Red RC » R Off Road

October 19, 2026

Baird takes Irish title with season finale victory

Fresh from returning from the IFMAR 1:8 Nitro Buggy World Championship in Texas, Mugen Seiki driver Bradley Baird has clinched the RCCAOI Irish National Championship title. Racing at the fifth & final round of the championship on the Navan Nitro Nuts Astro surface track near the country’s capital, the multiple Irish Champion would secure the TQ after topping 4 of the 5 rounds. Taking Q3, Jason Ferguson would qualify second ahead of Paul Myles and Andrew McClean. After the Semi finals, it was Baird on pole for the 45-minute main from where he took a convincing 2-lap win over fellow Mugen Seiki racer McClean and the Xray of William White.

Image: Bradley Baird [Facebook]

October 19, 2026

Kilic wins 10th Edition Reds Grand Prix

The 10th edition of the Reds Grand Prix was staged over the weekend where Mugen Seiki’s Burak Kilic took the win, the results based on qualifying after Sunday’s schedule was unable to run due to bad weather. Organised by Italian engine brand Reds Racing at the OSPY Team track in Gussao, Italy, it was factory Kyosho driver Marco Baruffolo who topped seeding from Kilic. In qualifying it was defending Champion Kilic who secured the TQ, the Turkish driver topping two of the three rounds. Fastest in the opening qualifier, factory Kyosho driver Marco Baruffolo qualified second ahead of Sworkz Elliott Boots, WIRC team driver Andrea Trevisan and the Sworkz of Mattia Pollito. With Sunday rained out, the qualifying order would be declared the result. Also taking the TQ in eBuggy and Nitro Truggy it would be a triple victory weekend for Kilic, able to run Saturday night’s Truggy Main he won the half hour race from Daniel Gronlund.

Image: Burak Kilic [Facebook]

October 12, 2026

Gens ace power for French offroad talent Ben Mohamed

Global Chinese battery manufacturer Gens ace will support French talent Noha Ben Mohamed, providing battery power for the 17-year-old’s offroad race programs. A team driver for Sparko in 1:8, making last year’s eBuggy World Championship final in Portugal, and Schumacher in 1:10, with whom he won the 2025 4WD French National title, he is the latest driver to be supported by industry leading battery producer which is owned by Shenzhen headquartered Grepow Battery corporation. Continuing to climb the ladder in terms of his profile, in August Ben Mohamed was announced as a Factory Team driver with Italian engine tuner Reds Racing.

Source: KE Distribution [Facebook]

October 6, 2026

Back to back Australian 2WD titles for Donnelly

Lachlan Donnelly is the back to back Australian 1:10 2WD Buggy National Champion, the Team Associated driver doing the title double at the Canberra Off Road Model Car Club hosted championships by also taking victory in 4WD Buggy. Topping all three muddy qualifiers in 2WD to secure the TQ ahead of Jordan Isergin and Christopher Surdy, Donnelly would win the opening two A-Mains to wrap up the RCRC National title early. Winning A3, Isergin would finish runner with fourth place qualifier Ari Bakla completing the podium. In 4WD Buggy it was again Donnelly on the TQ after topping 3 of the 4 rounds with Q3 winner Lachlan Munday lining up P2 ahead of Sturdy. This time the title would go to the third main. Wining A1, after a bad opening lap Donnelly would finish 3rd in A3 behind Munday and winner Matthew Couper. In A3 Donnelly held off Sturdy by 0.050 to complete the weekend double with third place giving Couper the runner-up spot while Munday took the final podium spot.

Images: Lachlan Donnelly [Facebook]

October 4, 2026

Back on top of the World after a decade, Ronnefalk gets 2nd World title

A decade after winning his first IFMAR 1:8 Nitro Buggy World title, Xray’s David Ronnefalk is back on the top of the world after taking the win at 20th running of the championship today in Hutto, Texas. After making his Semi Final look like just a formality on his way to securing pole position for the 1-hour final ahead of Top Qualifier Mason Fuller, the Swede looked to be carrying that form in the week’s deciding race. Out front and looking in control, with 2-minutes on the clock however a mistake in the whoops section and a subsequent error that caused chaos for a number of drivers, put him down to sixth with team-mate Chase Lemieux taking up the lead. A driver to really impress at these championship, given his limited nitro racing experience, unfortunately a pit lane exit infringement would earn Lemieux a drive through penalty, dropping him down the order but an engine cut at the 20-minute mark put amends to an impressive 1:8 Worlds debut and he eventually finished P8. With defending Champion Ongaro becoming the third different leader of the race it looked like the Italian was going to once again reign the world for another two years but even the best can make mistakes. With 25-minutes to run and a comfortable lead over Fuller, the Italian would hit the post on the back of the track, the impact immediately ending his 8 years reign as Champion. With Fuller now in the lead, holding it for 26 laps, a number of mistakes allowed a recovering Ronnefalk to close and with a faster pit stop go to the front. As Ronnefalk came in for his final stop, a hard charging Fuller had two mistakes and needed to be marshalled meaning Ronnefalk kept is lead. Fuller didn’t give up however and pushed his rival right to the finish, the separation 1.439 seconds after an hour of racing. Having found himself back in 12th early in the race after that chaos caused by Ronnefalk’s mistake 3-minutes into the race, Juan Carlos Canas managed to get himself back up to third to claim the final step on the podium 2-laps down on his Sworkz team-mate. As the reigning eBuggy World Champion, Marcus Kaerup would be the best Team Associated finisher as he claimed fourth ahead of team-mate Brandon Rose. While Kyosho’s Phi-Long Nguyen would suffer a run away during his Worlds Final debut, caused by a power switch failure, the teenager’s first refuelling at 12:30 couldn’t go by without an honourable mention.

