Red RC » International

November 7, 2022

Orlowksi & Pålsson win at Euro Buggy Masters

Continuing his successful Swedish tour, Michal Orlowski took the 4WD win at Euro Buggy Masters indoor offroad event in Furulund. Having won at the Indoor Touring Car Swedish National Championship at David Ronnefalk’s DR Racing Arena the previous weekend, the factory Schumacher driver travelled to the home club of another leading Swedish racer Jessica Pålsson. Taking the TQ from Alexander Landén and Joona Haatanen, in the finals he would take the win ahead of Team Associated’s Haatanen with Pålsson completing the podium. In 2WD, it was Pålsson who led proceedings securing the TQ from Orlowski and Landén on the fresh EOS carpet track. In the final she took her Schumacher to victory in all three finals ahead of Orlowski and Landén which is how they lined up on the final podium at the Furulund RCK hosted event.

Image: Michal Orlowski [Facebook]

November 7, 2022

Outgoing EFRA President Javier Garcia announces complete departure from sport.

Outgoing EFRA President Javier Garcia has announced on social media that he is to completely exit the sport having served with the European governing body since 2015. The likely Spaniard made the announcement following the EFRA AGM which took place in Belgium over the weekend where long serving EFRA board member Jacqueline Aebi took over as the new President, a role that was filled by Garcia for the last 5-years. In his message on Facebook, the very amenable figure outlined a lack of progress and interest in change within the organisation and RC Community had led him to loose his passion and motivation. He also goes on to highlight that major changes are required within EFRA for it to be able to progress – a view that has been widely held for a number of years now. RedRC first met Javier at the 2016 1:10 Nitro Touring Car World Championships when the late EFRA/IFMAR President Dallas Mathiesen personally told us that he had found someone who could be a huge asset to the sport. Having tried to work on a number of projects ourselves with EFRA prior to Javier’s arrival within the organisation, we can fully empathise with the frustrations he outlines in his message. Our sport’s loss is Javier’s family’s gain. Thank you Javier for your efforts.

Read full message 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.

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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.

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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’.

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November 1, 2022

Ollie Payne does the double at Masters of Foam

In a big weekend for 1:12 racing, Britain’s Ollie Payne did the double at the Masters of Foam event in Belgium. In qualifying, the Roche driver claimed the TQ in both Modified, ahead of Schumacher’s Markus Mobers and the Awesomatix of Patrick Hofer, and in Stock, ahead of team-mate Morgan Williams and new Awesomatix factory recruit Mark Stiles. In the finals there was no stopping Payne from continuing his domination of the Miniatuur Racing Club Zwevegem (MRCZ) hosted event. Winning the opening 2 A-mains of Mod allowing him to sit out A3, German Mobers won that encounter to finish second overall ahead of Switzerland’s Hofer. Stock was a similar affair with Payne wrapping up things after A2 but also racing A3 fellow countryman Stiles would pass him for the win in the dying moments of the 8-minute race when they came up on traffic involved in their own battle for position. The A3 win gave Stiles second overall with the podium completed by Williams. A very successful event, it has already been confirmed the Masters of Foam will return to Zwevegem in 2023.

View group photo here

October 30, 2022

Orlowski wins, Wilck crowned Swedish Champion

Having taken the TQ, topping 4 of the 5 qualifiers, Michal Orlowski completed the perfect weekend at the Swedish Indoor National Championships to take the overall Touring Car victory. However, given Orlowki’s Polish nationality the honour of being crowned 2023 Champion would go to second place finisher Viktor Wilck. Hosted at David Ronnefalk’s DR Racing Arena, this year’s event attracted an international field with Marc Rheinard another star of touring cars to make the trip north to Sweden. With two wins from the triple A-Mains, Orlowski may have been ineligible for the Swedish title but his victory is the perfect start to the indoor carpet racing season for the Schumacher driver. Behind the Infinity of Swede Wilck, who heads to Thailand for the Nitro Touring Car World Championship this coming week, Rheinard completed the race podium for Awesomatix. Finishing 4th, Xray’s Alexander Hagberg and 6th place finisher David Ronnefalk complete the Swedish TC title podium. In 1:12 it was Hagberg who took victory to be crowned Swedish Champion from Ronnefalk and Alex Andresson.

View TC & 1:12 title podiums here

October 29, 2022

Orlowski TQ at Swedish Nationals!

The Swedish Indoor National Championship has a very international entry this year with factory Schumacher driver Michal Orlowski securing the overall TQ. Taking place at DR Racing Arena, the track of 1:8 Offroad World Champion David Ronnefalk, the Swede invited a few international friends to join the race. As well as Orklowski, who took 3 of the 4 qualifiers, Ronnefalk’s Awesomatix Touring Car team-mate Marc Rheinard has made the trip to Kallinge where he will start P2 after topping Q3. Best of the Swedes after qualifying is factory Infinity driver Viktor Wilck in third with another of Sweden’s World Champions, Xray’s Alexander Hagberg claiming P4. Finland’s Pekko Iivonen is set to line up fifth ahead of the UK’s Andy Murray with Ronnefalk himself qualifying 7th. With 1:12 also running at the event, it is Hagberg with the TQ from Ronnefalk and Alexander Andersson.

Image: Michal Orlowski [Facebook]