August 16, 2026

Van Dalen is new ROAR National Champion

Having started the season with an impressive double win at the Dirt Nitro Challenge, Tekno’s Seth Van Dalen has just become the new ROAR 1:8 Nitro Buggy National Champion.  Qualifying P2 behind Top Qualifier & defending Champion Dakotah Phend, Van Dalen would line up 6th for the decider after he dropped from pole in his Semi to P4, that race won by team-mate Ryan Maifield who completed the Truggy double earlier in the Silver Dollar Raceway hosted championships.  Double Champion in 2024, Maifield would start 2nd for the 15 buggy World Championhip length 1-hour Main behind Phend’s Xray and ahead of the Xray of Chase Lemieux with Team Associated Davey Batta lining up P4 and Sparko’s  Jonah Wilson carrying no.5.  Having won the eBuggy title on Saturday from Kyosho’s Phi Long Nguyen, Phend led away the nitro final before his first fuel stop at 10-minutes but going an extra lap before his stop, a quicker stop by his pitman Billy Fischer, saw Lemieux come back out still in the lead.  The 2026 ROAR 1:10 4WD Buggy Champion stayed out front until his second stop at the 20-minute mark, but on his in lap the Wisconsin driver had a roll and needed to be marshalled handing Maifield a brief lead.  Out of sequence with the Xrays, Maifield’s 3rd stop handed the lead to Van Dalen.  In the second half of the race Van Dalen and Lemieux would go wheel to wheel.  After a roll that saw his buggy cut the track on his in lap, with the final stops compete it was Lemieux in the lead with just over 7-minutes on the clock but a mistake as the final 6-minutes approached handed the lead back to Van Dalen.  With Lemieux retaking the lead the pair would tangle with 4-minutes remaining, the battle resuming with Lemieux in front.  Inside 3-minute Van Dalen would make the pass for the lead with a mistake from Lemieux giving his rival his biggest lead of the final which he maintained to claim his first national title by a winning margin of 4.4-seconds over Lemieux.  Finishing on the lead lap, Sworkz’s Mason Fuller completed the podium from P11 on the grid.  After a late issue Maifield would fall back to P7 while Phend would be a DNF, retiring at the 2/3rd race distance. 

Image: JConcepts [jconcepts.net]

August 16, 2026

2026 IFMAR ISTC World C/ships Stage 2 Report

IFMAR has published the Stage 2 report for the 2026 ISTC World Championships which take place at Huge RC in Bangkok, Thailand, from November 8-14th.  Since the the Stage 1 report, the main updates are the details of the recently announced official tyres from Hudy.  Using the A2-40 tyre, a maximum of 20 sets of tyres can be bought of which 12 sets must be marked for the actual race event covering from controlled practice until the finals.  Stage 2 also confirms Mighty Gripper V3 Yellow as the controlled tyre additive with Ichinen brake cleaner the controlled tyre cleaner for the event.  Both items will be supplied in tyre preparation area.  Another small change is that IFMAR President Eric Anderson will now fill the role Technical Director.  A unique track for the 13th running of the ISTC World Championships, the track owned by 2002 ISTC World Champion Surikarn Chaidajsuriya a roof covered asphalt circuit, the official Worlds Warm Up Race, which runs as part of the Hudy Series Thailand event, takes place August 29-30.  The first cars will hit the track at the Worlds on November 8 with two days of IPD after which the track layout will be changes for the official open practice on November 11th.  View the full Stage 2 report here.

Source: IFMAR [ifmar.org]

