Red RC » R Off Road

June 30, 2025

Iivonen heads ‘Down Under’ for Asian Buggy C/ships Rd 3

With less than 3-weeks to go until the Cayote backed Asian Buggy Championships resumes following the Philippine Masters at the beginning of May, the championship organiser has announced that Mayako’s Pekko Iivonen will make the trip to Brisbane, Australia for Round 3. The Finnish driver made a big impression at Round 2 in Manila, taking a podium in eBuggy after a great battle with Davide Ongaro, and just missing out on a podium in Nitro Buggy after a flame out. Now in its third season, the latest Asian Buggy Championship encounter takes place at Pine Hills Dirt Racing track from July 16-20th with the trip marking 22-year-old Iivonen’s first visit to Australia. On the announcement the Mayako Youth Mentoring Program driver said, ‘I am really looking forward to travelling for the first time to Australia. Last race in Manila was awesome, and I really liked how everything worked really well. I really look forward to being back in the ABC series.’

Source: Asian Buggy Championships [Facebook]

June 23, 2025

Trio of ROAR 1:8 titles for Phend

Xray’s Dakotah Phend has pulled of a trio of ROAR National Championship titles ending a successful week of racing at the 2026 World Championship host track Thornhill Racing Circuit by taking the 1:8 Nitro Buggy title. Having won Nitro Truggy and eBuggy earlier in the week in Texas, getting to the big one Phend would secure the TQ ahead of Tekno pairing Seth VanDalen and Ryan Maifield, the defending 2024 double 1:8 offroad Champion. In the 1-hour final, the first 30-minutes saw Phend lead comfortably but then a flameout during a fuel stop promoted Maifield into the lead. On Phend’s return to the track, he chased down Maifield but mistakes prevented a pass, that was until the final 3-minutes. Maifield got the triple wrong and ended up on his roof allowing Phend back into a lead he would not relinquish. With Phend re-taking the title he last held in 2023, outgoing Champion Maifield took second 1.5-seconds back with the podium completed by VanDalen.

Image: JConcepts [jconcepts.net]

June 20, 2025

FX Engines for Orlowski

FX Engines have announced that Michal Orlowski will be racing the Slovakian made engines. The Polish driver will us the Hudy owned brand of engines to power his upcoming 1:8 Offroad campaigns at the Polish Nationals and EFRA European Championships in Portugal. On the announcement Schumacher’s Electric Onroad and 1:10 Offroad ace posted, ‘Looking forward to having some fun with nitro in the next few weeks with my Schumacher prototype! Thanks FX Engines!’

Source: FX Engines [fx-engines.com]

June 17, 2025

Kaerup doubles at NXC Grand Prix

Team Associated rising talent Marcus Kaerup had a successful weekend in his home country with a double win at the NXC Grand Prix. Hosted by Hillerød RC Racing at their track north of the Danish capital Copenhagen, the event has double in size since 2021 with this year’s edition attracting a record 188 entries drivers from Sweden, Norway, Germany, Iceland, England, and Denmark. As the defending Champion Kaerup secured the TQ after topping 3 of the 4 nitro qualifiers with Xray’s Hampus Berg second having topped Q4. Hampus would book his position directly into the 45-minute after winning Superpole. The Mugen Seiki of Pelle Culmsee line up 3rd having win his Semi final while winning the other Semi 15-year-old Oscar Berg’s Xray started P4. Kaerup carried his form into the final but was kept honest by Culmsee, the separation at the finish 8-seconds. Having dropped down the order early on Berg set the fastest lap of the race as the Swede recovered to complete the podium. In eBuggy Kaerup also took the TQ and win with Berg second and Culmsee third.

