Red RC » International

July 1, 2008

1/8th scale Buggy Europeans – Day 1

IMC Track

The opening day of the 2008 EFRA European 1:8 off Road Buggy Championships has come to a close and as the dust settles here in Crete the drivers had little to report as they eased themselves in to the event over the single 15 minute practice session that made up today’s timetable. The track was the biggest talking point today with many of the top drivers saying the surface was their main concern. It would appear from drivers who took part in the Warm up race earlier in the year that the track surface has remained largely untouched since that event.

View the full coverage on our event site here.

July 1, 2008

1/8th scale Buggy Europeans – Live

European 1/8th scale Buggy Champs - Live

The best 1/8th scale buggy drivers in Europe are converging on the Greek island of Crete this week to battle it out on the fast and tricky IMC Club track in Iraklio and see who will become the 2008 European Champion. Robert Batlle will be of course be there to defend his crown, won last year in France, and he is up against some strong competition with the top factory teams pulling out all the stops to try and wrestle the title away from the Spanish Hobao driver. Red RC reporter Oisin O’Briain will be present all week reporting live trackside, bringing you our usual blend of quality reporting, photographs and interviews from this exciting event. Baring any last minute hiccups, the reporting will begin Tuesday afternoon and carry through to Saturday’s main final. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors for the event, Kyosho and LRP, without whose support this would not be possible.

You can go to our event site by clicking here, or on the Event banner or Events tab at the top of the page.

June 28, 2008

Hara & Stocker take ETS Rd4 TQ

As predicted following the blistering pace he set in timed practice yesterday, Atsushi Hara has TQ’d for the finale of the inaugural Euro Touring Series at Andernach in Germany. The former World Champion has been in a league of his own despite the world class field competing at the event this weekend. Winning the first two heats with ease Hara was expected to secure pole for the A Mains in the third round but the Japanese ace made a rare driver error and pulled up early. Round 4 however it was back to business for the Hot Bodies team driver taking the win and achieve an unbeatable zero score to guarantee the TQ. In Pro Stock, German Hot Bodies Cyclone racer Alexander Stocker locked up the TQ spot after the 3rd round and goes into tomorrows final looking to take the overall Stock Championship having won the first round of the series in Kastellaun.

Go to the ETS site to see our complete coverage.

June 28, 2008

Hara leads the field at ETS Rd4

Atsushi Hara

Red RC are present at the 4th and final round of the 2007/08 Much More backed European Touring Series and after the 2nd round of qualifying it was once again Atsushi Hara that is the man to beat with his Hot Bodies Cyclone TC, topping the time sheets from the Xray T2 ‘008 of Paul Lemieux. Both drivers reported their cars were the same as in the first qualifier but that the track had lost some of its speed. Needing just another round win to secure the TQ, Hara plans to use his second available set of Sweep control tires in the third heat to try and sew up the pole.

Go to the ETS site to see our complete coverage.

June 23, 2008

Philippine Invitational TC Championship

Philippine Invitational Touring Car Championship

Last weekend the JP Raceway in the Philippines played host to the Masaaki Hirosaka sponsored Philippine Invitational Touring Car Championship. Mr. Hirosaka’s sponsored driver Nicholas Lee from Singapore dominated the Open Modified Class using his Kyosho Stallion, taking TQ in all 4 rounds of qualifying and won all 3 legs of the final. In the 3rd leg he was pushed very hard by local Serpent racer Ralph Lorenzo and his performance was rewarded with 2nd overall in class, finishing in front of Hot Bodies driver Raffy Abello who claimed 3rd overall. The 23 Turn Open Stock class was dominated by Hot Bodies driver Jerome Supan, who won from Josh Castro who took 2nd, with Tamiya racer Joseph Salcedo claiming 3rd.

Click more for the complete results… content

June 19, 2008

Factory Team at the Euros in Crete

Meet Associated’s very own Factory Team drivers Craig Drescher and Richard Saxton at the 2008 European Championships being held on the island of Crete, July 3rd through 6th. Craig and Richard will be on hand to help support Associated Factory Team drivers Neil Cragg, Elliot Boots and Peter Pinisch, as well as all the other RC8 drivers. Associated’s Factory Team drivers bring with them a wealth of talent and in-depth working knowledge regarding all of the current RC8 set-ups and tips. Let them show you how to get the most out of your RC8 buggy, and to keep it running at the peak of performance. With 22 IFMAR World Championships, and many European, US National and regional championships to their credit, this opportunity offers you a chance to benefit from decades of race winning experience. Please be sure to drop by to introduce yourself and don’t be shy, Craig and Richard are there to help you.

Image: Neo Buggy [neo-buggy.net]

June 16, 2008

Lee Martin wins European ‘B’ title

The European ‘B’ Championships for 1/8th scale buggy were run last weekend at the USBRC’s track in Bergerac, France. Qualifying saw a close battle between Associated driver Lee Martin and Losi racer Darren Bloomfield, both from the UK, as well as Czech driver Martin Bayer. In the end it was Lee that took an easy pole position ahead of Bayer, who managed to claim the spot from Bloomfield in the last round of qualifying, demoting Darren to the 3rd spot. Following the semi’s, the final saw Lee and Darren immediately shot off into the lead of the 45 minute race. Darren worked his way passed Lee in the early stages, but problems following the first refuelling dropped him down the order and gave Lee some breathing space at the front. Darren would eventually work his way back to the front, managing to come from 10th to take 2nd in the last 5 minutes of the race. Lee Martin took the win, and the European title, ahead of Bloomfield in 2nd, 2 laps back, with French racer Romain Soret in 3rd, 1 lap further back.

Click here for the finals results… content

June 15, 2008

Harper & Falconer win Mod at MMUKGP

Today’s running at the Much more UK GP in Stonehaven, Aberdeen in Scotland, saw the Modified classes run for 5-cell and 6-cell. In the 5 cell class it was Elliot Harper that set the pace in rain affected qualifying, claiming the pole position for Xray, ahead of Stock class winner Olly Jefferies in 2nd and Ben Cosgrove 3rd. In the 6 cell class qualifying Graham Kenny took pole position driving an Xray, in front of HB driver Tom Jefferies in 2nd and TOP driver Mark Young in 3rd. In the 5-cell class finals, it was a close battle between Olly Jefferies and Elliot Harper, with the latter taking the win ahead of Olly in leg 1, with the results reversed for leg 2. With both drivers on the same points, the result was decided by fastest run and this went to Harper, with Jefferies ending up with the runners up spot, while Dutch racer Niels Koenekoop took 3rd. The 6-cell final was more straight forward with Kev Falconer, racing an Xray, took both leg wins to claim the overall ahead of pole man Graham Kenny in 2nd and Mark Young in 3rd.

Click more for the final standings… content