its 20th anniversary. An event that over the two decades has welcomed numerous World Champions, 2026 looks like attracting its most World Champion stack field yet, all vying to take the win of the Radio Control Modellers’ Club’s annual international race.

Source: RCMC Singapore [Facebook]

August 16, 2026

2026 IFMAR ISTC World C/ships Stage 2 Report

IFMAR has published the Stage 2 report for the 2026 ISTC World Championships which take place at Huge RC in Bangkok, Thailand, from November 8-14th. Since the the Stage 1 report, the main updates are the details of the recently announced official tyres from Hudy. Using the A2-40 tyre, a maximum of 20 sets of tyres can be bought of which 12 sets must be marked for the actual race event covering from controlled practice until the finals. Stage 2 also confirms Mighty Gripper V3 Yellow as the controlled tyre additive with Ichinen brake cleaner the controlled tyre cleaner for the event. Both items will be supplied in tyre preparation area. Another small change is that IFMAR President Eric Anderson will now fill the role Technical Director. A unique track for the 13th running of the ISTC World Championships, the track owned by 2002 ISTC World Champion Surikarn Chaidajsuriya a roof covered asphalt circuit, the official Worlds Warm Up Race, which runs as part of the Hudy Series Thailand event, takes place August 29-30. The first cars will hit the track at the Worlds on November 8 with two days of IPD after which the track layout will be changes for the official open practice on November 11th. View the full Stage 2 report here.

Source: IFMAR [ifmar.org]