September 22, 2025

Kim joins Xray

Continuing to expand it’s Asian team line-up under the leadership of factory driver Nicolas Lee, Xray has announced that top Korean onroad racer EC Kim will represent the brand in Electric Touring Car.  Having raced an Awesomatix this season at the Electric Singapore International Challenge (eSIC) in July, on his new deal with Xray EC Kim said, ‘First of all, I’m honored to join Team Xray.  I’ll be working on the touring car program and I’m looking forward to getting out hit the track with the Xray X4 soon.’

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]


September 22, 2025

Max Power 21 GT-RX Quadrifoglio 1:8 GT Engine

Italian onroad specialist engine tuner and reigning 1:8 Onroad World Champions Max Power debut its new 1:8 GT engine, the 21 GT-RX Quadrifoglio, at the IFMAR World Championships in Chile.  In the hands of Italian driver Franco Desiderio, the engine was put through its paces at the large high speed Club de Aeromodelos de Chile track, with Desiderio racing both the Semi Final and Main and running in P5 before a late crash dropped him to 7th.  The latest engine from Massimo Fantini, it is the first GT engine to use an aluminium cylinder hence the name “Quadrifoglio”.  With a DLC coated crankshaft and aluminium cylinder that are specific for GT, the both features new timing.   Another new feature is a specific carburetor with low sitting 7 millimetre aluminium Venturi.  The engine also fitted with extra power backplate.  Following the final Desiderio, who owns Florida based RC1 Racing, stripped his 21 GT-RX Quadrifoglio to give us an look at the engines new parts and features.

View more images here


September 21, 2025

Xray confirm Ratheisky for MonTech NYGP

Xray’s Jan Ratheisky has been confirmed for next month’s MonTech New York Grand Prix, the German driver the second international entry announced so far for the seventh edition of the high profile US indoor race.  With Xray the reigning NYGP Mod Touring Car Champions after Keven Hebert took the win last year, Ratheisky will lead the Slovakian manufacturer’s challenge Stateside.  Taking place at 360v2 RC in New Rochelle from October 16-19th, this year’s event will see drivers compete for victory over 9 different classes on the large 105ft x 48ft carpet track.  In Touring Car, drivers will battle it out in Modified, 21.5, 25.5, and 25.5 LMH (LeMans Hypercar) as well as FWD, while in 1:12 there is Mod, 13.7, 17.5 and LMH 1:12.

Source: Fordham 360 Hobbies & Raceway [Facebook]


September 19, 2025

Mazzeo becomes double World Champion in Chile

Raptor/Gimar driver Alessio Mazzeo has gone from being close in the past to becoming a double World Champion in less than 24-hours, the Italian taking the biggest win of his career today when he executed a flawless drive to win the IFMAR 1:8 Nitro GT World Championship final in Chile.  Winning the Electric GT World title yesterday in Santiago, and having hinted at what was to come as he put in a sterling performance in the battle for the Nitro TQ honours in the final qualifier, lining up behind Serpent’s eventually Top Qualifier Andrea Catanzani, he and Catanzani were the class of the field.  From the start of the 1-hour Main they pulled clear of the field around the Club de Aeromodelos de Chile track with it looking like the stage was set for a battle between the two different generations of drivers.  Unfortunately that anticipated fight to become the World No.1 lasted just four & a half minutes.  Catanzani would suffer a flame out and his demise was only the start of more problems to come for Italian drivers, the nation dominating qualifying and locking out all four direct qualifying spots in the main.  11-minutes in and Natanaele Senesi suffered the first of numerous flame-outs.  With Alex D’Angelo holding a comfortable second, just as Mazzeo put a lap on the Capricorn driver 36-minutes into the race, the 2023 Worlds Top Qualifier would come to a stop on track.  The issue proved terminal, his throttle servo having failed.  This promoted Carli Lopez to second making for a Raptor 1-2 on track.  Despite this being his first World Championships, the 21-year-old drove a superb final to maintain his position and take a hugely popular second place.  A driver who is no stranger to the World Championship stage, Brazil’s Flavio Elias would turn around a day that started off in the worst way possible when he was taken out of his Semi by another driver in pit lane while in a bump up position.  Having to go through the Last Chance Final, the WIRC driver won that to line up as the 11th car in the final and through all the drama found himself finally achieving a World Championship podium finish, a recovering Catanzani just 3-seconds back when they crossed the line.

Continue reading here


September 19, 2025

Xray X12‘26 1:12

Xray has unveiled their ‘all new’ 1:12 chassis, the X12‘26.  Featuring a redesigned chassis with reduced rear flex this improves stability & overall traction.  The chassis also adds mounting holes for a floating servo mounting and additional holes for easier access to rear pod hardware.  A new pod front plate and carbon side link plates with 3 positions provides proper side link alignment for each of the centre pivot positions.  New side link mounting positions keep the side links’ rear pivots in-line with each of the three centre pivot positions to minimise bind during suspension compression.  At the front a redesigned front carbon bumper improves durability while a front brace from thinner 1.6mm carbon material improves handling & overall feel.  Wider front lower arms, 1mm wider per side, improves drivability in all conditions.  New aluminium pivot holders allow a lower roll-centre setting without protruding below the chassis.  The X12’26 offers two servo mounting alternatives, fixed & floating, with an all-new floating servo holder providing more forgiving handling and minimises steering drift due to servo movement after a crash.

