Red RC » R On Road

June 28, 2025

Balestri retains European Nitro Touring Car title

Infinity’s Dario Balestri has retained his 1:10 European Nitro Touring Car title, the Italian claiming his 10th EFRA European Championship career win today at the iconic Apeldoorn track in Netherlands. The reigning 1:8 Onroad World Championship took the win ahead of team-mate Carmine Raiola with 2023 Champion Toni Gruber completing the podium for Capricorn. In qualifying it was reigning World Champion Jilles Groskamp who secured the TQ ahead of Raiola, Balestri and Polish driver Jakub Rozycki – the Top 4 going directly to the 45-minute Main final. With Gruber and Melvin Diekmann winning their Semi finals they completed the top half of the grid. Topping 3 of the 5 qualifiers, Groskamp continued his form in the final setting a very fast pace out front and the fastest lap but a flameout on lap 69 would end the Dutch ace’s challenge. With tyre strategy proving critical, while Raiola took over the lead he would run out of tyres allowing Balestri to take the lead which he would hold to the finish. Taking over lead for a number of laps as the pit stops played out, Gruber looked like he had a strategy that could pay dividends but he would suffer a flameout. Finishing on the same lap as Riola, the German still completed the podium. A steady race from Rozycki saw him finish fourth ahead of the Mugen of British Champion Alex Thurston.

Image: Infinity [Facebook]

June 27, 2025

New Foshan ISTC | 1:12 World C/ship Track – First Images

With IFMAR announcing in January that Foshan in China has been awarded the 2026 ISTC and 1:12 World Championships, the hosts are using the occasion to build a super impressive brand new RC facility in the city. A project spearheaded by Gavin Kwok, who was instrumental in bringing the GDC track in Foshan to the international stage through the staging of the FIRC/FEMCA Championship race in 2023 & 2024, the new facility is located in the centre of the Foshan business district with building set for completion at the event of July. The facility will comprise of 3 tracks, the main outdoor asphalt track covering any area 80m X 43m. A second but covered asphalt track measures 42m X 23m while offroad racer will also be catered for with a 50m X 26m offroad track. The venue will have space for several shops and a main pro shop to facilitate supplies and parts for racers. With all three tracks to be floodlit, racer will be able to utilise all the tracks both day and night. The second time China will host the ISTC and 1:12 Worlds, Beijing previously hosting the title deciders in 2016, the new Foshan track will host the 1:12 Worlds from March 26th to 29th with Electric Touring Car running from March 31st to April 4th, 2026.

View more images here

June 25, 2025

2025 IFMAR 1:8 Onroad World C/ship – Stage 1 Report

The Stage 1 report for the IFMAR 1:8 Onroad World Championships which take place in Santiago, Chile, later this year has been published by host club Club of Aeromodelos of Chile (CACH). The 24th edition of IFMAR’s original World Championship takes place at country’s very impressive CACH facility which houses a variety of RC tracks and airfields and which will also host the 1:8 GT Worlds 2-months earlier. Infinity and Dario Balestri are the defending 1:8 Onroad World Champions with Simon Kurzbuch the last World Champion to be crowned in South America when he won in Brazil in 2015. Officially set to start on November 28th with IPD, the race will run over a ridiculously long 9-day period with December 6th (Sunday) reserved as a rain day. The length of the IFMAR Onroad Nitro World Championships is an issue that has been raised for years as a barrier to participation yet it has still not be addressed by the governing body. While we wont be there for the 9-days, Red RC look forward to making the trip to Chile to report on how the race unfolds.

View Stage Report here

June 24, 2025

Wins for Sawada and Coelho at SIGP Onroad Grand Prix

Sunpadow Batteries’ annual SIGP International Onroad Grand Prix took place over the weekend in Xiamen, China, where Infinity pairing Jin Sawada and Bruno Coelho took the big wins. In 1:10 Electric Touring Car it was Japanese driver Sawada who took the TQ ahead of the Xray of Singapore’s Nicolas Lee with Kouki Kato’s Infinity in P3. As the defending SIGP Champion, Coelho would line-up 5th for the triple finals. Fending off Coelho in A1, Sawada was able to win again in A2 to take the victory while winning A3 Coelho secured P2 with Lee completing the podium at the impressive 3-circle ARC International RC Racing Track. Making a return to his roots after a long absence from the category, in 1:8 Nitro Onroad Coelho would secure the TQ ahead of his Australian team-mate Jesse Davis and Andy Moore with former 1:10 Nitro Touring Car World Champion Meen V in fourth. After the Semi finals it was Capricorn driver Meen V who would start P2 behind Coelho but the Portuguese ace had lost none of his nitro skills and setting the fastest lap was able to take the win by 4-laps from Davis and Moore with Meen missing out on the podium in P4.

