Red RC » R On Road

November 21, 2023

Hoppe continues with Team Shepherd

Following the recent sale of Shepherd Micro Racing to David Spashett’s Zen Racing, it is good to see that the Nitro Onroad manufacturer is still committed to top level racing with the announcement German racer Lars Hoppe will continue to represent the brand into the 2024 racing season. A World Championship Semi-Finalist and Europe Championship Finalist, Hoppe took the TQ and was runner-up to Dominic Greiner at this year’s German National Championship. Commenting on the announcement, Hoppe said, ‘I am pleased to extend my contract with Shepherd and continue to represent this great brand at various race tracks around the world. I would like to thank Zen-Racing / Team Shepherd for your trust in me and look forward to a good collaboration. I am happy to be involved in the further development of all platforms and am available to answer any questions at the racetrack’.

Source: Zen Racing [zen-racing.co.uk]

November 21, 2023

Chinese National Champion Ma confirmed for FIRC

Having announced a number of top international drivers for the inaugural Foshan International Invitational RC Championship in China on December 15-17, the organisers have confirmed that leading national onroad talent Marco Ma will also contest the event. The 19-year-old, who joined Xray in 2021, was the 2019 Chinese National Champion in both electric and nitro touring car and just recently added the National 1:8 GT title to his CV. Having announced Hobbywing as a main sponsor of the event which will take place at new 800 square metre GDC Indoor Race Club track in Guangdong, the organisers expect over 100 entries for inaugural running of FIRC. Already having confirmed 2016 World Champion & Mugen Seiki team driver Ronald Volker, Japanese Xpress factory driver Yugo Nagashima, and Team Yokomo’s newly crowned Australian Champion Simon Nicholson, this international invitational championship is not only an international competitive event but also an opportunity to promote the development of RC competition in China. With the sponsorship and support from brands such as Hobbywing, the organisers are confident RC racing will be promoted positively among more people, adding new excitement to the development of sport in China.

Source: Foshan International Invitational RC Championship [Facebook]

November 20, 2023

Gruber agrees 2-year deal with Capricorn

In a significant driver announcement, Toni Gruber and Capricorn have agreed a new contract that will see the German ace continue with the Italian chassis manufacturer for the 2024 and 2025 nitro onroad seasons. After 4-years with Shepherd, Gruber joined forces with Patrizio Rossi’s team for the 2023 season with the 27-year-old going on to have an outstanding season. In 1:10 Nitro Touring he secured the European Championship title which he then followed up with the TQ and a podium finish at the 1:8 Onroad European Championships. Adding his first ENS Championship title in 1:8 and then becoming the 1:8 GT World Champion in Australia with Hong Nor, he was to be title contender at the 1:8 Onroad World Championships. Having made his first World Final appearance at the previous World Championships in the United States in 2019, in Japan he was in the mix from the start and after one of the most intense and heavily stacked Main Finals in the category’s history he finished Runner-up just 7.5-seconds off Dario Balestri after 1-hour of racing. After such a season the continuity with Capricorn and also engine sponsor Ielasi Tuned should see Gruber become even stronger in 2024.

Source: Toni Gruber [Facebook]

November 19, 2023

2024 Provisional EFRA European Championship Calendar

EFRA, the governing body for RC racing in Europe, has released a provisional 2024 race calendar of which the European Championships are the highlights. Having hosted its AGM over the weekend, one of the big changes to come from the meeting in Sweden was that the European Championships for 1:10 IC Track, 1:8 IC Track, GT8 and GT8E are now shortened to 4 days running from Wednesday to Saturday. First of the main 2024 European Championships to be decided will be 1:12 which takes place in Italy in April. It is going to be a busy year for the Italian Federation as they host European Championships for four different categories. At the end of May GT8 drivers will battle it out in Sicily, 1:8 Nitro Offroad travels to Sacile at the end of July with 1:8 Onroad crowning its Champion at Locorotondo in late September. France will be the destination for 1:8 Electric Buggy in Montpellier in early June while later the same month 1:10 Nitro Touring Car heads to Thionville. In July France will host Large Scale Offroad in Hanvec. Large Scale Touring & F1 will be decided in Lostallo, Switzerland in early August. Belgium hosts the 1:10 Electric Touring Car at the end of August. The season will conclude with 1:10 Offroad as drivers head to Malmo in Sweden in late September.

