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February 12, 2026

2026 New Zealand 1:10 EP Onroad C/ship – Report

The 2026 NZRCA 1:10 EP Onroad New Zealand Championship, presented by Power HD, concluded last weekend, and while entry numbers were modest, the intensity on the track was at an all-time high, with seven classes of competition providing world-class door-to-door action. Gael Bueno Ware was the man to beat in the premier classes, securing a “double-double” by taking the TQ and overall win in both Modified and 13.5 Touring. In Modified Touring, the Yokomo teammate duo of Bueno Ware and Logan Toia put on a masterclass. The highlight of the weekend was a thrilling A2 main where Toia pushed Bueno Ware to the absolute limit. The race was decided by a final-lap dash to the line in what was described by many as the race of the event. Toia would settle for second, with Simon Noton piloting his Tamiya TRF 421 to the final podium spot. Bueno Ware repeated his dominance in 13.5 Touring Stock. Despite a strong challenge from recent standout Will Sloane, Gael’s consistency proved insurmountable. Sloane showed impressive pace as a class debutant, but a series of errors allowed the veteran to pull away. Kenley Brown rounded out the podium in third.

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February 9, 2026

Mod Champion to be decided at EWS Finale – R4 Report

The penultimate round of the Essex Winter Series took place this Sunday, and confirmed that the LRP Modified champion would once again be crowned in the Series Finale next month! Kyle Branson opened proceedings, setting the best times in Q1 and Q2. The ToniSport-backed driver had now chosen to run a Mugen MTC-3 chassis for the rest of the winter, and it was a Mugen 1-2 as he led Alex Thurston in both the opening runs. Chris Grainger seemed to have re-found his form after a tough start to the winter by taking third in the first round and fourth in the second qualifier. Elliott Harper, a championship contender alongside Kyle and Alex, seemed on the back foot after a fifth and third place scores. However, for Q3, Elliott found some pace with his Schumacher, posting a new fastest time to top the round ahead of Kyle and Alex, before a tight final qualifier again saw Elliott lead Kyle and Alex to secure the overall pole position. Chris would line up fourth with his Reedy Power-backed Schumacher, with Bailey Graves (Schumacher) rounding out the top five. The A Final ultimately turned in to a dominant drive from Elliott, with the top three breaking away from the rest of the field in the opening laps, before Elliott then pulled away further to leave the two Mugen cars to fight over second and third. At the half-distance mark, Kyle made a small mistake, leaving just enough space for Alex to pounce and move up to second. However, a few laps later, a lapped car then took out Alex, allowing Kyle back up into second in the race. That was the order they finished, with Elliott making it back-to-back wins and moving into the championship lead. However, Kyle’s gift of second place leaves him tied with Elliott, and now Alex two points behind – meaning the championship will be decided in March.

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February 9, 2026

Lemieux doubles at JConcepts INS16 opener

Xray’s Chase Lemieux has opened the 16th season of the JConcepts Indoor National Series with a double win at his home track of Trackside Hobbies in Wisconsin. The first stop on the 5 round calendar, Lemieux would secure the TQ in both 2WD and 4WD. In 2WD his closest challenger would be Team Associated’s Aydin Horne, winner of the race 12-months earlier, and Xray team-mate Dakotah Phend, each driver posting a TQ run over the three quali rounds. In 4WD, it was Schumacher’s reigning double INS Champion, and winner of the race in 2025, Broc Champlin who lined up P2 with Phend again P3 ahead of Team Associated’s Spencer Rivkin. In the finals Lemieux would need just the opening two A-Mains to wrap up both overall wins. In 2WD Horne won A3 to finish second with Phend completing the podium ahead of Tom Rinderknecht. In 4WD Champlin took A3 to finish second with Rivkin getting onto the podium with P2 finishes in A2 & 3. Round 2 of the JConcepts INS16 takes place on May 1-3 at RC One Racing in Macomb Township, Michigan.

Image: JConcepts [jconcepts.net]

February 5, 2026

Tamiya Group C Series Round 2 – Report

Round two of the all-new Group C Series took place last weekend, once again on the wonderful Vallelunga track. The race saw a repeat of entries compared to the season opener, despite some last minute deficiencies. The field proved to be competitive as ever, and at the end of controlled practice, qualifying and finals the gap between drivers was tiny. Riccardo Acciari would eventually come out as overall winner, followed by Magnocavallo and Emiliano Bartolini pushing TQ Alessandro Bagagli off the podium finishing third overall.

