July 17, 2025

Kato again in Q2 as Iivonen throws it away under the lights at Pine Hills

Racing under the flood lights at the Pine Hills track in Brisbane, Infinity’s Kouki Kato made it two from two in qualifying at the third round of the Asian Buggy Championships.  Again it was a last lap mistake that promoted Kato to the top of the timing screens, this time top seed Pekko Iivonen with the costly error.  With driver errors the talking point of qualifying so far, Iivonen dropped two & a half seconds as a result of his mistake allowing Kato to back up Q1 with another TQ run by 1.358-seconds over the Finn’s Mayako.  Racing under flood lights in order to get a second round of qualifying in the books as the forecast is giving rain for the morning, Jackson Beale would complete the Top 3 for Tekno.  After an error in Q1 that left him P10, a clean run in Q2 allowed the 19-year-old to back up his strong showing in seeding.  After a P2 in the first round, last year’s race winner Caleb Noble had two bad laps and ended up P5 behind Pine Hill Club President Zac Ryan.  Opening with a P3, Jayden Edmunds again had traffic issues but this time it lead to a costly error and he ended the day with a P6.  Opening the second round of qualifying with a TQ run in eBuggy ahead of Iivonen and Tyler Jones, Team Associated’s Alex Bernadzik couldn’t repeat in Nitro ending up 7th.

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July 17, 2025

G-Force Xtrada 1:10 4WD Buggy

Having shown some pre-production images of it Xtrada 1:10 4WD Buggy back in May, Japan’s G-Force has just officially announced the release of its all new kit which it says is a 2-belt drive 4WD chassis reminiscent of legendary race-winning cars.  The drive system is paired with a rear mid-motor and vertically mounted battery layout, a setup that delivers fierce traction and an ideal weight balance, achieving the perfect harmony between controllable steering and unbeatable rear stability—two traits rarely found together.  Supervised by Masami Hirosaka, the newly designed body, with its rear-shifted cabin and pronounced side volume, adds both visual impact and aerodynamic functionality.  Equipped with big bore dampers, long-span front and rear suspension arms, and a slipper clutch, the XTRADA adapts to everything from dusty tracks to high-grip tracks with ease.  Describing the Xtrada as ‘a true neo-classic buggy’ it adds it is ‘a nostalgic throwback for veteran RC drivers, and a fresh, exciting discovery for the new generation.’

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July 17, 2025

Kato takes Q1 in Brisbane

The first round of qualifying is in the books at the third round of the Cayote backed Asian Buggy Championships and it was Infinity’s Kouki Kato who came out on top in Brisbane.  The Japanese driver claimed the first TQ run of the weekend ahead of last year’s Australian round winner Caleb Noble, the Tekno driver benefitting from mistakes by a number of key contenders.  Winner of the opening round of the championship in New Zealand back in March, Jayden Edmunds completed the Top 3 as the top Mayako, his team-mate Pekko Iivonen, having topped seeding, having a run he summed as ‘bad’.  The Finnish driver said his tyres just didn’t feel right and he struggled ending up with a P12.  Suffering a number of mistakes, Team Associated’s Alex Bernadzik had good speed but ended up P4 while having TQ’d the first round of eBuggy, Sparko’s Tyler Jones opened with a P5, the American another with a costly mistake in the run.

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July 17, 2025

Iivonen tops seeding at Asian Buggy C/ships Australia

Mayako’s Pekko Iivonen has got his first ever visit to Australia off to a strong start, the Finn topping seeding for Round 3 of the Cayote backed Asian Buggy Championships in Brisbane.   Racing on the oil treated Pine Hills track, Iivonen set the fastest 3-consecutive laps of the two seeding rounds ahead of another track first timer Kouki Kato, the Infinity driver 3/10th of a second off his rival.  Heading the local challenge was last year’s Top Qualifier, the Team Associated of Alex Bernadzik just 8/100th off the Japanese visitor with the Tekno of fellow Aussie Jackson Beale fourth fastest.  With 2025 the attracting Australian round of the championship’s biggest international entry, it was another visitor who completed the Top 5 with American Sparko team driver Tyler Jones travelling 29-hours for his first ever race outside of the USA.  With a threat of rain showers tomorrow, the oil treated surface being very slick in the damp, drivers are in for a busy first official day of action in Brisbane as Race Director Scotty Ernst pushes to get two rounds of qualifying in the books today in case.

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July 16, 2025

Coelho announces MKS Servos deal

Reigning 3-time back to back Electric Touring Car World Champion Bruno Coelho will use MKS servos as part of his Infinity racing program after announcing the new deal on social media.  Days ahead of the launch of the much anticipated IF14 Speciale Touring Car, the Portuguese driver posted on the new servo deal, ‘I’m extremely happy to announce that I’ve joined MKS!  A few months ago, we got in touch, and MKS showed interest in creating a brand-new servo made specifically for touring car racing.  I’ve always loved being part of new projects and development, so this felt like the perfect fit.  MKS is already well known in the RC world for their quality and performance, especially in airplanes and helicopters. Now they want to dominate also the RC car market, and I’m excited to be part of it.  Let’s see what the future brings!’

Source: Bruno Coelho [Facebook]

July 16, 2025

RC Maker announce European Team Manager

Continuing to establish its race team, Australian Electric Touring Car newcomers RC Maker has appointed Timo Siebert as European Team Manager.  Whilst Siebert has only been with Ryan Maker’s brand for a short time, they has already contributed in a massive way with his dedication to both the hobby and their brand showing his passion not only for racing, but helping people and building something special.  In the new role of European Team Manager, Siebert will help and organise current and future European based Team Drivers, as well as being his usual helpful self away from and at the track.  He will also play a crucial role in the development and feedback from the team to help push us forward in the fastest and most efficient way.

Source: RC Maker [rcmaker.com.au]

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