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November 14, 2023

Large Scale Pre-Worlds Race Announcement

With New South Wales Radio Controlled Racing Car Club set to host the 2024 IFMAR Large Scale World Championship, the Sydney, Australia based club has announced dates and the opening of entries for the official Pre-Worlds Race. Just weeks after it successfully hosted the 1:8 GT World Championship at The John Grant International Raceway, the club has confirmed March 7-10th as the dates for the Pre-Worlds race with the actual World Championships taking place from October 20th to 27th. In addition to the World Championship 1:5 Touring Car category, the Pre-Worlds will cater for Large Scale Mini, F1 and 1:5 Bikes. Registration is now open and can be completed here.

Source: NSWRCRCC [nswrcrcc.org.au]

November 14, 2023

Xpress’ Nagashima to race at FIRC 2023

Xpress’ Yugo Nagashima is the latest factory driver to be confirmed for the inaugural Foshan International Invitational RC Championship in China on December 15-17. One of Japan’s top international Touring Car racers with a CV that includes victories at the Japanese, Canadian & Australian Nationals, the Snowbirds, the U.S. Indoor Champs and the Asian Onroad Championships, Nagashima joins Mugen’s Ronald Volker as one of the international racers who will make the trip to the new GDC Indoor Race Club track in Guangdong for the recently announced event. At 800 square metres the GDC Indoor track is the largest professional indoor onroad track in China and only opened in May of this year, FIRC will be the first international event it hosts and one which it hopes will become an annual event on the International Touring Car race calendar.

Source: Foshan International RC Championship [Facebook]

November 13, 2023

2024 ISTC World Championship Stage 1 Report

The organisers of the 2024 IFMAR ITSC World Championship have published the Stage 1 Report for the 12th running of the title which will be decided at Finishline RC Raceway in Bakersfield, California. With the dates for Electric Touring Car listed as ‘To be Confirmed’ on the provisional calendar issued by IFMAR back in August, the dates are now confirmed as November 5th to 10th. Constructed in December 2022, Finishline RC Raceway is a joint-venture between Finishline Signs and Track Time Hobbies with the 40.2m x 18.2m asphalt track designed specifically to host 1:10 electric and nitro onroad racing. Back to back reigning World Champion Bruno Coehlo will travel to Finishline RC Raceway next year with the chance to make it three in a row, a feat not yet achieved by any driver in the category.

View Stage Report here

November 12, 2023

Jefferies wins EWS International

Recent Awesomatix signing Olly Jefferies has won the EWS International. Part of the popular indoor winter series in the UK, the International race again attracted a number of top international racers with the TQ going to France touring car ace Lucas Urbain. Making it a strong qualifying for Awesomatix, Urbain’s team-mate Jefferies secured P2 on the grid ahead of the Mugen of Ronald Völker and Xray of Kyle Branson. In the triple finals it was a tough day at the office for Urbain with A1 resulting in a DNF as 2022 Champion Volker took the win from Branson and Schumacher’s Elliott Harper. A2 saw Jefferies win ahead of Volker and Urbain putting everything on the line for A3. In a repeat of the Top 4 of A2, Jefferies lead the field home to claim the outright win with Volker and Branson completing the Modified podium. In Pro-Stock and FWD, German visitor Stefan Schulz had the perfect weekend taking the TQ and victory in both categories for Xray.

Image: Olly Jefferies [Facebook]

November 9, 2023

Mugen Seiki’s Volker confirmed for FIRC 2023

Mugen Seiki Electric Touring Car ace Ronald Volker has been confirmed to attend the inaugural Foshan International Invitational RC Championship in China on December 15-17. A country in which the German driver became the 2016 World Champion, he will make the trip to the new GDC Indoor Race Club track in Guangdong for the recently announced event. The hope is that having international electric onroad racers at FIRC will boost the level of competition among young local racers. Officially opened in May of this year, and at 800 square metres the largest professional indoor onroad track in China, a number of international team drivers are expected to be announced shortly. Red RC is excited to be making the trip to GDC to cover what the organisers hope will become an annual highlight of the international touring car race calendar.

Source: GDC Indoor Race Club

November 9, 2023

’23 1:8 Onroad World Championship Chassis Focus Index

After a four year wait the IFMAR 1:8 Onroad World Championship was back and what a final we would witness at Infinity International RC Speedway in Japan. Following more than a week of action on track it was Infinity’s Dario Balestri who came out on top winning the World title for a second time and in doing so became only the second driver in the history of IFMAR’s original category to be a repeat winner. In terms of manufacturers it was great to see three different manufacturers represented on the podium. During our coverage of the race we managed to photograph 15 cars from 8 different manufacturers and have compiled them all in our latest Chassis Focus index.

View Chassis Focus Index here

November 6, 2023

Payne wins 1:12 International Grand Prix

Schumacher’s Ollie Payne won the 1:12 International Grand Prix in Italy over the weekend ahead of team-mate Michal Orlowski. Fresh from his double victory at the Masters of Foam race in Belgium a week earlier, the British driver travelled to RC Landia in Scandiano where we would again dominate the action. Topping three of the 6 rounds of qualifying, Payne secured the overall TQ ahead of 2022 European Champion Orlowski who posted two TQ runs. Reigning European Champion Alexander Hagberg who take Q3 to secure 3rd on the grid with his Xray. In the triple 8-minute A-Main, Payne won to first two take the overall while victory in A3 gave Orlowski second ahead of Mattia Collina for an all Schumacher podium with Hagberg fourth after a DNF in A3.

Image: RC Landia [Facebook]

November 4, 2023

Balestri back on top of the World in Japan

Infinity’s Dario Balestri is back on top of the World after taking victory at the 1:8 Onroad World Championship in Japan. Having relinquished the title to Mugen Seiki’s Shoki Takahata in the USA in 2019, after a forced 4-year-old wait, the Italian took the title back today and becomes one of the greats of the sport. Having often been referred to as the fastest onroad nitro driver in the World without a World Title before he finally got his breakthrough win in France in 2017, today’s win see him join legendary 9-time World Champion Lamberto Collari as the only other driver to hold the title more than once in the 23 editions of IFMAR’s original World Championship class. Unfortunately for Takahata after a brilliant Semi final win that put him 3rd on the grid, his title defence came to a very premature end in the final when his engine broke after just two and a half minutes. Having enjoyed a good stint as leader of the race, Capricorn’s Toni Gruber would finish 2nd just 7.5-seconds behind Balestri after the one hour of intense racing. Top Qualifier Simon Kurzbuch, who lead for the first 10-minutes until his first tyre stop, would complete the podium for Mugen in a dramatic end of race battle with Infinity’s Jesse Davis that led to a long delay in the prize presentations as it was reviewed by the officials. When the prize giving did get underway Takahata, who changed engine and finished the final, gave himself a better reason to remember his home World Championship by using the opportunity to propose to his girlfriend and she said yes.

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