Red RC » R Off Road

July 30, 2024

2024 SIGP International Offroad GP – Announcement

Counting Germany’s Joern Neumann and American Ryan Lutz as past Champions, the SIGP International Offroad Grand Prix returns in 2024 with the announcement that the 3-circle ARC International RC Racing Track in Xiamen, China, will host the race from December 11-15. The same venue that hosted the 2017 IFMAR 1:10 Electric Offroad World Championships, the SIGP International Offroad Grand Prix had been one of Asia’s major international offroad events pre-Covid gathering RC drivers from across Asia and the world. The return of the Grand Prix, after its forced break since 2019, the event will give the new generation of Chinese drivers the opportunity to compete with top drivers from home & abroad and show as well as further develop their skills. The classes that will make up the 2024 edition are 1:8 Nitro Buggy, 1:8 Electric Buggy, 1:7 KM Citroen C3 GP Rally, 1:7 Citroen C3 EP Rally, and 1:4 EP Offroad Motorbike, with a total prize fund of RMB 150,000 ($20,000) up for grabs.

View provisional schedule here

July 29, 2024

Phend triples at ‘The Wicked Weekend’

Team Losi Racing’s Dakotah Phend completed a triple at ‘The Wicked Weekend’ in Gainesville, Georgia. Organised by RaceTime Entertainment, who host some of the biggest nitro races on US soil including the Psycho Nitro Blast, this year’s edition would be bigger than last year with the big winners from 2023, Phend (Nitro Buggy), Seth VanDalen (eBuggy) and Ryan Maifield (Nitro Truggy) heading the 726 strong entry list. In Nitro Buggy qualifying it was Phend who topped all three qualifiers to secure the TQ ahead of Maifield’s Tekno and Spencer Rivkin’s Team Associated. Phend also took the eBuggy TQ ahead of the Tekno of defending Champion VanDalen. In Nitro Truggy it was Sworkz’ Brandon Rose who took the TQ ahead of Rivkin. In the finals, Phend would successfully defend his Nitro Buggy title taking the win of the half hour decider by 12.5-seconds from Kyosho’s Ryan Lutz who got passed Maifield who finished a further 14-seconds back. In Nitro Truggy Phend would come through from P5 to take the win by a lap over Maifield with Top Qualifier Rose rounding out the Top 3. To cap off a brilliant weekend for Phend, he took eBuggy thanks to the fastest winning time in the first of the 2 legs A-main encounters. Winner of the second A-Main just a second ahead of Phend but a slower race by over 2-seconds, Team Associated’s Jonah Wilson took second overall with Lutz giving Kyosho another Top 3 finish.

Image: The Wicked Weekend [Facebook]

July 28, 2024

Canas retains European title with dominant win

Sworkz’s Juan Carlos Canas has retained his EFRA 1:8 Nitro Buggy European Championship with a dominant win at the OngaroRing in Italy. Having secured the overall TQ ahead of Mugen Seiki’s Burak Kilic after topping three of the five qualifiers, the Spaniard went on to win his Semi Final to secure pole position for the 45-minute. With Burak retiring from the lead of his Semi, behind Canas on the grid it would be Burak’s brother Berak Kilic who lined up second followed Xray’s David Ronnefalk and Team Associated’s Davide Ongaro. Leading from start to finish it was a dominant display from Canas who has clearly marked himself as a favourite for the World Championship in just 6-weeks time in his home country. A late charge from 2018 Champion Bruno Coelho, who started P5, would see the Xray driver get by his team-mate Ronnefalk to finish within 6-seconds of Canas. Former World & European Champion Ronnefalk completing the podium ahead of the WIRC of Marco Baruffolo. Racing at his family owned track, current back to back World Champion Ongaro would see any chances of a first European title dashed when he ran out of fuel having just passed Ronnefalk for second with 15-minutes left on the clock.

Image: Sworkz [Facebook]

July 26, 2024

Canas Top Qualifier at European Championship

Sworkz’s Juan Carlos Canas is the Top Qualifier at the EFRA 1:8 Nitro Buggy European Championship at the Ongaroring in Italy. The defending Champion, secured the overall TQ after topping 3 of the 5 qualifiers at the home track of reigning World Champion Davide Ongaro. It would be the Italian who got qualifying underway on Thursday with his Team Associated fastest from the Mugen of Burak Kilic and Bruno Coelho’s Xray. Round 2 would Canas hit the top, the Spaniard fastest from Kilic and Ongaro. Making for a interesting first day in Sicile, after his two strong opening showings Kilic then delivered a TQ run in Q3 ahead of Canas, Coelho and Ongaro. With everything still to play for, Day 2 of qualifying would see Canas get the better of his two main rivals in the first encounter taking Q4 by just 4/10th of a second from Kilic with Ongaro third. Now a two way battle for the overall TQ between Canas and Kilic, on an increasingly grippy track Canas, pushed intensely by Coelho, posted the fastest time of qualifying to seal the overall TQ – just 6/100ths of a second separating the Top 2 Q5 times. Overall Kilic would end up second followed by Ongaro with Coelho fourth ahead of team-mate David Ronnefalk with the Top 6 rounded out by Berkan Kilic.