Image: Marcus Kaerup [Facebook]

June 16, 2025

Wins for Hall & Holdsworth – BRCA Nationals Round 3

Round 3 of the BRCA British 1:10 Offroad Nationals took place at Southport over the weekend where Tommy Hall and Josh Holdsworth took the wins. 2WD qualifying would see Team Associated’s reigning Champion Hall secure the TQ honours ahead of Schumacher’s Ben Smith, Xray’s Lee Martin and Associated’s Neil Cragg. In the finals Hall won the opening two encounters from Smith for his second win of the season with Martin completing the podium. In Sunday’s 4WD action, it was again Hall who secured the TQ but the defending champion, who opened his 2025 campaign with a win at Round 1 at Herts, wouldn’t complete the weekend double in the finals on the B74.2’s final outing. Qualify P2 it would be Cragg who took A1 after Hall rolled out of the lead. A2 would see P3 qualifier Smith win from Josh Holdsworth as Hall again struggled and finished down in P8. It was all to play for in A3 with Josh Holdsworth grabbing the win from Martin and with it his first National 4WD win on tie break with Championship Round 2 winner Smith. Cragg would complete the podium. The BRCA National Championship next moves to Bury Metro on July 12/13th.

Image: Schumacher [Facebook]

June 12, 2025

IFMAR confirm Thornhill as ’26 1:8 Offroad Worlds track

IFMAR, the World governing body of RC racing, has officially confirmed that the hosting of the 2026 IFMAR 1:8 Offroad World Championship will be hosted by the Thornhill Racing Circuit in Texas. Posting details of the 2026 calendar, IFMAR confirmed the widely expected news that the home of the annual ‘The Dirt’ Lonestar Challenge and this year’s ROAR Nationals will welcome the best drivers in the World to battle it our for the biggest prize in the sport from September 26th to October 3rd 2026. The Thornhill Racing Circuit complex is situated on 13.9 acres with the dirt track having the unique feature of being fully covered. Las Vegas was the venue on the World Championships last visit to the US when David Ronnefalk took the 2016 title.

View 2026 IFMAR World Championship Calendar here

June 9, 2025

Champlin doubles at INS15 Mid Summer encounter

Round 3 of the 15th season of the JConcepts Indoor National Series, the Mid-Summer Carpet Indoor Nationals, took place at Island Speedway in Iowa, over the weekend where Schumacher’s Broc Champlin completed the double. Attracting almost 300 entries, qualifying would consist of three round with Champlin topping them all in 2WD to TQ ahead of Team Associated pairing Spencer Rivkin and Aydin Horne with Schumacher’s Tom Rinderknecht fourth. Winning A1 & 2 Champlin added his first 2WD win of the 2025 series as the Top 3 line-up on the podium as how they started. In 4WD, it was Rivkin who took the TQ from Champlin with Brennan Schimmel’s Xray third, each driver having posted a TQ run each. While Rivkin opened the finals with a win as Champlin dropped to 4th, Champlin took A2 forcing things to be decided in A3. With Rivkin leading for the first 2-minutes, Champlin forced his way into lead where ge stayed to take the win and with it his second 4WD win of the INS15 season having won at the season opener back in February at Trackside Hobbies in Wisconsin. With Rivkin A3 ending down in P5, it was Schimmel (2nd) and Rinderknecht would completed the podium.

Image: JConcepts [jconcepts.net]

June 8, 2025

Ongaro defends European eBuggy title in Spain

Team Associated’s Davide Ongaro has defended his EFRA European 1:8 eBuggy title winning the 9th edition of the championship at Valladolid in Spain. Qualifying would kick off with Bruno Coelho and his prototype Infinity eBuggy topping the first of the four rounds but fastest in the next three qualifiers it was reigning European Nitro Buggy Champion Juan Carlos Canas who secured the TQ with his Sworkz. Behind the Spaniard it was Ongaro, last year’s Top Qualifier in France, who lined up second ahead of Coelho. Italian Sworkz driver Mattio Polito secured P4 with the Sparko of young French talent Noha Ben Mohamed in fifth as David Ronnefalk completed the Top 6 as the leading Xray. In the first of the 10-minute triple final encounters, late contact between Canas and Ongaro handed Coelho the win. In A2 a mistake from Canas early on saw him give the lead to Ongaro who would lead home Coelho and Ronnefalk. Unfortunately Canas’s hopes of retaking the title he last held in 2022 were over after he suffered a DNF trying to make his way back up the order. While Canas finally delivered a win in A3, second was enough for Ongaro to take his third eBuggy Euros title with Coelho the runner-up as Canas completed the podium. Finishing P4, Ben Mohamed took the European Junior title. A big year for 1:8 Electric Buggy, drivers will now turn their attention to the first ever IFMAR World Championship for the category which takes place in Portugal in August.

Image: EFRA [Facebook]