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December 7, 2025

1:10 Offroad WC to return to Hudy Arena in 2027

IFMAR has announced that the 2027 1:10 Offroad W0rld Championships is set to return to the Hudy Arena in 2027. The indoor dirt track, which is part of the Hudy & Xray factory in Slovakia, previously hosted the same World Championships when it was the EFRA Bloc’s last turn to host the race in 2019. With FAMAR originally awarded the 2027 Worlds, it was announced just after the recent Worlds in Australia that the South American Bloc had declined its turn to host the championships. IFMAR then opened up the hosting of the race to the other Bloc s inviting them each to put forward a single potential host venue. With FEMCA putting forward the Hongyu GDC in China, which hosts the 2026 1:12 and ISTC Worlds, ROAR selecting Hoosier in Indiana, USA, and EFRA the Hudy Arena in Slovakia. After their very impressive hosting of the 2025 Worlds, the Hills Off Road RC club was also included as a potential host and after considering all four options the world governing body selected the Hudy Arena, which this year hosted the 1:10 Offroad European Championships. In 2019 it was Spencer Rivkin in 2WD and Bruno Coelho in 4WD who where crowned World Champions in Trencin. In making the announcement IFMAR posted, ‘Attention Racers! Important announcement regarding the 2027 IFMAR Electric Off-Road Buggy World Championships. As previously announced, no venue in the FAMAR BLOC was available to host the event. The IFMAR Board of Directors put to the remaining BLOCs to put forward options to host the event and we received 4 valid options to consider. EFRA, ROAR Racing and FEMCA all providing venue options as well as a 4th option to return to Hills Off Road RC. We thank each BLOC for working swiftly with the BOD and their member countries to put forward strong options for consideration. The BOD discussed, debated and ultimately voted on the options and are pleased to announce we have selected EFRA and the Hudy Racing Arena (Trencin, Slovakia) to host the 2027 Championships. We are confident this will be a strongly supported and highly successful event at what is a truly world class facility.

Source: IFMAR [ifmar.org]

December 7, 2025

Takahata becomes 2-time World Champion in Chile

It’s a very elusive club and up to now it has been exclusive to Italians, but today in Chile Mugen Seiki’s Shoki Takahata became a multiple 1:8 Onroad World Champion with a perfectly executed 1-hour main. Starting from fourth on the grid, once the 2019 World Champion worked his way to the front he would take control of the race eventually winning by over a lap from Simon Kurzbuch to give the new MRX7 a 1-2 finish. Takahata’s win would be made all the easier after issues for Top Qualifier Andrea Catanzani, who needed to make a body change in the race, and star of this week’s action Maxime Ripoll, the French teenager robbed of a second place finish as reward for his impressive efforts when his engine came to halt with 6-minutes remaining. While Kurzbuch benefited from this, with a fast charging Catanzani recovering ground, there would be a late & intense battle for the runner-up spot that also involved Capricorn’s Toni Gruber, the trio all running together on track. As the race approached the final minute, Catanzani having just got passed Gruber would then attempt a pass on Kurzbuch but contact was made resulting in his Serpent having a spin as the other two continued. The super fast Italian, who was the only driver to run a 17-second lap in the Main, would however get back up to Gruber and snatch the final podium position on the last corner of the last lap.

Continue reading here

December 6, 2025

Kurzbuch cruises back into contention in Chile with Semi win

Having missed out on a Top 4 direct to final qualifying position as he ended P5 at the end of the 6-rounds, Mugen Seiki’s Simon Kurzbuch has put himself back in contention for a second IFMAR 1:8 Onroad World Championship title by cruising to victory in his Semi final this morning in Chile. Winner of the World title in Brazil in 2015, a decade on the Swiss racer returned to South America as one of the pre-race favourites but on arriving at the CACH track in Santiago he struggled to find his true form. Leading away the second of the half hour Semis, Kurzbuch drove a calculated race with his crew executing a swift tyre change en-route to him winning by over a lap from the similar car of Britian’s Alex Thurston who together with third placed finisher Christope Louis progresses to their first World Championship final. The 24th running of IFMAR’s original World Championship, the first of the Semi Finals woulds see 15-year-old German driver Leon Fuhrmann head a Capricorn 1-2 from team-mate Thilo Diekmann, the separation 4.7-seconds at the finish. In third, a driver who needed the Last Chance Qualifier race to make Main here at the 1:8 GT Worlds back in September, Brazil’s Flavio Elias booked himself another 1:8 Onroad Worlds final appearance after recovering from a plug change during one of his pit stops to overtake leading Shepherd driver Tim Wood for the bump up position. Wood however would take the win in a very close finish to the 15-minute LCQ, 2/10ths of a second ahead of a Ricardo Hofmeijer, to become the 11th car on the grid and make it five different manufacturers in the final.

