June 10, 2025

Smokem 2025 Australian Indoor Champs – Report


Last weekend the ACT Model Car Racing Club based in Canberra, Australia, hosted the inaugural Smokem Australian Indoor Champs (AUSIC) run on AusBite carpet.  Catering for six classes, in 13.5 ISTC class, RC Maker factory driver Jeffrey Mackie narrowly secured the top qualifier position, edging out ARC’s Brayden Stanley, with RC Maker teammate Lincoln Codd completing the top three. A1 saw an intense battle on the tight AUSIC layout, with Stanley applying pressure but unable to find a way past the defensive Mackie. In A2, Stanley finally pulled off a pass, only to suffer a mechanical issue that dropped him to last place, leaving Mackie to capitalise and take the win and ultimately, the title. A3 delivered yet another nail-biting showdown, with Stanley crossing the line just two-tenths ahead of Mackie to secure second place overall. Meanwhile, Codd’s consistent pace and measured drives across all three mains earned him the final podium spot, fending off spirited challenges from Stone, Askell, Peet, and Ilievski.

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June 9, 2025

Balestri claims 2025 Italian 1:10 Nitro Touring title

Infinity’s Dario Balestri is the new 2025 AMSCI Italian National Champion for 1:10 Nitro Touring Car, the title decided over an annual single race meeting.  This year’s race took place at double World Championship host track Gubbio where Balestri took 3 of the four qualifiers to secured the TQ ahead of team-mate and defending champion Carmine Raiola with Matteo Menichetti in third.  In the 45-minute final reigning European Champion Balestri pulled clear for a trouble free win as Raiola experienced an early electric issue that dropped him to the back of the field.  Coming from P6 on the grid the Xray of Francesco Pierella would finish second as Raiola recovered to claim the final step on the podium with 2024 runner-up Mario Spiniello coming home fourth.  In the Sport Category young Luca Ielasi took his Infinity to the title having started from the TQ.

Image: Club Automodellistico 5 Colli [Facebook]


June 9, 2025

Champlin doubles at INS15 Mid Summer encounter

Round 3 of the 15th season of the JConcepts Indoor National Series, the Mid-Summer Carpet Indoor Nationals, took place at Island Speedway in Iowa, over the weekend where Schumacher’s Broc Champlin completed the double.   Attracting almost 300 entries, qualifying would consist of three round with Champlin topping them all in 2WD to TQ ahead of Team Associated pairing Spencer Rivkin and Aydin Horne with Schumacher’s Tom Rinderknecht fourth.  Winning A1 & 2 Champlin  added his first 2WD win of the 2025 series as the Top 3 line-up on the podium as how they started.  In 4WD, it was Rivkin who took the TQ from Champlin with Brennan Schimmel’s Xray third, each driver having posted a TQ run each.  While Rivkin opened the finals with a win as Champlin dropped to 4th,  Champlin took A2 forcing things to be decided in A3.  With Rivkin leading for the first 2-minutes, Champlin forced his way into lead where ge stayed to take the win and with it his second 4WD win of the INS15 season having won at the season opener back in February at Trackside Hobbies in Wisconsin.  With Rivkin A3 ending down in P5, it was Schimmel (2nd) and Rinderknecht would completed the podium.

Image: JConcepts [jconcepts.net]


June 3, 2025

Phipps claims first BRCA 1:10 Offroad National win

Team Associated’s Thomas Phipps claimed his first BRCA British 1:10 Offroad National Championship win over the weekend when he won 2WD at Round 2 of the championship.  Racing at Boughton Raceway in Norfolk in the East of the country, in 4WD it was Schumacher’s Ben Smith who took the win.  Topping 3 of the 4 qualifiers, Neil Cragg managing the fastest time in Q2, Phipps secured the overall TQ ahead of the similar buggies of Cragg and Round 1 double winner Tommy Hall with Smith securing P4.  In the finals an incident filled A1 saw Hall win from Smith as Phipps finished P4.  In A2, the 20-year-old was able to convert pole into victory finishing 2-seconds ahead of Cragg.  In A3 having pulled an early lead, Phipps was then chased back down by Hall but as the reigning champion attempted a pass the pair tangled handing the lead to the Schumacher’s Josh Holdsworth.  Holdsworth stayed out front to win the leg ahead of Phipps and Smith but P2 was enough for Phipps to claim his first National race win.  Josh Holdsworth (2nd) and Hall joined him on the podium.  In 4WD, Smith would take the TQ and win ahead of Martin, who won A1, with Josh Holdsworth competing the Top 3 ahead of back to back champion Hall.

