Red RC » R On Road

August 25, 2024

Rheinard European Champion once again after 13-years

13-years on from last holding the title, Awesomatix’s Marc Rheinard is the Monaco RC EFRA 1:10 European Touring Car Champion. Giving Awesomatix and new electric sponsor Cayote their first European title in the Modified category, Rheinard took the title at the Racing Club Roeselare track in Belgium for the third time having qualified second behind Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski. With Orlowski having a tough day at the office, it was Rheinard who took the first win of the day’s triple finals. A rain effected A2 would see defending Champion Bruno Coelho win from Orlowski as Rheinard finished P5 meaning it was all to play for in A3. However it was Rheinard who came out on top to win getting by Orlowski after a small mistake from the pole. The title see Rheinard matching his tally of Touring Car World Championship wins and is a major boost for the German ahead of the World Championship in the USA later this year. Overall Coelho took second with Xray team-mate Alexander Hagberg completing the podium ahead Orlowski. In Pro stock defending Champion & Top Qualifier made it a double celebration for Awesomatix securing the title with wins in the opening two A-Main encounters. The German was joined on the podium by Schumacher’s Ollie Payne and local racer Niels Degryze. In the FWD Class, Danish Team Yokomo driver Frederik Hovgaard took the title from P4 on the grid ahead of the Xray of Top Qualifier Adam Iszay and Stefan Schulz.

Image: DMC [Facebook]

August 24, 2024

Orlowski is European Championship Top Qualifier

Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski is the Top Qualifier at the Monaco RC EFRA 1:10 European Touring Car Championships which are taking place Belgium this weekend. With mixed weather conditions challenging drivers at the Racing Club Roeselare track, Orlowski secured the overall TQ with the fastest times in 2 of the 4 counting qualifiers. Chasing his first European Championship title in the category, the 1:12 World Champion will line up ahead of Marc Rheinard, the Awesomatix driver setting the fastest time for Q3. Defending Champion Bruno Coelho, the Xray driver chasing a 4th consecutive title, will line-up 3rd for the finals having set the fastest time in the fifth & final qualifier. Xray’s Alexander Hagberg, Awesomatix’s Lucas Urbain and the Yokomo of Christopher Krapp complete the Top 6 on the grid. In Pro Stock, it was defending Champion Simon Lauter who claimed the TQ ahead of team-mate & 2022 Champion Olivier Bultynck. Schumacher’s Ollie Payne, who was the top seed after practice, ended qualifying P3.

Image: Schumacher [Facebook]

August 22, 2024

Niko Saarinen crowned Finnish 1:8 Onroad Champion

Mugen Seiki driver Niko Saarinen is the 2024 Finnish 1:8 Onroad National Champion, the title being decided at the fourth & final round which took place in Hyvinkää over the weekend. Three drivers went into the final race still with a chance of the overall with drivers counting 3 from the four races with Pekka Koivula leading the standings from Niko Saarinen and the defending Champion Jere Saarinen. The race was run in tricky conditions with the track changing from wet to dry. Practice was run on a drying track but luckily when qualifying came around the track had dried up allowing for 2 rounds in the dry before the rain returned. Based off the dry runs it would be Niko Saarinen who took the TQ, from Panu VehniäinenI and Jere Saarinen. The main final was driven in drying conditions meaning everybody had to be very careful to not push over the limit. Niko took the early lead followed by VehniäinenI while there was a collision on the straight between Jere, Joona Lempiäinen and Koivula, which forced the Champion to change tyres due to a broken rim and while Lempiäinen required a bodyshell change. After 20 minutes Niko was till leading followed by Vehniäinen until the second placed driver ran into transmission problems and was forced to retire. Allowing Niko to take the win ahead of Jere with Lempiäinen completing the podium, overall Niko’s Max Power engined Mugen took the title ahead of the similar O.S powered car of Koivula. Also driving a Mugen, fitted with a Max Power engine,the outgoing champion complete the Top 3 ahead of the Infinity of Lempiäinen with Vehniäinen’s Mugen 5th.

Source: Teemu Saarinen

August 22, 2024

Miller & Morey crowned PN North American Champions

Ethan Miller & Lee Morey are the 2024 PN North American Champions. This year’s 1:28 scale championships took place at IronCity RC Hobbies in Pittsburgh over the weekend attracting 126 entries. In qualifying it was the Reflex Racing RX28 of John Dickson who took the 2WD Mod TQ after setting the fastest time in the third of the three qualifiers. In 4WD Mod, New Jersey’s Morey took the new RC Atomic BZ5 to the top spot. With 2WD Mod the biggest of the class, in the triple finals it would be Miller, also driving Reflex Racing, who would come through from P3 on the grid to take the title after winning A2 & 3. Winner of A1, Dickson would have to settle for second with Alex Soto-Pagan completing the podium. In the 4WD Mod finals, Morey would win A1 & A3 to lift the title ahead of team-mate Tommy Lane adding to the BZ5’s debut title win at the recent PN Asia Championship held in Indonesia. 130 drivers from 18 countries will now set their attention on the PN World Championship that take place in Vélizy Villacoublay, France, from October 31st to November 3rd.