August 16, 2026

Groskamp takes ENS title with third win in a row

Over a decade after winning his first Euro Nitro Series Championship title, Infinity’s Jilles Groskamp has claimed the 2026 Nitro Touring Car title with his third consecutive win of the season today in Austria.  With Round 3 of the championship’s 4-race calendar taking place at the MAV Aigen-Schlägl track, the reigning World Champion secured the TQ as his took his Ielasi Tuned powered IF15 to the fastest time in 3 of the 4 qualifiers, a perfect start to his new engine sponsorship deal with Daniele Ielasi’s engine brand.  Topping the fourth & final qualifier, 2025 Champion Jakub Rozycki would line up second for Capricorn with 2024 Champion Melvin Diekmann securing P3 ahead of reigning 1:8 ENS Champion Toni Gruber.  In the 12 car 45-minute A-Main, from the front the veteran Dutch racer dominated the final taking an emotional win by a lap over Diekmann.  A strong race from Carmine Raiola, who qualified his infinity in P8, would see the Italian complete the podium just ahead of Rozycki, the Polish driver setting the fastest lap of the race.  In 1:8 it was Dario Balestri who took the win ahead of Top Qualifier Simon Kurzbuch.  Kurzbuch put his Mugen Seki on pole for the final ahead of the Infinity driver but 7-laps into the race the Swiss racer flipped his car over the curbing handing the lead to the 2-time World Champion who would stay there for the remaining 43-minutes for his second win of the season – the Italian the winner of the season opener in Germany.  Winner of the Dutch round of the Championship, Kurzbuch would finish second half a lap down while 3rd place qualifier Marco Weigerding completed the podium for Serpent.

Image: Infinity [Facebook]

August 14, 2026

JConcepts Striker Pink/Blue T-shirt

Always good with their apparel designs, JConcepts latest fashion piece is the new Striker Pink/Blue T-shirt.  Featuring a bold design that celebrates the cars, racers, and racing culture that helped shape the sport, with a modern identity anchored by their latest Striker body design.  The striking pink and blue graphics pop against the classic black tee, highlighted by a detailed race buggy illustration and the iconic Team JConcepts Racing branding.  The front graphic combines the attitude of vintage and modern RC racing with a nod to JConcepts racing heritage, while the back keeps it clean with the JConcepts logo and World Proven Innovation & Design tagline.

Source: JConcepts [jconcepts.net]

August 14, 2026

Schumacher Cougar LD3 Optional Steel Chassis

Schumacher has announced the upcoming release of an optional Steel Chassis for their 2WD Buggy World Championship winning Cougar LD3.  This steel chassis conversion provides a lower centre-of-gravity build with increased chassis flex, making it particularly well suited to medium-grip, bumpy Astro through to high-bite Astro and carpet conditions.  The conversion features a 1.2mm steel chassis, carbon fibre side pod stiffeners and front alloy 3D-printed stiffeners.  These stiffeners increase steering response and can be removed to provide an additional tuning option, allowing the handling characteristics of the chassis to be adjusted to suit track conditions.  Schumacher say that in testing, the team has found the Steel chassis to excel in bumpy Astro conditions with medium to high grip, as well as on carpet tracks.

Source: Schumacher [racing-cars.com]

August 14, 2026

Singapore International Nitro GP – Announcement

This year the Singapore International Nitro Grand Prix will celebrate the race’s 20th anniversary in style with the action taking place on the newly resurfaced RCMC track.  Scheduled for October 10-11, the same weekend as the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, hosts Radio Control Modellers’ Club has announced that registration is now open for the race which is once again proudly supported by World Champion manufacturer Infinity.  The country’s only permanent track, the event will see racing for 1:8 Onroad, 1:8 Nitro GT, and 1:10 Nitro Touring Car.  Over the two decades of hosting the race, the Singapore International Nitro Grand Prix has welcomed numerous World Champions including reigning 1:10 Nitro Touring World Champion Jilles Groskamp, two time 1:8 Onroad World Champion Dario Balestri, multiple World Champion Naoto Matsukura, reigning 3-time ISTC World Champion Bruno Coelho and nitro onroad legend Lamberto Collari.

Source: RCMC Singapore [Facebook]

August 13, 2026

PN Racing RC28 Titanium TC4 CVD Sets

1:28 racing specialists PN Racing, who also organise the category’s biggest annual race, the PNWC, has released these Titanium TC4 CVD Sets for the Team Associated TC28.  With the TC28 originally only accepting specific proprietary wheels, leaving many racers unable to use their favourite tire compounds or styles, these CVDs allow racers to seamlessly convert the TC28 to use Mini-Z AWD wheels.  Made from high-strength Titanium TC4 for maximum durability and weight savings, the precision-engineered CVD design ensures consistent power delivery and reduced vibration.

Source: PN Racing [pnracing.com]

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