Image: Thomas Phipps [Facebook]


June 3, 2025

2025 Speed King Tour Rd3 – Report

The third round of the popular Speed King Tour 2025 was held at TM Circuit Wakayama in Wakayama prefecture of Japan where Infinity driver Ryosuke Yamamoto took the TQ and win.  Race day was sunny day like a mid summer and competitors showed their skills of driving and making good car setup.  In the TC0 class (Modified), Yamamoto’s consistency was brilliant and he never gave his rivals an opportunit to challenge either in qualifying or the finals.  It would be Kazunari Tomita who claimed second place with his Tamiya TRF421 while from 4th on thw starting grid Takara Sano completed the podium.

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June 3, 2025

Landén doubles at Swedish 1:10 Buggy Nats – Report

Team Associated driver Alexander Landén produced a clean sweep at the Swedish National Championship over the weekend winning both 2WD and 4WD 1:10 electric buggy at the Karlskrona MRK organised event in the south-east corner of the country.  The outdoor track and overall facility is one of the best in Sweden, and the club always puts on a great organization taking care of the racers with good food service and atmosphere.  In 2WD qualifying Landén came out strong and managed to TQ rounds 1 and 3 with the fastest time of the day to secure overall TQ.  In the process he also posted the fastest lap time of the day with Schumacher’s Elias Johansson lining up P2 followed by the Xray of Hampus Berg and TLR of Ludwig Albertz. In the first final Landén was able to break free and run a fairly undisturbed final followed home by Johansson in 2nd and Berg in 3rd.  In the second final the Top Qualifier got away clean, but made a small mistake on the long-jump letting Johansson by.  While Landén spent most of the final pressuring Johansson, but couldn’t find a way past and in the end made another mistake that allowed Berg to take 2nd. In the third A-final again the start was clean with Landén and Johansson managing to make an early break-away from the rest of the field.  While Johansson managed to keep in contact with the leader for quite a while, a mistake saw him get hung up on an edge of the corner table jump, which allowed Landén to pull away and win the last final and take the overall championship. Overall 2nd went to Johansson with Berg claiming the final podium spot.

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May 27, 2025

Canas wins Round 2 of Spanish Championship

Round 2 of the AECAR Spanish 1:8 Nitro Buggy Championship took place at La Masia Raceway in Girona where Sworkz’s Juan Carlos Canas took the win. Having missed the season opener due to racing at the Silverstate in the US, defending Champion Canas secured the TQ after topping 2 of the 5 qualifiers. Behind him a very on form 6mik team driver Adrian Pariente ended qualifying P2 ahead of the Mugen Seiki of Round 1 race winner David Todd. Winning the faster of the Semi finals from Oscar Baldo, his brother Bryan winning the second encounter to start P2, Canas took the pole for the 45-minute Main.  An an impressive drive by Pariente would keep European Champion Canas honest the entire final the No.3 starter only 2-seconds behind at the finish.  Unable to match the hot pace of the Top 2, the Xray of Bryan Baldo, who was runner up at the season opener, completed the podium just ahead of Robert Batlle’s Sworkz, the former World Champion report a number of mechanical issues.  Having ran as high as 3rd position Todd would finish 7th.

Image: Adrian Pariente [Facebook]


May 20, 2025

2 from 2 for Boots in British Championship

Sworkz/Reds Racing factory driver Elliott Boots maintained his perfect start to his BRCA British 1:8 Nitro Buggy Championship title defence with another win at Round 2 which was hosted at a sunny Brookthorpe track.  Taking maximum points at the season opener at Herts last month, Boots again ticked all the boxes at the second stop on the 5 race schedule securing the TQ and the win.  In qualifying he took the TQ on tie break with the Mugen Seiki of Dom Nunn, both drivers topping two rounds each.  Having set the pace in the opening qualifier, the Xray of Jonny Skidmore, who was runner-up to boots at Round 1, would qualify third.  Winning his Semi Final to line-up on pole in the 14 car 45-minute final, from there Boots went on to win by 3/4 of a lap over the Agama of junior racer Erik Lykke.  Having started P2, unfortunately Jonny Skidmore’s race lasted less than 5-minutes after he collided with another buggy travelling backwards down the straight.  Team-mate Lee Martin, who started P7, would complete the podium.

Image: Elliott Boots [Facebook]


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