Continue reading here

October 3, 2026

Semi just a formality as Ronnefalk secures pole in Texas

The Semi Finals were just a formality for Xray’s David Ronnefalk, the 2016 World Champion securing pole for the IFMAR 1:8 Nitro Buggy World Championship in Texas with his dominant winning time in the first Semi securing him pole for the title decider. Needing to do an extra fuel stop over his rivals, the Swede got a early break when Canas crashed on the opening lap and back up the field. Pulling out an earlier lead, Ronnefalk’s extra fuel stop was quick negated such was the buffer he built up by his first stop. At the end of the 30-minutes it was 2024 pole sitter Juan Carlos Canas who finished second despite making contact with the same post that made him an internet sensation in the final qualifier. Completing the Top 3 was Spencer Rivkin ahead of Team Associated team-mate Brandon Rose. In the second Semi, the opening part of the race very scrappy with defending World Champion Davide Ongaro and Top Qualifier Mason Fuller coming together and handing Ryan Maifield the lead until he found the famous left hand side roof post. In the end it was the very impressive Chase Lemieux who took his Xray to the win holding just fending of the close attentions of both Fuller and Ongaro, the defending champion set to start 4th on the grid behind Fuller.

Continue reading here

October 3, 2026

Tebo progresses to final day 1:8 Nitro Buggy Worlds

Jared Tebo will progress to the main day at the IFMAR 1:8 Nitro Buggy World Championship in Texas, this the legendary American offroad racer’s 1st World Championships as a privateer. His tenth Nitro Worlds, racing last as a factory driver in Redovan in 2022, the 39-year-old found himself 54th at the end of qualifying in what he himself described as ‘a rough qualifying’ but taking the win in his 1/16 final he now gets to be part of the Main day here at Thornhill Racing Circuit for the 20th edition of the World Championships. Not just racing this week but also here with his family running his growing JTP business’ track side shop, Tebo, who is known for being his own biggest critic, joked ‘this is my first Worlds wearing with a bunch of hats.’ Asked how the week had gone the multiple 1:10 World Champion said, ‘I just haven’t really flowed with the track. I haven’t really felt the rhythm and wasn’t sure if it was my car or my driving so I was kind trying stuff on my car but still just not driving that well.’ He continued, ‘My last qualifier went well and I had kind of a 15-20 run going but crashed twice on the last lap and ruined it and that’s kind of why I am racing today.’ Taking the 1/16B final win ahead of 2012 World Champion Robert Batlle, this the Spaniard’s 12th Worlds appearance, he said, ‘I felt I probably drove the best I have driven that race so yeah all positive and looking forward to tomorrow.’

Continue reading here

October 2, 2026

Fuller ‘Top Qualifier’ in Texas with 3rd TQ in final quali

Sworkz’s Mason Fuller is the 2026 IFMAR 1:8 Nitro Buggy World Championship Top Qualifier, the American securing the honours with a third TQ run in the sixth & final round of qualifying in Texas. Going into the decider it was down to a two way battle between Fuller and Xray’s David Ronnefalk. With two TQ runs a piece, Ronnefalk would be the first to present his best effort in Heat 13 of 15 and the Swede delivered by knocking 2-seconds off his Q5 topping time, that run having been the fastest run around Thornhill Racing Circuit. With Fuller next to go, and having the advantage of not needing to do a fuel stop, he would better that time by 6/10th with a new outright fastest time but with Heat 15 still to run a better time from any of the 12 cars in that group would give Ronnefalk his first Worlds TQ. Sworkz’s Juan Carlos Canas clearly stepped up to the challenge, the Top Qualifier of the last World Championship, he was on target to TQ the round. Having just put in a blistering 35.765 second lap, with the crowd still audible in awe of that time, unfortunately the Spaniard would fall foul of the same track roof support post that cost him a strong Q3 run the previous day. With his car getting caught in a screw at the post, his efforts were for nothing. While ROAR Champion Seth Van Dalen topped Heat 15 for a P3 for the round, with Fuller taking the Q6 TQ from Ronnefalk this is how they would finish up in the final rankings. As the defending Champion and winner of Q3, P6 the best he could manage in the final quali, Davide Ongaro completed the Top 3 ahead Canas, and he will line up behind Fuller in the Semi A and while Canas lines up behind Ronnefalk in the Semi B on Saturday.

Continue reading here