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March 12, 2026

2026 Speed King Tour Rd1 – Report

The first round of high profile Japanese Speed King Tour 2026 took place at Super Rajikon Oomiya indoor tarmac track in Saitama prefecture on March 8th. To allow drivers prepare for the upcoming ISTC Worlds in China, the Modified TC0 class didn’t run at the season opener with the TC1 and TC2 classes making up the schedule. Xray driver Rento Sasaki showed his ability at TC1 class (Stock) A final. Rento did perfect start from pole position and never made mistake to take the win. Yuto Sakai and Taku Wakamatsu tried to catch Rento up but couldn’t pull it off. The 2025 TC1 class ‘Speed King’ Champion this was the perfect start to Rento’s title defence. In the TC2 class (G Force motor and ESC), TQ driver Manabu Ota made a good start and led the race until half of the A-Final. Atsushi Fujimaki had been chasing Ota and did brilliant overtake to take the lead. Fujimaki kept his position to the finish and Ota could not get P1 back. Masayuki Higo finished 3rd from No.4 grid. Round 2 of Speed King Tour will be held at New Next Rush Circuit outdoor tarmac track at 26th of April.

Source: Speed King Tour [speedkingtour.com]

March 12, 2026

Ripoll joins LensBodies

One of the stars of the 2025 IFMAR 1:8 Onroad World Championship in Chile, top French racer Maxime Ripoll is to represent LensBodies as part of his 2026 racing programme with Xray. Qualifying second in Santiago, the 19-year-old European Championship podium finisher will use the new Meltemi body from Italian body producer which is a part of Nicola Marrone’s Hotrace Tyres. Already supported by Hotrace tyres, on the announcement the French National Champion said, ‘Really happy to join the Lensbodies family! Thanks to LensBodies for this opportunity. Can’t wait to drive with the new Meltemi body [and] of course I’ll continue with Hotrace Tyres. Thanks to Nicola Marrone.’

Source: Len Bodies [lensbodies.com]

March 11, 2026

IFMAR World Championship Update – Original schedule unlikely

IFMAR has just issued an update on the hosting of the 1:12 and ITSC World Championships in Foshan, China, which at present looks unlikely to be staged as originally scheduled. In the update the World Governing body states, ‘While discussions remain ongoing, the matters affecting the event have not yet been resolved and it is now highly unlikely that the championships will be able to take place on the currently scheduled dates.’ With just 2-weeks until the 1:12 Worlds was due to begin at Hongyu GDC, it looks like racers will have to try recoup their flights where possible with IFMAR also highlighting that it is looking at alternative locations and new dates to ensure both classes categories crown World Champions in 2026. IFMAR will provide a further update in the next 48-hours.

Read full IFMAR update here

March 10, 2026

Paloschi wins Senesi GT International GP

Hosted by 2024 EFRA European GT Champion Natanaele Senesi, the Senesi GT International Grand Prix took place over the weekend where Capricorn’s Gabriele Paloschi took the win. The third edition of the race which takes place at the Pista Leno track in the north of the country, qualifying in the Pro Nitro class would see Senesi and his Senesi Motorsport Raptor secure the TQ ahead of Paloschi. The WIRC of 2020 IFMAR GT World Champion Joern Neumann completed the Top 3 ahead of 2023 Worlds Top Qualifier Alex D’angelo. In the half hour final, the Pro class running a controlled Sweep GT2-D40 tyre, after the early retirement for Neumann it was Paloschi who took the win by 5-seconds from the Genius of Leonardo Valente. Having led for the opening 12-minutes unfortunately contact from behind saw Senesi end up on the grass. Losing half a lap, he rejoined in 5th place from where would work his way back up 3rd to complete the podium just ahead of D’angelo. In electric GT, Neumann took the TQ and win while in Open Nitro Manuel Baruzzi took the win from pole.

Image: Senesi Motorport [Facebook]

March 10, 2026

iRacing World Champion Caruso joins Hobbywing

Former iRacing World Champion & 2026 TITC Open Brushless Finalist Jordan Caruso has been announced as the latest addition to the Hobbywing team line-up. The Australian, who last month was announced as joining Awesmatoix as his official chassis sponsor, will now officially represent the Chinese ESC and motor manufacturer with his focus on the ultra-competitive 13.5 class in Australia, competing at the National Championship as well as the QLD, VIC, and NSW State Titles. On the announcement the Melbourne racer said, ‘Very grateful to be joining Team Hobbywing! Thanks so much to everyone for the opportunity. I’m excited to do my best to represent the best brand in electronics.’