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January 26, 2026

2026 West Coast Indoor Championships – Report

The Lemo Foundation in Redwood City, California, hosted their annual 3 day trophy race, the West Coast Indoor Championships presented by Awesomatix USA over January 16-18. The race drew 171 entries in the second year of the event. 1up Racing Modified Touring saw track designer Stuart Mason take the overall TQ and win, with the 2024 IFMAR World Championship Finalist Jacob Cruz in 2nd and Lex Tyler in 3rd. In Hobbywing 21.5 Touring Car, it was Lex Tyler taking the overall TQ and the win in A1. Ed Whitecotton took the win in A2, leaving it down to A3 between the two drivers. Whitecotton led early, but a late bobble allowed Tyler to take the overall crown with Kellen Yamamoto taking 3rd overall. Whitecotton would redeem himself in the 25.5 class dedicated to the late Jaime Manzanilla, taking advantage from the 2nd spot on the grid to win A1 and A2, with TQ James Joiner finishing 2nd and Angel Fernan finishing 3rd overall.

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January 20, 2026

Double win for Payne at latest BRCA 1:12 encounter

Excelerate RC’s Ollie Payne kicked off his 2026 season with a double win at the latest rounds of the BRCA 2025/25 Stock 13.5 National Championship. Rounds 7 & 8 were hosted by the Dorset Model Car Racing Club and it was championship leader Payne who set the pace all weekend. Securing the TQ with his R1 Wurks powered Prodigy 12 for Saturday’s Round 7 action he would go on to take the win ahead of the Awesomatix of Michael Bolt and Excelerate team-mate Morgan Williams, the podium the same order as they qualified. In Round 8 it was again Payne with the TQ which he duly converted into the win for the perfect weekend. He was joined on Sunday’s podium by the Schumacher pairing of Finley Whitelock and Louis Parker. Payne’s closest title rival going into the weekend, it was to be a difficult one for Mark Stiles with the Awesomatix driver suffering a P10 (DNF) in Saturday’s final and P5 on Sunday.

Image: Schumacher [Facebook]

January 15, 2026

Smith & Stafford win at EssexCarpetClash Rd4

The fourth encounter of the 6 round EssexCarpetClash took place last weekend in the UK where Round 3 double winner Ben Smith & his Schumacher took the 2WD while the Team Associated of Ellis Stafford took the 4WD honours. For many it was the first race of the year, with a few looking forward to trying their new equipment they had received from Christmas, with the organisers creating a flowing track with a double jump section and dog leg table top would challenge the drivers. In 2WD it seemed to be a battle between Smith and Harley Eldridge for the entire day. Both managed to top the qualifying sheets twice so it came down to the fastest time which was Smith. Next to line up on the grid for third and fourth would be a fight between Aaron Nash and Oliver Nattress, again joint on points with Nash having the faster time. Alfie Castle would get to grips with the track after round one putting in some decent times with Billy Fletcher having a very consistent day. The finals would be a continuation of qualifying and would be a fight on track between Smith and Eldridge. Smith was able to wrap up the day with two leg wins with Eldridge consistently finishing in the top three. Aaron Nash was able to secure the bottom step of the podium with two decent leg finishes.

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January 12, 2026

Harper wins at EWS R3 as two Champions crowned early

Round 3 of the Essex Winter Series took place yesterday at the popular British series’ regular venue in the South-East of the UK where a win for Schumacher’s Elliot Harper keeps the championship wide open while Zak Finlay and Dan Blake secured titles. Harper secured pole position in the LRP Modified class, but he had a tight battle with Kyle Branson throughout. Branson, who took the win at Round 1 of the series in October, topped the opening round with his Awesomatix, before Harper took control to win the remaining rounds. The winner at Round 2 of the series, Alex Thurston, lined up third with his Mugen Seiki, ahead of Xray’s Harley Eldridge and the Schumacher of Peter Eagles. In the final, Elliott remained in control and quickly opened up a lead at the front ahead of Branson. The battle on track was for third, with Harley continually closing in on Alex. After keeping the pressure on, Eldridge finally found a way past Thurston in the final minute of the race to move to a podium position. Almost at the same moment, Branson tapped a corner, damaging his car. He held on to second place, but Eldridge quickly closed in. Branson did all he could to keep Eldridge behind, but with a damaged car it proved difficult, leading to Eldridge making an excellent high-speed pass through the infield section on the penultimate lap to add to Branson’s injury, Thurston then also managed to sneak through on the final lap to secure a podium result. All this action left Harper to cruise to victory at the front. This keeps the overall championship wide open, with Harper, Thurston and Branson each having a win with two rounds of the series left to run.

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