Image: PN Racing [Facebook]

August 20, 2024

Red RC to attend MonTech New York Grand Prix

Following the recent announcement on the 2024 edition of the MonTech New York Grand Prix, Red RC is super excited to announce that we will be making the trip to the host track 360v2 RC in New Rochelle, New York, to cover the October 10-13th event. Slotting nicely into our 3-stop World Championships coverage schedule, the MonTech New York Grand Prix will be the first major US based race we will have covered since the 22nd, and unfortunately last, running of the Touring Car Reedy Race of Champions back in 2019. Reaching its 6th edition in 2024, the NYGP, which is supported by Italian bodyshell producer Montech, has established itself as a high profile race on the annual US onroad racing calendar and has drawn many top international entries stateside. In addition to Red RC reporting on how the race unfolds, our friends at Mod Live Media will be live streaming all the action from the indoor race.

Source: Fordham 360 Hobbies & Raceway [Facebook]

August 19, 2024

Hamon completes clean sweep at QLD Champs

Serpent’s Jeff Hamon completed a clean sweep of the Modified Touring Car class at the RC Maker RCRA EP Queensland State Titles over the winning, adding the title to the NSW State Titles he won earlier in the year. With the Bayside Radio Control Car Club hosted event attracting just shy of 100 entries, Hamon would secure the overall TQ after topping 3 of the 5 qualifiers. Making the trip from Singapore, factory Yokomo driver Nicolas Lee would be fastest in the other two qualifiers putting him second in the A-Main ahead of team-mate & defending Champion Simon Nicholson. Setting a new track record in qualifying, Hamon would wrap up the title by taking the first two A-Mains. Lee would win A3 to finish runner-up with Nicholson completing the podium after winning out on the tie breaker with new ARC signing Brayden Stanley. In 13.5T, Awesomatix’s Marcus Askell took the title.

Image: Jeff Hamon [Facebook]

August 19, 2024

ENS Champion Gruber claims 1st win in Netherlands

Euro Nitro Series Champion Toni Gruber claimed the first win of his title defence over the weekend, the Capricorn driver taking the win at the third round at the Apeldoorn track in the Netherlands. In qualifying it was the Mugen Seiki of Round 1 winner Simon Kurzbuch who secured TQ ahead of Gruber with the Infinity of Swiss driver Oliver Krahemann completing the Top 3. With rain washing out Friday’s action, qualifying would be reduced to just two rounds with the fastest to count and for Shepherd’s Lars Hoppe, the winner of Round 2 in Austria, he ended up P9 on the grid. While former World Champion Kurzbuch lead away the 12 car field for the opening minutes of the 45-minute final, once Gruber hit the front with his Ielasi Tuned C804R he was able to edge out a comfortable gap to win by more than 2-laps from Krahemann who put in an impressive showing. The Infinity of Teemu Leino would completed the podium, the Finn just holding off Hoppe with Kurbuch rounding out the Top 5. In 1:10 Nitro Touring it was reigning Champion Melvin Diekmann made it a double for Capricorn, securing victory ahead of the Infinity of former Champion & Round 2 winner Jilles Groskamp with Top Qualifier Milan Holthuis taking the final step on the podium.

Image: Ielasi Tuned [Facebook]

August 16, 2024

Monsanto track ready to become World stage once again

It’s the track that one of the great talents of our sport calls home and it’s where our own Events Editor experienced the unique & heightened atmosphere of an IFMAR World Championship for the very first time, so it is great to see Monsanto track in Portugal looking glorious once again and ready to become a world stage for our sport again. Where a young Bruno Coelho honed his driving skills, the track is located in the picturesque setting of Monsanto Forest Park in the capital city of Lisbon and was the host of the 2008 IFMAR 1:10 200mm Onroad World Championship. A time when the category was on the crest of a wave, the race attracting drivers from 28 countries, it was Bruno’s father Cesar who organised the 3rd edition of these World Championships. In qualifying it was to be Jilles Groskamp, driving a Sirio powered Kyosho, who took the TQ while a young Bruno, then driving a Mugen, ended up 77th out of 137 strong entry. In the final it was the Picco powered Kyosho of Daniele Ielasi who took the World title from American Chris Tosolini with Martin Hudy completing the podium on his Worlds Final debut. Currently in a time when unfortunately we hear of tracks being forced to close around the world, it is great to see Monsanto, after a lot of hard work by the club, being brought back to its glory days with a brand new asphalt surface. With the latest IFMAR 1:10 200mm Onroad World Championship coming up in November at Huge RC in Thailand, it will be the turn of Europe & EFRA to host the next edition in 2026. Are we looking at the ideal host track? Who knows we might even get Bruno to return to his nitro racing roots and have a go at adding a ‘home’ World title to his CV!

View aerial photo & a young Bruno at Monsanto in 2008 here