Red RC

May 12, 2026

Martin & Smith take Round 2 at British Buggy Nationals

Xray’s Lee Martin and Schumacher’s Ben Smith took the wins at the second round of the BRCA British 1:10 Offroad National Championships which took place at Bingham Model Raceway over the weekend. Opening with the 2WD action it was Round 1 4WD winner Smith who secured the TQ ahead of Xray’s Thomas Phipps with the winner of the season opener Josh Holdsworth qualifying P5. After a DNF in A1, Daniel Pole taking the win from P6, Smith would win A2 and 3 to overall and the lead of the championship. Defending Champion Tommy Hall and Pole would complete the podium. In Sunday’s 4WD action it was the Team Associated of Hall that took the TQ ahead of Martin and Smith. In the opening final Martin took the narrowest of wins ahead of Hall but the latter would deliver in A2 with himself and Martin again super close but a mistake a minute and a half into A3 by Hall handed Martin the lead and the veteran of 1:10 offroad stayed there to claim the overall win. Smith completed the podium. Round 3 of the championship will take racers to Robin Hood Raceway on May 30/31st.

Image: Xray [Facebook]

May 12, 2026

Power HD servos for Almonte

Leading servo manufacturer Power HD has announced that multiple ROAR Nitro Onroad Champion Jose R Almonte has officially joined its team. The factory Serpent driver, who took the 1:8 GT win at this year’s 50th anniversary Florida Winternats, will officially represent Power HD as part of his dual 1:10 and 1:8 GT racing program. On the announcement, the Dominican Republic racer, who other successes include the 2025 KO Propo Grand Prix, said, “I’m honoured to join Power HD. Their servos are known worldwide for their reliability, speed, and durability. I’m excited to represent Power HD on the track, fight for more championships!’

Source: PowerHD [chd.hk]

May 11, 2026

TestLogger Manager v3

Finnish company TestLogger, owned by 2011 IFMAR Electric Buggy World Championship organiser Jussi Luopajärvi, has launched Manager v3, the production release of a rewritten platform that has been running in beta with real user data for the past 13 months. TestLogger Manager helps RC racers keep a record of their runs, setups, conditions, lap times, and comments, and see how those connect to performance over time. Version 3 introduces a redesigned user interface, long-term analytics tools, team functionality for data sharing, and Coach TQ. Coach TQ is an AI assistant that automatically makes observations on each run and supports decision-making with plans, reviews, and guidance. TestLogger Manager has always been free to use and remains so, with a new Pro subscription for users who want more out of their data. For teams, Manager v3 adds shared workspaces so drivers, mechanics, team managers, and remote engineers can work from the same run logs, setups, and comments. This is particularly useful at larger events where practice time is limited and team members need to compare data quickly across drivers. Coach TQ, available on the Pro plan, can speed up the work around a track day in concrete ways. It can generate a draft test plan from your run history before the event, and produce a debrief from the session data afterwards. When direct lap time import isn’t available, Coach TQ can read your laps from a screenshot or even a photo of the results sheet. In chat mode, Coach TQ can also give new ideas when needed and explain technical concepts in context.

Source: Testlogger [testlogger.com]

May 11, 2026

Takashima D-13 TRF421X 1.1 | 1.2mm Spring Steel Chassis

Takashima D-13 has released their 1.1mm and 1.2mm spring steel chassis options featuring a black coated finish for the Tamiya TRF421X 1:10 Touring Car. Like the previous releases in the Takashima D-13 spring steel chassis lineup, the chassis uses 120-degree countersunk screw holes, allowing perfect fitment on both the 1.1mm and 1.2mm thickness versions. The black coating not only gives the chassis a unique stealth-style appearance, but also helps prevent rust and corrosion, eliminating one of the common concerns associated with spring steel chassis plates. Developed for maximum consistency and performance, the new chassis is expected to be a strong option for dedicated Tamiya racing enthusiasts.