Source: Hobbywing [hobbywing.com]

March 9, 2026

Harper wins season finale to lift 7th EWS Title

Elliott Harper won the final round of the 2025/26 Essex Winter Series this weekend – which meant he also secured a record-extending seventh EWS title. Elliott came into the finale tied on points with Kyle Branson, with Alex Thurston just two points back – meaning any one of the three could win the overall series title in the LRP Modified class. Elliott was the class of the field from the start, setting the best time in the opening three qualifying rounds with his Schumacher to secure the TQ position and put the championship outcome firmly in his hands. Despite some mixed results throughout qualifying, the contenders would line up on the grid in championship order – Kyle starting second with his ToniSport-backed Mugen after winning the fourth qualifier when Elliott rolled his car off the track in the final minute, and Alex starting third for Mugen after second-place runs in Q2 and Q4. Harley Eldridge led the Xray charge in fourth, mixing it with Kyle and Alex particularly in the opening few rounds, with Bailey Graves (Schumacher) rounding out the top five on the starting grid. The single-leg A Final saw Elliott determined to win the championship in style – and he quickly opened a gap over the first few laps of the race. The first to effectively drop out of the championship battle was Alex – a mistake on the opening lap saw him drop down the field, promoting Harley up to third in the race. Elliott built a 3-second lead at the front, which allowed him to cruise to the victory and the championship win. Kyle stayed well ahead of the chasing pack – solidifying his position as the championship runner-up, but not able to bring the fight to Elliott this time. Harley rounded out the podium on the day, securing her fourth in the standings. Daniel Robins moved up the grid in the finals to take fourth in the race, with Alex recovering to fifth place and thus completing the championship podium.

Continue reading here

March 9, 2026

IFMAR Statement regarding Electric Onroad World Championships – risk of cancellation

With calls for the postponement of the upcoming 2026 IFMAR Electric Track World Championships in Foshan, China, due to the current unrest in the Middle East, IFMAR has just issued a strong statement on the matter which it opens by saying ‘IFMAR does not support the postponement or cancellation’ of the championships. Having made a statement last week that it planned to go ahead with the 1:12 and ISTC World Championship, on Saturday FEMCA, the Bloc responsible for the staging of the back to back races at Hongyu GDC, posted that it was requesting the postponement of the event. After talks today between FEMCA and IFMAR, the World governing body has now issued a second statement with more insight on the matter after it transpired that approval for the venue to host the event was revoked abruptly. As it stands the track cannot host the event, and therefore the World Championships are presently at risk of cancellation, but talks are ongoing with the newly appointed administration, with full support of FEMCA and IFMAR, to get the regulatory approvals for the event to proceed as originally scheduled. A further update is expected in the next 48-hours.

Read full IFMAR Statement here

March 9, 2026

Anderson & Adams claim ROAR Carpet Nats

Awesomatix’s Kemp Anderson and Xray’s Chris Adams are the new ROAR Carpet National Champions, both drivers denying 2025 double champion Sam Isaacs back to back titles at the RC Car Club of America hosted event in Texas. In 1:12, Anderson took the TQ after topping 3 of the 4 qualifiers from team-mate Isaacs who was fastest in Q3. Xray’s Keven Herbert completed the Top 3 on the grid. In the triple finals Andreson opened with a win ahead of Hebert and repeating the win in A2 over Isaacs secured the title. Winning A3, Isaacs took the second step on the podium which was completed by Hebert. In Modified Touring Car, Adams took the opening three qualifiers at his home track to secure the TQ ahead of Isaacs who topped Q4 with Hebert again lining up P3. Winning A1 by 3/10ths from Isaacs, Adams took A2 by a 3-seconds from the defending Champion to lift the ROAR National title. Winning A3, former Champion Hebert would secured P2 with Isaacs on the third step of the podium.

Image: ROAR [Facebook]