Image: Sunpadow [sunpadow.com]

June 23, 2025

Beretta crowned new 1:8 GT European Champion

Genius Racing’s Filippo Beretta is the new EFRA 1:8 GT Nitro European Champion. Racing at the MRC Leipzig track in Germany, the Italian topped the opening three qualifiers to secure the TQ ahead of team-mate and 2022 & 2023 Champion Bernard-Alain Arnaldi. Topping the fifth & final qualifier Daniel Schepis secured third ahead of Andrea Catanzani, the Serpent having topped seeding. Missing the cut of directly qualifying for the 45-minute title deciding final, the Raptor of Alessio Mazzeo qualified P5 ahead of Capricorn’s Alex D’angelo. In the final it was very much Beretta who was in control however Catanzani found a way passed his fellow countryman with 5:30 on the clock. Crossing the finish just half a second ahead it looked like Catanzani was the new European Champion however in post race technical inspection his fuel tank failed and Beretta was declared the Champion of the 4th running of the European Championships. It would be an all Genius Racing podium with Leonardo Valente second and Arnaldi third. Travelling to Germany as the reigning Champion Natanaele Senesi would finish P4 having had issues in qualifying and ended up P11. Reigning World Champion Toni Gruber qualified 9th and like Senesi had to come through the Semi finals eventually finishing P7. In 1:8 Electric GT it was Xray’s Adam Izsay who the new Champion ahead of 2023 Champion Mazzeo with Schepis completing the podium.

Image: EFRA [Facebook]

June 20, 2025

Sweep official 1:8 GT World Championship tyre supplier

As Chile continues its preparation for hosting the IFMAR 1:8 GT World Championships in September, the organisers have announced Sweep as the official tyre supplier. Racers will use the recently released D-SPEC GT 40 tyre. The organisers have been testing the tyre in various conditions with their advisors since January and ultimately made the decision after a comparison test with other options at the Club de Aeromodelos de Chile (CACH) in the past 2 weeks when weather conditions were similar to those expect in September. The main focus was performance, durability, quality and how long they took to reach optimum performance (considering that EP racing cannot afford to have a lengthy warm up period and tire warmers are not allowed).

Source: IFMAR Worlds Chile 2025 [ifmarworlds2025.com]

June 18, 2025

1:8 GT | Onroad Worlds announce Energy as official fuel

Italian fuel manufacturer Energy has been announced as the official fuel for both the IFMAR 1:8 GT and 1:8 Onroad World Championships later this year. Both events take place at the same track in Chile, the very impressive Club de Aeromodelos de Chile (CACH) facility, with the GT title the first to be decided when it runs from September 14-20th. The fourth running of the GT Nitro Worlds, Hong Nor’s Toni Gruber will be aiming to defend the title he won two years ago in Australia. IFMAR original and longest running World Championship, the 1:8 Onroad title will be decide between Nov 27 – Dec 7. Last held in Japan where Infinity’s Dario Balestri took the win, the Italian will be chasing a third World title at the 24th running of the championship near Santiago.

Source: IFMAR Worlds Chile 2025 [ifmarworlds2025.com]

June 16, 2025

Gimar engines for 1:8 GT Champion Senesi

Italian engine manufacturer Gimar has announced the return of reigning 1:8 GT EFRA European Champion and IFMAR World Championship finalist Natanaele Senesi to its team line-up. Gimar’s Giovanni Crea and Senesi have previously worked together for many years and reunited the Italian driver will now concentrate on developing Gimar’s engines for 1:8 GT class. With the 2025 European Championship coming up next weekend he will be one of their leading drivers in Leipzig as well as at the IFMAR World Championship in Chile in September. On the announcement Senesi said, ‘I know Giovanni since many many years now, and I now that we can do something special together. Our goal? Win!’

Source: Gimar [rcgimar.com]