January 20, 2025

Sobue wins GRC Indoor track reopening SSOGO race

Having won last year’s single round Asian Onroad Championship at the newly renovated outdoor track at GRC Raceway in Korea, Axon driver Akio Sobue returned over the weekend to win the first race on the track’s newly completed indoor track.  Hosting the ‘SSOGO 2025’ race to reopen the very impressive newly redone indoor facility, the event attracted a number of international racers including Xray’s Nicolas Lee, Xpress’ Yugo Nagashima and Sobue along with his Axon team-mate Hayato Ishioka.  Racing to 17.5T Boosted spec, qualifying would see Sobue top all three qualifiers to secure the overall TQ ahead of fellow Japanese racer Nagashima, Lee and Ishioka.  Sobue continued that form in the finals wrapping up the win after A2.  Winning A3 ahead of runner-up Nagashima, Ishioka would complete the podium.  Finishing P4 Lee, a race promoter himself who puts on the annual eSIC event in his home country of Singapore, has produced a video tour of the Galenaro Racing Circuit (GRC) which highlights the impression vision of track owner Yun Tak Kim – click here to view video.

View podium here


January 19, 2025

Rheinard opens ’25 touring car season with GP3F win

The 2025 international Electric Touring Car season got underway this weekend with Awesomatix’s Marc Rheinard taking the win at the annual GP3F race in France.   Having held the overnight TQ in Longwy, Rheinard would secure the overall TQ for his Team Cayote powered A800R by recording a third TQ run in Sunday morning’s fourth and final qualifier.  Behind the reigning European Champion, Mugen Seiki’s Ronald Volker, winner of the race in 2020, claimed P2 on the grid being the only other driver to go fastest in qualifying when he took Q3.  Defending Champion Michal Orlowski put his Schumacher 3rd on the grid for the triple A-Main ahead of Awesomatix’s Lucas Urbain with former 1:8 Offroad World Champion David Ronnefalk the top Xray in P5.  In the opening A-Main Rheinard entered the final lap leading from Orlowski but they made contact in the middle section of the track handing Urbain the win.  In the next two encounters Rheinard would set the fastest lap in each to win A2 from Orlowski by 1.6-seconds and A3 from Volker by 8/10ths to secure the overall win.  With his A1 win and P3 in A2 Urbain made it an Awesomatix 1-2 while Orlowski completed the podium ahead of Völker and Erik Dankel.  In Stock, Xray’s Adam Izsay secured the TQ and win ahead of Awesomatix’s Lukas Ellerbrock with third going to new RC Maker signing Tim Benson.

Image: MRC Longwy [Facebook]


January 18, 2025

eSIC 2025 – Announcement

The Electric Singapore International Challenge (eSIC) is back for a third edition with the organisers announcing a new earlier date for 2025.  With the previous two editions, both won by Mugen Seiki’s Ronald Volker, held the week prior to the the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, eSIC moves from September to an earlier date of July 12-13.  The brainchild of top Singapore touring car racer Nicholas Lee and Chhua Jookiah to bring top level international competition to the country, the inaugural event in 2023 attracted over 100 entries to the RCMC Marine Parade race track.  Last year they built on that momentum attracting factory entries from Mugen Seiki, Awesomatix, Yokomo, ARC and Xpress with ARC’s Brayden Stanley and Lee completing the 2024 Modified podium.  Four classes will make up eSIC in 2025 with racing for Modified, 13.5T Boosted, 17.5T FWD and 17.5T Super GT.