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May 11, 2026

Balestri & Groskamp win ENS season opener

The latest season of the Euro Nitro Series kicked off at Minidrom Ettlingen in Germany over the weekend where it was double success for Infinity with Dario Balestri winning 1:8 and Jilles Groskamp winning 1:10. In 1:8 qualifying it was the Mugen Seiki of Simon Kurzbuch that set the pace, the Swiss driver topping all four qualifiers to secure TQ honours ahead of Balestri. Counting two P2 runs it was the Capricorn of reigning champion Toni Gruber who completed the Top 3 on the grid ahead of Serpent pairing Marco Weigerding and Mirko Salemi. In the 45-minute final, Kurzbuch would lead away but with 8-minutes done as the former World Champion exited pit lap after his second stop attempting to keep his lead he and Balestri made contact with the Italian land on his roof. While Kurzbach waited this allowed Gruber to the lead. The German would lead until the 25-minute to go mark when Balestri squeezed passed as the leader exited pit lane after refuelling. Unfortunately just after stopping for new tyres Gruber would suffer a problem retire in pit lane. This left Balestri to lead the race home for the final 20-minutes chased by Kurzbuch. Starting from 11th on the grid, Dutch Infinity driver Robbin Hertong completed the podium ahead Weigerding, Rick Vrielijnck, and ARC’s Silvio Hächler.

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May 11, 2026

Ongaro wins Worlds Warm-up Race at Thornhill

With this year’s 13th annual The Dirt Lonestar Challenge doubling up as the official Warm-Up Race for the 1:8 Nitro Buggy World Championship later this year it was Team Associated’s Davide Ongaro who took the win. Racing at the covered Thornhill Racing Circuit in Texas, it would be an Italian 1-2 as Ongaro was followed home by Sworkz’s of Mattia Polito while American Ryan Maifield completed the podium for Tekno. In qualifying it was Ongaro who was fastest in the opening two qualifiers to secure the overall RQ ahead of Sworkz’s Mason Fuller who topped the third & final round. Polito would end qualifying P3 ahead of the Kyosho of recent Asian Buggy Championships Indonesia winner Phi-Long Nguyen with European Champion Juan Carlos Canas completing the Top 5. Winning his Semi final from Canas’ Sworkz, Ongaro would like up on pole for the 1-hour final ahead of the Spaniard, Polito and Brandon Rose winner of the first Semi. From the front Ongaro, who will chase a fourth consecutive World title in September, took control of the race to win by 2-laps. He would make it double winning weekend in Hutto, also taking the eBuggy win comfortably ahead of team-mate Spencer Rivkin and Fuller as Top Qualifier Nguyen dropped to fourth.

Image: Matrix Racing Tires [Facebook]

May 11, 2026

Rubrix Racing Lazer ZX Race Pack Conversion Kit

Specialising in building and restoring replica RC car models for racers and collectors, Rubrix Racing Products has unveiled their all-new Kyosho Lazer ZX-RRP Race Pack Conversion Kit. The legendary Kyosho Lazer 1:10 Buggy returns with a modern-era transformation, reimagined through the unmistakable Rubrix Racing Products design philosophy. Combining originality with race-inspired innovation, the ZX-RRP platform delivers aggressive styling, and a performance-focused layout built to stand apart from the ordinary. Every detail has been carefully developed to enhance both form and function, creating a bold new vision for vintage RC racing. The conversion kit includes 8 precision-cut carbon fibre components with key features including its direct fit for the ZX & ZX-RR platforms. Optimised for Big Bore Shocks it also improves weight distribution: A center-rear LiPo mounting position allows adjustable battery placement forward or backward across the chassis for enhanced tuning flexibility and balanced handling characteristics.

View kit components & more images here

May 11, 2026

Xray GTXE’27 1:8 Electric GT

Xray has presented the latest edition of its European Championship winning 1:8 Electric GT, the GTXE’27. A title they will try to defend at the end of this month in Portugal, features of the new kit include an all-new flat 3mm aluminium chassis with increased battery cooling & completely flat profile, including side sections, eliminating front kick-up for lower CG. A new composite front bumper has been specifically designed for the flat chassis layout together with a new lightweight foam bumper for reduced weight. The car also gets new front bulkheads adapted to the flat chassis configuration while new rear bulkheads are designed to accommodate upper centre top deck mounting. A stronger, lowered motor mount has also been introduced for improved service access & reduced centre of gravity.

View the full GTXE’27 presentation here