Image: Sworkz [Facebook]

July 22, 2024

Xu Xi doubles at FEMCA EP Offroad Championship

Xray driver Xu Xi completed the double at the FEMCA EP Offroad Championship which took place at the GDC track in Foshan, China, over the weekend. FEMCA, the governing body of radio-controlled car racing in Asia and Australasia and which represents 15 nations, brought back the race this year after a long absence with the aim of building back up the race, which like other FEMCA Championships crowns the official Champion of Asia. With 4WD attracting the largest entry, in qualifying it was leading Chinese international touring car driver Marco Ma who secured the TQ for Xray ahead Xi after topping 4 of the 5 rounds. In the triple finals however after a poor start in A1, Xi was able to get the better of his team-mate and win A2 & 3 to lift the overall title. With Ma second, Liu Hai Feng completed the podium. In 2WD, Xi had the perfect race securing the TQ and wrapping up the overall win in A2. Second would go to the Team Associated of Ashton Witte with Zhao Ji Chen rounding out the Top 3.

Image: GDC Indoor Race Club

July 17, 2024

Ronnefalk and Bertin part ways after 15-years

It is hard to imagine one without the other at any major international 1:8 Offroad race but former World Champion David Ronnefalk and his long standing mentor & mechanic Adrien Bertin are to part ways after 15-years. Bertin himself a double World Championship in nitro onroad, has played an integral part in the career of the Swedish driver. Red RC first witnessed this partnership, that would become a world recognised force, in action the EFRA European Championships in Austria fresh from Ronnefalk having become the European B Champion. Since then the duo have gone on to win around the world with them achieving the ultimate dream when Ronnefalk took the World title in Las Vegas in 2016. A partnership that started through Kyosho and Orion engines and successfully moved to HB Racing, but Ronnefalk’s latest move to Xray after a brief stint with Mayako has seen the duo a somewhat less formidable force and now as the saying goes ‘all good things must come to an end ‘ with Ronnefalk making the announcement on his social media and concluding ‘I wouldn’t be in the position I am today if it wasn’t for you Adrien. I can’t thank you enough’

Reading Ronnefalk’s full announcement here

July 15, 2024

Champlin & Rivkin win at JConcepts Summer INS Dirt

JConcepts’ popular Indoor National Series made its fourth stop of the season over the weekend with the hosting of the Summer Dirt event at Hobbytown Hobbyplex in Omaha where Broc Champlin and Spencer Rivkin took the main spoils. In 2WD Buggy it was the Schumacher of Champlin that took overall TQ ahead of former World Champion Rivkin. With three qualifiers Champlin topped two while Rivkin’s Team Associated went fastest in Q3 to line up P2 ahead of the similar buggy of Aydin Horne. In 4WD Buggy it was the Xray of Chase Lemieux that claimed the top spot for the finals with a dominant 3 from 3 in qualifying. Behind the JConcepts Spring INS 2WD Buggy winner, Rivkin again lined up P2 with Summer INS Carpet double winner Tom Rinderknecht third. In the triple finals, Lemieux would have a bad A1 finishing P5 with Rivkin getting the win. The season opening Winter Indoor Nationals double winner would repeat again in A2 to take the overall win for 4WD. Lemieux would win A3 to secure second overall with Xray team Rinderknecht completing the podium. In 2WD, while Rivkin got the win in A1, Champlin got the job done in A2 & 3 to secure the win with Horne second overall ahead of Rivkin. With drivers’ best three from 5 races counting, the 2024 JConcepts Indoor National Series concludes with the Fall Indoor Nationals on September 27-29 at Hoosier RC Hobbyplex in New Albany.

Image: JConcepts [jconcepts.net]

July 14, 2024

Noble sweeps Asian Buggy Championships Rd 3

Tekno driver Caleb Noble has dominated finals day at the third round of the Asian Buggy Championships, winning Nitro Truggy, EP Buggy and the premier Nitro Buggy class at Pine Hills Dirt Racing in Brisbane, Australia. In Nitro Buggy the talented Australian overcame Top Qualifier Alex Bernadzik, hitting the front early with his NB48 2.2, a lead he would hold almost throughout in a powerhouse display. Bernadzik’s Team Associated RC8B 4.1 challenged mid-race, leading briefly before dropping back over the last ten minutes, almost caught by Christian Wolhuter in the SWorkz – the podium dominated by Australian drivers. Having missed two rounds of qualifying due to food poisoning, Ryan Pavidis drove through the field from his 12th place starting spot, having earlier transferred through the B final, to an excellent fourth from Team Associated’s Jayden Edmunds. Noble had early completed the win in the triple-leg EP Buggy finals, second in A1 to fellow Tekno driver Walker Spinrad before winning A2 in a thrilling battle with Bernadzik. A3 went down to the wire, Kyle McBride (Kyosho) getting to the lead late when Noble and Bernadzik clashed, Caleb’s second place enough to ensure he would take the overall win from McBride and Bernadzik. Completing the swept, Noble completely dominated the Nitro Truggy class, leading throughout ahead of local Jackson Beale (also Tekno) and New Zealand’s Shane O’Connor (HB). The championship now heads to West Side Raceway in Jakarta, Indonesia in late September where the 2024 season concludes.

Source: Scott Guyatt/Asian Buggy Championships [Facebook]