Source: eSIC [Facebook]


January 16, 2025

Apolaro wins Miami RC Grand Prix – Report

Last weekend the annual Miami RC Grand Prix took place at Homestead Speedway where the Infinity of DJ Apolaro took the 1:10 Nitro Touring Car win.   With a number of European drivers making the trip across the Atlantic, the Touring Car class had the current World Champion Jilles Groskamp show up with the Dutchman securing the TQ by 2-seconds from DJ Apolaro with the Mugen of Brian Thomas completing the Top 3 in qualifying.  With the weather constantly changing from day to day, as well as the track conditions, after some wind and rain the Final got cut from 45-minute to half an hour.  For Apolaro his original plan was to do a tyre change, but after some strategy changes and conversations with his mechanic (Ricardo Garri), they decided to take the risk and go with very large tyres, less tyre split and drive a smart race.  At the start, Apolaro was able to stay close enough to Groskamp and not let him get a large gap.  Keeping his lead under 3 seconds, when the World Champion stopped half way into the race for a tyre change, Apolaro had the lead and with his car running in the window in terms of tyre size he maintained the lead coming home with about a 10 second lead over Groskamp.  Making it an all Infinity podium Jerry Guerra secured third position.

Source: DJ Apolaro/Wallace Motorsport [wallacemotorsports.net]


January 16, 2025

Power HD servos for Paloschi

1:8 GT World Finalist and European Championship podium finisher Gabriele Paloschi has been announced as a team driver for servo manufacturer Power HD.  With 2025 a World Championship year for the growing category, the 21-year-old just recently announced he has joined Italian chassis manufacturer Capricorn after a number of seasons with Serpent.  Finishing 7th at the 2023 Worlds in Sydney, Australia, on his deal with Power HD, the Italian posted, ‘I’m happy to announce that I will be part of the Power HD factory team.  I was really impressed in the last season by the quality of the products and i’m very proud to be part of the team.  I‘ll be using GTS-6 servos for my Capricorn cars!  Thank you very much to the entire Power HD family for the opportunity and trust given to me.’

Source: PowerHD [chd.hk]


January 13, 2025

Yokomo confirm Krapp for 3rd MIBO International outing

Having attended the previous two years of MIBO International, Yokomo has confirmed its return for the 3rd edition of the annual Czech race where it will once again be represented by ISTC World Championship podium finisher Christopher Krapp.  The Japanese manufacturer’s lead international driver and team manager travels to Hrotovice aiming to mix it with defending Champion Michal Orlowski over the weekend of February 07-09.  A unique event, MIBO International brings together both electric touring car and electric offroad racers on the same weekend with the building of two indoor carpet tracks side by side at the Sports V Hotel.  With everything from the track, restaurant, bowling alley and hotel rooms all under one roof, the venue has always been popular with racers and counts Bruno Coelho, Ronald Volker, Joern Neumann, Adam Izsay and Bartek Zalewski as some of its champions.  With a capped entry limit the relaxed schedule means plenty of time in the evening to wind down and socialise over dinner after each day’s racing.

Source: MIBO [mibosport.com]


January 13, 2025

Bultinck & Braham win Bleiswijk 1:12 Liga Race – Report

After a very successful first event in 2024, the permanent track of RC Indoor Bleiswijk in The Netherlands was over the weekend the host of the Dutch edition of the 2025 Die 12. Liga, a series of 1:12 races organised by veteran 1:12 racer Markus Mobers.  With almost 50 entries from Germany, Belgium, France and The Netherlands competing in 2 classes, it was Awesomatix driver Olivier Bultynck who took the win in LMP 13.5T while there was a home victory for Yuri Braham in GT 17.5T.

Continue reading race report here


January 12, 2025

Another EWS win for Jefferies at Round 3

With the latest season of the popular & long running Essex Winter Series reaching the midway stage today it was the Awesomatix of Olly Jefferies that became the first double winner of the current season.  In qualifying it was former British National Champion Kyle Branson who secured the overall TQ ahead of the Schumacher of reigning EWS Champion & Round 2 Elliott Harper with Jefferies, winner of the season opener third.  The four rounds of qualifying produced four different TQ runs with the Xray of Harley Eldridge taking Q1, Branson Q2, Harper Q3 and Jefferies Q4.  In the single A-Main Branson struggled with a tricky car allowing Harper to go to the front early on.  Pushed hard by Branson a touch with 1-minute to go would unsettle Harper’s car allowing Jefferies to pass them both to take the win.  In Stock Zak Finlay made it three wins from three races with Ben Moorey and Billy Fletcher joining him on the podium.

Image: Kyle Branson