View the full X12’26 presentation here


September 18, 2025

Mazzeo crowned inaugural Electric GT World Champion

Raptor’s Alessio Mazzeo is the inaugural IFMAR 1:8 Electric GT World Champion, the Italian claiming the title in Chile this evening after he backed up his A1 win with another controlled winning performance in A2 ahead of fellow countryman Natanaele Senesi.  Having secured the TQ honours for the class, topping 5 of the 6 qualifiers, the 33-year-old finally achieved the sport’s greatest prize.  An Italian National Champion, a European Champion, and a Worlds podium finisher, after many years as one of nitro onroad’s top international racers he now completes the set with a World title.  While acknowledging himself the low entry in Santiago, Mazzeo joins Italy’s World Champion role of honour and an even more elite group of World Champions, namely Davide Ongaro and Lamberto Collari, who achieved success with a Sanwa stick radio.  Securing the title early, A3 set to take place tomorrow, Mazzeo can now firmly set his sights on doing the double at the the Club de Aeromodelos de Chile track as he line-up second for the 1-hour Nitro GT final having shown in qualifying today he can dig deep when he needs too.  Giving Raptor the right to now call itself a World Champion manufacturer, Mazzeo’s car was fitted with Hobbywing electronics with power coming from Nosram batteries.


September 18, 2025

Catanzani is GT Worlds Top Qualifier as sterling Mazzeo effort just comes up short

Serpent’s Andrea Catanzani is the Top Qualifier at the IFMAR 1:8 GT World Championships in Chile, qualifying coming to thrilling climax at the Club de Aeromodelos de Chile track after a sterling effort in the final qualifier by Raptor’s Alessio Mazzeo.  After taking three of yesterday’s four qualifying rounds, Catanzani held the overnight TQ from Q1 winner Mazzeo who needed to TQ today’s two remaining rounds to deny his fellow Italian pole position for Friday’s 1-hour final.  Rising to the challenge by ticking the first box and topping Q5, the 33-year now needed to not only TQ the sixth & final qualifier but also to better Catanzani’s Q4 time.  With engine his sponsor Gimar fitting a new engine for Q6, Mazzeo earlier saying they had nothing to lose, he put together a brilliant drive and as the 7-minutes started to come to a close it looked like he was about to pull off the impressive feat, his projected time just ahead of Catanzani’s best.  It wasn’t to be however, Mazzeo’s engine going lean right at the end and losing power, costing vital 1/10ths of a second.  Still taking the TQ for the round and forcing the tiebreaker, unfortunately he was 6/10ths of second short with Catanzani, who has struggled today, securing the honour of Top Qualifier for the 3rd running of the GT World Championships 2-years on from when he announced the arrival of his talent on international stage at the GT Worlds in Sydney.  Behind the fight for the TQ there was also a battle for the order of the other two direct spots in the final, Super Pole no longer a thing.  It would be Natanaele Senesi who got the better of Alex D’Angelo concluding qualifying with his fastest run that gave him a P2.  With it an all Italian Top 4, best of the rest at the end of qualifying in Santiago would be Brazilian WIRC driver Elias Flavio who will lead away one of the Semi Finals while Raptor driver Carli Lopez from Puerto Rico starts on pole in the other Semi.

Continue reading here


September 18, 2025

Mazzeo tops Q5 to remaining in the hunt

Raptor’s Alessio Mazzeo remains in the hunt for the overall TQ at the 1:8 GT World Championships in Chile, the Italian delivering his second TQ run in the fifth & penultimate round of qualifying this morning.  With fog delaying the start of Day 2 of qualifying at the Club de Aeromodelos de Chile track by an hour, once the action got underway the sun would come out in force.  While it was overnight TQ holder Andrea Catanzani who set the initial TQ pace for the first 6-laps, once Mazzeo’s tyres came in the 33-year-old took charge of proceedings.  With Catanzani’s Serpent losing pace in the later part of the run, setting the fastest lap Mazzeo would take the all important TQ by 1.6 seconds forcing the battle to become the Top Qualifier to go to the sixth & final round.  While always saying his car worked better in the hotter conditions unfortunately today noticeable increase in temperatures could hamper Mazzeo quest for the overall TQ honours as he needs another TQ run to match Catanzani but needs to do it in the fastest time to deny his fellow Italian the top spot.  Catanzani’s Q4 run from yesterday is the fastest so far and Mazzeo’s latest TQ run was some 4-seconds shy of the pace needed.  While all the attention was on the Mazzeo/Catanzani battle, behind them it would be Natanaele Senesi who completed the Top 3 after Alex D’Angelo’s Capricorn ran out of fuel on the last lap.

Continue reading here


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