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December 5, 2025

Capricorn Quantum 1:8 Onroad Chassis

After unveiling the first CAD images last October, Capricorn officially presents the new Quantum 1:8 Onroad, a completely new project that marks the beginning of a new era for the company. The Quantum is the result of an extensive process of design, development, and technical validation. Over the past four months, the car has undergone an intensive testing program in prototype configuration, allowing all key technical solutions to be fully validated. Today, the car is complete in every aspect. Thanks to Capricorn’s production facility in Cologno Monzese, component manufacturing and track testing take place in extremely short timeframes, allowing Patrizio Rossi and his team to immediately refine every detail and optimize each technical solution. The development process was focused not only on creating a new model, but also on defining a base setup that is truly usable by all drivers, from professional racers to hobbyists. Development will continue intensively over the coming weeks, with the goal of starting the first deliveries by the end of January, bringing to the track a technically advanced, reliable, and high-performance project, in true Capricorn style.

View more images here

December 5, 2025

Takashima D-13 EP Touring Car Spring Collection Box V2

Takashima D-13 has updated their EP Touring Car Spring Collection Box releasing the V2 version. Compared to the pervious version, the capacity is double so it can now hold 32 EP Touring springs. Each holder is 18mm in height and 17.5mm in diameter with an embedded spring stiffness label included inside the box. The new design features snap-clips to makes the box more durable.

View box exterior here

December 5, 2025

Schumacher CAT 2000 ‘Classic’

Schumacher has announced the upcoming release of the CAT 2000 ‘Classic’. The CAT 2000 was Schumacher’s groundbreaking 4WD buggy introduced in 1993, evolving from the legendary CAT series that included the Bosscat and ProCat. Carrying forward this race winning pedigree, the CAT 2000 set new standards in performance, innovation, and handling. The CAT 2000 Classic brings this icon back to life, carefully re-created for today’s vintage racing and collecting scene. With its sleek composite chassis and distinctive period styling, the CAT 2000 Classic looks every bit as fast as it drives. Subtle updates improve durability and battery fitment, while keeping the authentic character that made the original such a success. Performance features include optimised 4WD suspension geometry and smooth, low friction ‘pro’ specification shocks for maximum grip and control. The CAT 2000 Classic is a striking addition to any collection and a genuine contender on the track, the perfect blend of heritage, style, and race winning potential. The kit will be available from January.

View kit features list & more images here

December 4, 2025

Deja vu! Catanzani is Top Qualifier in Chile again

It was a case of Deja Vu at the IFMAR 1:8 Onroad World Championship in Chile today as Serpent’s Andrea Cantanzani claimed his second overall Worlds TQ of 2025 in the sixth & final round of qualifying, the super quick Italian having pulled off the same feat 11 weeks ago to the day when he was Top Qualifier at the 1:8 GT Worlds. With Catanzani equalling Maxine Ripoll with a second TQ run of the event in Q5, this set the stage for a thrilling duel between the two young drivers. The highly anticipate battle however wouldn’t go the full distance. Steeling time from his rivals with his super quick fuel stops to TQ Rounds 3 & 4, unfortunately this time round Ripoll would have issues in pit lane, his engine flaming out during refuelling. This ended what has been a super impressive and entertaining to follow challenge from the 19-year-old for the top spot on grid. With Ripoll out, Catanzani would TQ the round ahead of Capricorn’s Toni Gruber and Mugen Seiki’s Shoki Takahata to secure the overall TQ, the first in a long time for 1:8 Onroad pioneering manufacturer Serpent. For Gruber and Takahata the result will see the go directly to the final as Top 4 qualifiers. One of the favourites ahead of championship, Simon Kurzbuch would end quali with a P4 which wouldn’t be enough and now the 2015 World Champion has a Semi final between him and lining up to try and claim a second World title.

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December 4, 2025

SMJ Stealth Line Lefty Springs RS8.4 Short 22mm

Japanese brand SMJ’s long-awaited RS series has been added to the lineup of the standard SMJ Stealth Line Lefty Springs for 1:8 Nitro Onroad shock absorbers. The smooth initial roll movement makes steering control easier, achieving a stable cornering line and consistent lap times. The has an overall length of 22 mm and a wire diameter of 1.8 mm.

Source: SMJ [smj-rc.com]