View European Championship dates here

November 19, 2023

Urbain adds first ETS Carpet win

Having taken his first ETS win last year on the iconic Luxembourg outdoor asphalt track, Awesomatix’ Lucas Urbain has just added his first carpet win of the series with victory in Germany. The first carpet encounter of the current ETS season, Urbain dominated proceedings at Round 4 in Munden topping all four qualifiers to secure the overall TQ from the Mugen Seiki of reigning champion Ronald Volker and Awesomatix team-mate Marc Rheinard. In the finals, Urbain would lead A1 from start to finish as the Top 9 finished as they started. In A2 Urbain again lead from start to finish after getting an early break when an out of shape Volker got collected by Rheinard allowing Tim Wahl through to second. With the overall win secured, A3 would decide who joined Urbain on the podium with Volker getting the win ahead of Rheinard and Team Yokomo’s Yannic Prumper to take P2 overall with Rheinard 3rd. In Pro Stock, Adam Iszay had the perfect weekend with Xray securing the TQ and taking maximum championship points with victory ahead of Olivier Bultynck and Lukas Ellerbrock.

Image: ETS [Facebook]

November 17, 2023

Yokomo’s Nicholson confirmed for FIRC 2023

Team Yokomo’s Simon Nicholson is the latest driver to be confirmed to attend the inaugural Foshan International Invitational RC Championship in China on December 15-17. The Australian, who just last weekend successfully defended his Electric Touring Car National title, becomes the third different factory team representative who will make the trip to the new GDC Indoor Race Club track in Guangdong for the brand new event. The goal of FIRC is to boost the level of competition among young local racers by giving them the opportunity to race against top international electric onroad racers. Already the event has confirmed 2016 World Champion Ronald Volker will compete with his Mugen Seiki at the 800 square metres track that was only opened in May of this year. The largest professional indoor onroad track in China, the organisers have also confirmed the entry of top Japanese racer and Xpress team driver Yugo Nagashima.

Source: GDC Indoor Race Club

November 15, 2023

Ioannidis & Oikonomou are Greek Champions – Report

Last weekend, the fouth & final round of the Greek Nationals in 1:10 EP Touring took place in the fast track of Fanatix Racing Track(FRT) located in Stamata, Greece. The weather was cool with temperatures not exceeding 21oC. In the Touring Modified class, the battle for the championship was on between reigning champion Dimitris Ioannidis (Awesomatix), Andreas Koutras (Mugen-Seiki) and Nitro champion Dimitris Dimitriou (Xray) for the championship. Ioannidis had not participated in Round 2 as he was hospitalized while Koutras opted out from Round 1 and Dimitriou had participated in all rounds securing podium finishes in the first 3 races but had to hope for a not-good result from Ioannidis who had 2 out of 2 wins+2 TQs and Koutras who had one win and a P2. In qualifying, Ioannidis was able to take pole position winning Q1, Q3, and Q5 with a very solid and consistent drive while encountering issues with his powertrain resulting in significant fading in power. Koutras also showed competitive speed as he saved tires, taking Q2 and Q4 securing P2 on the grid while Dimitriou would line up P3 on the grid after displaying some very good speed too.

Continue reading here

November 14, 2023

Large Scale Pre-Worlds Race Announcement

With New South Wales Radio Controlled Racing Car Club set to host the 2024 IFMAR Large Scale World Championship, the Sydney, Australia based club has announced dates and the opening of entries for the official Pre-Worlds Race. Just weeks after it successfully hosted the 1:8 GT World Championship at The John Grant International Raceway, the club has confirmed March 7-10th as the dates for the Pre-Worlds race with the actual World Championships taking place from October 20th to 27th. In addition to the World Championship 1:5 Touring Car category, the Pre-Worlds will cater for Large Scale Mini, F1 and 1:5 Bikes. Registration is now open and can be completed here.

Source: NSWRCRCC [nswrcrcc.org.au]