August 18, 2022

Can Phend repeat National title double in San Diego?

National Championships don’t come much bigger than the ROAR 1:10 Dirt Off-Road National Championships and the titles are on the line this weekend.  With the US a powerhouse of offroad racing, some of the best drivers in the World are in San Diego at the indoor SDRC Raceway where Dakotah Phend will be aiming to defend his 2WD & 4WD Buggy titles.  The TLR driver did the double in style last year securing the TQ and victory in the first two A-Mains in both buggy classes.  In 2WD, Phend took the title from Xray’s Ty Tessmann while in 4WD the win came ahead of Team Associated’s reigning 2WD World Champion Spencer Rivkin and another World Champion (4WD), Yokomo’s Ryan Maifield.  With the 1:8 Offroad World Championships just over 2-weeks away and majority of this weekend”s title contenders making the trip to Spain, a newly won National title will be a nice confidence boost ahead of the long haul journey.

View SDRC Raceway track images here

August 16, 2022

Motor irregularities see Bultynck promoted to European Touring Car Spec Champion

Having originally finished second at the European Championship in Spec Touring Car at the Hudy Arena in June, Olivier Bultynck has just been promoted to Champion after irregularities were found with motors of the other two drivers on the podium.  The motors of winner Alexandre Duchette and Adam Izsay were ‘found not to comply with the submitted samples to the EFRA Spec Homologation Lists.’  The positions of second and third are to remain vacant as the motors from fourth and fifth were not inspected after the final and were released from “parc ferme” meaning that no further inspection is possible.

Read the full ruling announcement from EFRA here

August 16, 2022

Coelho wins Monaco RC Race of Champions

The second edition of the Monaco RC Race of Champions took place over the weekend in Gubbio, Italy, with Bruno Coelho taking the win at the upcoming ISTC World Championship track.  The event attracted a number international drivers with the race weekend an ideal opportunity to get in some mileage in preparation for Worlds in September.  Topping all four rounds of qualifying, Coelho took the overall TQ from Xray team-mates Alexander Hagberg and Alessio Menicucci with Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski breaking up the Xray train with P4 on the grid.  In the opening final Coelho cruised to the win from Orlowski with Hagberg dropping to third.  A2 saw the Top 4 finish as they started before third in A3 behind Coelho & Hagberg allowed Orlowski to join the Xray drivers on the impressive Club Automodellistico 5 Colli podium.  Menicucci would be the top Italian in fourth ahead Britain’s Kyle Branson, France’s Cyril N’Diaye and factory Serpent driver Alessio Mazzeo.  Also running Spec Touring Car and Formula, as per the World Championships, Alexandre Duchet won Spec with David Ehrbar taking Formula.

Source: Monaco RC [monacorc.com]

August 16, 2022

IFMAR releases final entry list for ISTC World C/ship

IFMAR, the governing body for RC racing, has today released the ‘final entry list’ for 1:10 ISTC World Championship in Italy next month.  After being forced to wait twice as long as normal for the biggest championship in our sport to come back around, the entry is noticeably lacking the world wide gathering we normally expect.  While the champions of all five previous encounters are listed to make the trip to Gubbio, with less than a month to go only two nations outside of Europe are represented, Japan and Singapore.  Travel safety concerns meant a low entry count for the previous Worlds in South Africa in 2018 despite Antonio Caroli and his crew putting on an impeccable event.  The move to Europe still only sees 54 drivers entered for Modified.  19 Formula entries and a further 32 Spec entries help bring the entry count to just over 100 racers.  While aware the resumption of air travel after the pandemic has been chaotic with lost baggage being a problem for even the biggest stars in world sport, one standout absent nation from the entry list is the United States.  Team Associated’s withdrawal from the category a few years ago has effected any factory effort but given the potential size of the North American market to other RC manufacturers it would beneficial to have the US represented on the categories biggest stage.  The ISTC World Championship runs from September 14 to 17th and RedRC will be there to cover everything as it unfolds.

To view entry list as published on the IFMAR Facebook page click here.

August 15, 2022

IFMAR ISTC World Championship Stage 2 Report

With the IFMAR ISTC World Championships just one month away, hosts Club Automodellistico 5 Colli has published the Stage 2 report for the event to help drivers with their trip to the medieval town of Gubbio in central Italy.  Download the Stage 2 report (pdf file) here. 2022, the 11th running of the World Championships for electric touring car, will see three titles up for grabs with touring car’s premiere category now being joined by Formula and Spec Touring Car in having World Championship status.  At the last World Championships in 2018 in South Africa, the Formula category raced alongside the Mod Touring Car event as a World Cup race with Jan Ratheisky taking the win.  RedRC will be making the trip to Gubbio, location of the 2016 1:10 Nitro Touring WC, to bring you full coverage of the championships as Bruno Coelho aims to defend his title.

Source: IFMAR [ifmar.org]

August 15, 2022

Ronnefalk takes first ‘Mayako’ Swedish National title

David Ronnefalk winning the Swedish National Championships has become a bit of annual tradition, his record of wins speaks for itself, but his latest national titles mark the first with Mayako.  Joining the offroad newcomers last December after a long stint with HB Racing and Kyosho before that, Ronnefalk took both the nitro ad EP titles over the weekend at Hässleholm RC Club situated in the South of the country.  With EP Buggy contested over a Reedy Race format, he would win all six encounters to claim the electric title for the 21st time.  Securing the TQ in Nitro, the newly crowned European Champion would win the 1 hour final by only less than half a lap from Hampus Berg for title number 20. Victor Gunnarsson would finish third to make it an all Mayako podium.

Source: David Ronnefalk [facebook]

August 14, 2022

Neumann claims German Nationals double

Factory Schumacher driver Joern Neumann completed the double at the German National Championships over the weekend. Racing at the MAC Hütschenhausen astro track in the western part of the country, the event would decide the 1:10 4WD and Truck titles. Securing TQ honours in both classes after fastest times for 3 of the 5 rounds of qualifying, the multiple European Champion took both title victories ahead of fellow Schumacher driver Marcel Schneider. Joining them on the podium on both occasions was Jens Becker, the Xray driver having also qualified third for both triple A-Mains.

Source: Joern Neumann [facebook]

August 13, 2022

Greiner adds 1:8 title for European Championship double

Having lifted the 1:10 IC Onroad European title in Italy just two weeks ago, Dominic Greiner has done the nitro onroad double this evening with a late victory at the 1:8 European Championship in Spain.  Lining up third on the grid for the 45 minute rain delayed final at the Almussafes track, Greiner did not look a contender for the victory in the early stages of the race.  Contact on the opening lap dropped him to seventh and soon after the German was bringing up the rear of the field in 10th position.  Greiner wasn’t the only one to have a moment early on as Top Qualifier and defending champion Dario Balestri dropped from the lead to third about 1-minute into the encounter.  This left Super Pole winner Robert Pietsch and up & coming French talent Maxine Ripoll contending the lead.  Working his way back through the order, Greiner was back in podium contention in the later part of the race.  With one & half minutes remaining on the clock he then made a move down the inside of leader Pietsch, contact sending the Mugen driver on to the grass.  Greiner would continue un-intruded to take his Capricorn to victory to add a first 1:8 title to his 1:10 World and two European championship titles.  Almost 2-seconds back Pietsch would finish second with a great drive by Ripoll being rewarded with third on the podium and the title of Junior European Champion.  Despite setting the fastest lap of the race, it wasn’t to be Balestri’s day as he had to settle for fourth after losing his podium spot to Ripoll with less than 4-minute to go.

Image: EFRA [efra.ws]

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