Red RC » R Off Road

February 23, 2026

Sturdy & McMillan win South Australian State Titles

Schumacher’s Christopher Sturdy and Team Associated’s Jack McMillan are the RCRA 1:10 Buggy South Australian State Title Champions for 2026. Racing at Adelaide Radio Controlled Raceway, it was Sturdy who took the TQ honours in both 2WD and 4WD, the race having to be condensed down to 3 qualifiers and a hectic single day of race action due to rain forecast for Sunday. In 2WD, starting on pole ahead of McMillan, Sturdy took his first title for new for 2026 chassis sponsor Schumacher by winning A1 and A3 with A2 winner & team-mate Jayden Edmunds making it 1-2 for the British manufacturer. McMillan would complete the podium. In 4WD, starting on pole ahead of Phoenix Eggleton and McMillen, while Sturdy won A1, errors in A2 & 3 denied him a shot at the double. Winning A2 and finishing second to Edmunds in A3, McMillan took the overall title. With Edmunds again runner-up it was Sworkz driver Eggleton who completed the podium having won the SA State title in Stadium Truck.

Image: Christopher Sturdy [Facebook]

February 23, 2026

Ongaro opens Italian National Champs with double win

The four round 2026 1:8 Buggy AMSCI Italian National Championship kicked off over the weekend with 10-time consecutive Champion Davide Ongaro doing the double with wins in Nitro & eBuggy. Racing at the Nitro Plaza Off Road Marigllanella track near Naples, qualifying would see Ongaro’s Team Associated top the ranking with 3 TQ runs ahead of the Sworkz of Mattia Polito, who took the opening round, and Xray’s Alex Zanchettin. After Semi finals however it was Polito who would start on pole for the 45-minute main from Ongaro and Serpent’s Giuseppe Tescione. Despite laying down the fastest lap of the race, Polito wouldn’t be able to deny Ongaro the win. They would be joined on the podium by Mugen Seiki’s Burak Kilic, the Turkish racer winning the Last Chance Fnal to come from 13th in the grid to deny the WIRC of Andrea Trevisan a Top 3 finish. In eBuggy Onagro also took the TQ and win ahead of Polito with Trevisan completing the podium.

Image: Mauro Ongaro [Facebook]

February 13, 2026

Schumacher confirm Orlowski & Kobbevik for MIBO International

Schumacher has confirmed its return to the 4th edition of the MIBO International with regular Czech visitors Michal Orlowski and Daniel Kobbevik. Orlowski, who is currently setting the pace at the famous TITC race in Thailand, is a MIBO International winner in touring car but this year the Pole switches to racing on other side of the Sports V Hotel sports hall as he takes on the offroad track. Kobbevik has been a Top Qualifier in Hrotovice and finished on the podium but a win has so far eluded the Norwegian, a record he will be hoping to amend. With confirmed entries for offroad also from Xray, in European Champion Martin Bayer and defending MIBO International 2WD Champion Bartek Zalewski, and Sworkz, in Elliott Boots and Micha Widmaier, the racing is set to be intense over the 2 & a half day event. Full details of the 2026 MIBO International Race, which takes place on February 27-March 1st, can be viewed on the Mibosport website by clicking here.

View MIBO International Roll of Honour here

February 9, 2026

Lemieux doubles at JConcepts INS16 opener

Xray’s Chase Lemieux has opened the 16th season of the JConcepts Indoor National Series with a double win at his home track of Trackside Hobbies in Wisconsin. The first stop on the 5 round calendar, Lemieux would secure the TQ in both 2WD and 4WD. In 2WD his closest challenger would be Team Associated’s Aydin Horne, winner of the race 12-months earlier, and Xray team-mate Dakotah Phend, each driver posting a TQ run over the three quali rounds. In 4WD, it was Schumacher’s reigning double INS Champion, and winner of the race in 2025, Broc Champlin who lined up P2 with Phend again P3 ahead of Team Associated’s Spencer Rivkin. In the finals Lemieux would need just the opening two A-Mains to wrap up both overall wins. In 2WD Horne won A3 to finish second with Phend completing the podium ahead of Tom Rinderknecht. In 4WD Champlin took A3 to finish second with Rivkin getting onto the podium with P2 finishes in A2 & 3. Round 2 of the JConcepts INS16 takes place on May 1-3 at RC One Racing in Macomb Township, Michigan.

