August 1, 2026

D’amico new 1:5 Touring Car World Champion

Italian Mecatech driver Emanuele D’amico is the new IFMAR 1:5 Touring Car World Champion, the 2024 European Champion winning the 12th running of the World Championship today at Lostallo in Switzerland.  Qualifying P2 behind compatriot and team-mate Edoardo Repetti, D’amico would win the 1-hour final ahead of the Top Qualifier by a margin of almost 10-seconds with 2016 European Champion Giovanni Verbrugghe from Belgium completing the podium, the Semi Final winner having started from P3.  Repetti lead away the 10-car grid but 8-minutes in had a mistake that allowed D’amico to go to the front while defending Champion Markus Feldmann had worked his way into 3rd from P5 on the grid.  Coming up to the half way distance, D’amico advantage was 5-seconds as Repetti was coming under pressure from Feldmann.  Unfortunately for the German, who was chasing a third World title, he would run out of fuel with 32-minutes remaining on the clock.  With everyone else pitting at the half way distance, once the race settled after the fuel stops it was D’amico who still controlled the race, his last lap a victory lap as Repetti’s time had already expired.  While Feldmann would rejoin the race and go about setting the fastest lap, he would not complete final ending up classified P7.

Image: AMSCI [Facebook]


July 31, 2026

Serpent SRX8GTR EC 1:8 Nitro GT Kit

Having finally won the EFRA 1:8 Nitro GT  European Championship with star driver Andrea Catanzani in Portugal at the end of May, Serpent is now offering a replica of the winning car with the introduction of the SRX8GTR EC.  Having released their latest competition GT car, the SRX8GT R kit, last August, the upgrades on the EC edition include a more flexible 3mm flat chassis to enhance mechanical grip on the track.  It also gets carbon suspension arms for increased rigidity and sharper handling.  Aluminium lightweight bulkheads are now also added for improved structural strength and alignment.

View more images here


July 31, 2026

IFMAR confirm Hudy as official ISTC World C/ship controlled tyre

IFMAR has announced that the 2026 ISTC World Championships in Thailand will run on a controlled Hudy tyre.  Best known for its tool manufacturing, the Slovakian company has moved into the tyre market in more recent times and its A2-40 will be the race tyre on which the 13th running of the 1:10 Electric Touring Car World Championships will be decided at Huge RC in Bangkok in November.  The Hudy A2-40 touring tyre compound is specifically designed for high-traction asphalt tracks & hot weather conditions.

Source: IFMAR [ifmar.org]


July 30, 2026

Repetti Top Qualifier at Large Scale World Championship

Mecatech driver Edoardo Repetti is the Top Qualifier at the IFMAR Large Scale World Championship in Switzerland, qualifying resulting in an Italian 1-2 as Emanuele D’amico booked the only other direct starting spot in Saturday’s title deciding race.  With 97 drivers competing in the ‘Open’ category, of the 4 rounds of qualifying it was Q2 that proved the fastest with 2022 European Champion Repetti 1.5-seconds faster than 2024 European Champion D’amico, the pairing the only drivers to manage 26-lap runs.  Fastest of those with 25-lap runs, it was reigning World Champion Markus Feldmann who completed the all Mecatech Top 3.  The German was 7/10ths of second quicker than Genius Racing’s Bernard Alain Arnaldi, the Frenchman setting his best time in Q3.  Top Qualifier at the last Worlds, Dane Marius Hetland completed the Top 5.  The third time the MRTM Lostallo track has hosted the Large Scale Worlds it was Feldmann who won the first of his 2-titles on the last visit in 2013.   This year will see the crowning of the 12th World Champion of the category, the cancellation of the 2024 WC in Australia meaning it has been 4-years that Feldmann has held his current title which he won in the USA in 2022.

Image: AMSCI [Facebook]


July 28, 2026

Gens ace power for Ishikawa

Battery manufacturer Gens ace has announced factory support of young up & coming Japanese touring car talent Mahiro Ishikawa.  The 17-year-old factory Yokomo driver has already made his mark on the RC racing scene as the Japanese National Champion in the Touring Car Stock Class and is now taking on a new challenge by competing in the highly competitive Modified Class.  One to watch, Ishikawa only made his international race debut earlier this year when he travelled to Thailand for the legendary TITC but unfortunately fell ill after practice and was unable race.