Image: JConcepts [jconcepts.net]

February 8, 2026

Clean sweep for Zalewski at MKGP

Having taken the 4WD win last year, Xray’s Bartek Zalewski has completed a clean sweep of this year’s MKGP winning both 2WD and 4WD at the British Radio Car Association promoted event. The annual 1:10 carpet track event takes place in the Centre:MK shopping centre in Milton Keynes and showcases RC racing in front of weekend shoppers. In 2WD qualifying it would be Schumacher’s Daniel Kobbevik who took the opening round but it would be Zalewski who would go on to secure the TQ before dominating the remainder of the event. Winning the 2WD final ahead of Kobbevik, with Schumacher’s Ben Smith completing the podium, in 4WD the young Polish talent was untouchable. Topping all four rounds of qualifying, he would again start on pole ahead of Kobbevik, Smith, Sw0rkz’s Micha Widmaier and the Team Associated’s Joona Haatanen and World Champion Marcus Kaerup. In the triple finals, Zalewski wrapped up the perfect weekend with wins in a A1 and A2. Winning A3 ahead of Kaerup, Kobbevik claimed second with the Dane completing the podium.

Image: Bartek Zalewski [Facebook]

February 8, 2026

Canas wins Montpellier GP after Ongaro error

Sworkz Juan Carlos Canas has opened the European 1:8 Nitro Buggy season with victory at the Montpellier Grand Prix, his second consecutive win of the famous French classic coming after a mistake from weekend dominator Davide Ongaro saw the Team Associated driver eventually finish P3. With rain effecting proceedings at Circuit du MBM, qualifying for the 20th edition of the race would after the completion of 3 rounds see Ongaro take the TQ honours ahead of Mugen Seiki’s 2025 Montpellier GP race leader & podium finisher Berkan Kilic. Canas would complete the Top 3 ahead Sworkz team-mate Mattio Polito, the Mugen Seiki of last year’s Top Qualifier Burak Kilic, and Tekno’s Joao Figueiredo. Winning their respective Semi-Finals, it was Ongaro and fellow Italian Polito who lead away the field for the shortened 45-minute main. Last winner of the Montpellier GP in 2023, Ongaro looked on target for the win having built up a huge lead however a high speed mistake resulted in contact with a fencing post which gifted his rivals the race as he struggled with buggy after the impact. With the Top 3 finishing on the same lap, Canas’s took the win by 9-seconds from an impressive Polito with Ongaro a further 7-seconds back. Behind, Figueiredo, Sparko’s Adrian Pariente, and Sworkz’s Elliott Boots completed the Top 6.

Image: Sworkz [Facebook]

February 5, 2026

Team EAM batteries for Eldridge

Top international female electric racer Harley Eldridge has joined US battery brand Team EAM. The accomplished British racer who represents Xray both in onroad and offroad, has a 2026 programme that will include travelling to China to contest both the IFMAR Modified Touring Car and 1:12 World Championships at Hongyu GDC in Foshan. Also with a packed UK race calendar that includes 2WD and 4WD Offroad action, on the announcement Harley said, ‘I would like to say a massive thank you to Eric for letting me join Team EAM! I’m looking forward to promoting the brand further in the UK and across the many different classes I race.’

Source: Team EAM [teameamotorsports.com]

February 3, 2026

Sworkz confirm Boots & Widmaier for MIBO International

Sworkz RC has confirmed that it will be represented at the fourth edition of MIBO International later this month by factory drivers Elliott Boots and Micha Widmaier. Sworkz are past winners of the Czech race with former team driver Joern Neumann winning 2WD Buggy at the 2024 edition of the race that brings together offroad and onroad racing under the one roof of the Sports V Hotel in Hrotovice in the South of the country. Austrian National Champion & European Championship finalist Widmaier is a MIBO International regular returning this year for his third appearance. Two time European 1:8 Buggy Champion & World Championship podium finisher Boots however will make first appearance at the Michal Bok organised race, the British racer hoping to make an impression as he continues to reacclimatise with 1:10 Offroad. Full details of the 2026 MIBO International Race, which takes place on February 27-March 1st, can be viewed on the Mibosport website by clicking here.

View MIBO International Roll of Honour here