Source: Gens Ace [gensace.de]


July 27, 2026

Mugen Seiki MRX/MTX Update Shock Shafts

Reigning 1:8 Onroad World Champion manufacturer Mugen Seiki has announced the release of an updated shock shaft for its MRX platform, the new shafts also suitable for their MTX 1:10 Nitro Touring Car platform.  Offered as both as part of a full shock set or just a pair of shafts, the new shock shaft has been updated from a nut-fastened design to an SiG2x6 screw fastening design.

View full Shock Set here


July 26, 2026

Orlowski back to winning ways at ETS Slovakia

Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski returned to his winning ways in the ETS taking Round 2 in Slovakia with victory over Bruno Coelho, the driver who last year ended the Pole’s run of 12 consecutive wins in the series.  Racing at the Hudy Arena, it was Coelho’s Infinity that topped seeding ahead of Orlowski and with Marc Rheinard heading the early home charge for Xray.  In qualifying, reigning Champion Orlowski opened with the first of 3 TQ runs over the 5 rounds that would secure him the overall TQ.  Topping the final qualifying, Coelho, winner of the season opener in the Netherlands, would line-up P2 on the grid.  Behind Xray’s Alexander Hagberg completed with Top 3 ahead of Mugen Seiki’s Ronald Volker and Infinity’s Viktor Wilck.  In A1 Orlowski lead from start to finish, a mistake by Coelho just before the half way distance which say him roll onto his roof allowing him to cruise to the win by over 7-seconds from Coelho who inherited P2 back after Hagberg suffered a mechanical failure & retired.  In A2, despite the best efforts of World Champion Coelho, it was Orlowski who again took the win by just over 1-second to return to the top step of the podium.  With Coelho winning A3 from Hagberg, the final result was the same as the qualifying order.  Having qualified P7, Rheinard would finihsh fourth ahead of Volker with Schumacher’s Mattia Collina completing the Top 6.  In Pro Stock Xray’s Jan Ratheisky took the TQ and win over reigning Champion & Round 1 winner Olivier Bultynck.  While the battle for the win went to A3 after Bultynck won A2, contact frim Xray’s Adam Izsay ended the Awesomatix driver’s challenge for the win.  The Belgian would claim second overall with Izsay taking the third step on the podium.

Image: Bruno Coelho [Facebook]


July 25, 2026

4 in a row as Balestri defends European title in France

Infinity’s Dario Balestri has successfully defended his EFRA 1:8 Onroad European Championship title, the Italian taking his Max powered IF18-3 to a fourth consecutive victory in France today.  Racing at the Bourg-en-Bresse track, qualifying opened with French ace Maxime Ripoll topping the first of the five rounds with his Xray.  New 2026 Serpent signing & 2023 Euro Nitro Series Champion Mirko Salemi would set the pace in Q2 before Top Seed Balestri went quickest in Q3.  Another TQ run from Salemi in Q4 and Balestri in Q5 left the compatriots tied but on tie break it was 2-time World Champion Balestri who was the Top Qualifier.  2nd in qualifying would secure Salemi together with Infinity’s Carmine Raiola and 4th placed Ripoll direct spots into the Main final.  The 2026 1:8 GT European Champion, Serpent’s Andrea Catanzani would qualify fifth to secure pole in his Semi with the other Semi pole going to the Capricorn of Toni Gruber.  Unfortunately for the 2025 World Championship Top Qualifier,  Catanzani would be given penalties over his refuelling that would leave him 4th at the end of the 20-minute encounter with only the Top 3 progressing.  In the Last Chance Final he would retire with the Xray of Filippo Domanin becoming the 11th car on the grid.  In the 45-minute final Balestri showed just why he is such a decorated 1:8 racer, eventually securing his 6th European title by almost 3-seconds from team-mate Riola with an impressive drive from Domanin seeing him come through the field to complete the podium at the 24th running of the championships just ahead of Salemi.  Gruber would finish P5 with Ripoll, who ran as high as second & set the fastest lap of the race, completing the Top 6 at his home track.

Image: EFRA [Facebook]


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