Red RC » R On Road

November 19, 2025

Senesi confirmed for Nitro Party 2026

Attracting huge interest following last month’s announcement of its ‘Nitro Party’ onroad nitro race, the brand new Hongyu GDC RC facility in China has confirmed its first international entry with news that 1:8 GT Specialist Natanaele Senesi will travel to Foshan for the January 24-25 race. The 2024 European Champion and World Championship podium finisher will race his Senesi Motorsport cars in both the 1:8 Nitro GT and 1:8 eGT categories on the 80m X 43m asphalt circuit which will host the 2026 IFMAR ISTC World Championships next April. With a number of top European drivers expected to join Senesi for the inaugural ‘Nitro Party’, the timing of the race is the perfect opportunity for European nitro racers to break-up the traditional Winter off season and compete at an event that Hongyu GDC intends to build up into a major annual event on the international nitro onroad race calendar. With Hongyu GDC bringing a world class facility to the Asia, there has be a massively positive response to the race within the regions’s nitro onroad community with a large Hong Kong entry set to make up the expected capacity entry. With the track within walking distance of a number of hotel options, drivers have the option to race for glory in 1:8 Nitro Onroad, 1:8 Nitro GT, 1:8 eGT, 1:10 Nitro Touring Car, and Spec Kyosho FW06 Nitro Touring Car.

Source: Hongyu GDC [Facebook]

November 19, 2025

Rozycki joins official Capricorn team

Nitro Onroad Specialist manufacturer Capricorn has announced that Polish 1:10 Onroad racer Jakub Rozycki has joined its official race team. Rozycki claimed the 2025 Euro Nitro Series 1:10 title with the perfect season of 4 wins from 4 races giving the Italian manufacturer the title double as Toni Gruber took 1:8 ENS Championship. Finishing 4th at this year’s EFRA European Championship at Apeldoorn in the Netherlands despite being sick during the event, Rozycki will bolster Capricorn’s efforts ahead of next year’s IFMAR 1:10 Nitro Touring Car World Championship which return to Gubbio, Italy, which hosted the 2016 World Championships.

Source: Capricorn [capricornrc.com]

November 18, 2025

Thurston back on top at EWS – Round 2 Report

The 2025/2026 Essex Winter Series presented by Team Cayote continued last weekend with Round 2 where Alex Thurston would take the big win. The LRP Modified Class was one to watch, with defending champion Olly Jefferies returning to the series after missing the first event, and Round 1 winner Kyle Branson looking to capitalise on his early championship lead. It was a tight battle for TQ between Kyle and his Awesomatix, and Alex Thurston. Branson took Q1, whilst Alex topped Q2 and Q3. The drivers traded positions in Q4 initially, with Alex then taking the lead, only to have a battery failure two laps from the end. Kyle took the round, but lost out on the tie-break by just 0.002 seconds! Elliott Harper lined up third for Schumacher, with Olly taking his factory Awesomatix to fourth ahead of the privately-entered example of Stefan Chodzynski. In the A Final, Alex led off with Kyle close behind. Olly immediately put Elliott under pressure and was able to get by on the second lap, and then set about closing on the leaders. Alex soaked up the pressure from Kyle, and the battle up front became a four-way fight as Olly closed in and pulled Elliott along with him. The four drivers circulated at high speed for the remaining four minutes of the race, often getting nose-to-tail but everyone keeping the door closed and not allowing the car behind the chance of an overtake. The high-speed freight train entertained the watching crowd as Alex stayed out front, crossing the line to take his second ever victory at EWS.

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November 17, 2025

Oscar Piastri RC car themed Las Vega helmet reveal

FIA Formula 1 World Championship title contender Oscar Piastri has unveiled a special helmet design for this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix that is inspired by his National Championship winning RC car body shell paint scheme. The McLaren driver won his National 1:10 Electric Touring Car Championship 15-years ago to the weekend and to mark that achievement, which the Australian describes himself as his ‘first success in racing’, he has replicated the colour scheme onto his Bell helmet that he will race around the streets of Las Vegas. The 9-time Grand Prix winner’s reveal gives some nice exposure to both Xray and LRP, with whom he won his 2010 Australian RC National title.

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November 17, 2025

Inaugural Asia 1:8 GT Nitro C/ship – Announcement

Continuing its roll out of Asia Championship title races, FEMCA has announced the inaugural 1:8 Nitro GT Championship for 2026. The Far East Model Car Association (FEMCA), the governing body for RC racing that represents 15 nations in Asia and Australasia, has awarded the first 1:8 GT title race to the very impressive X-RC Complex in Lam Dong, Vietnam. An event that crowns the ‘Champion of Asia’, while titled the Asia 1:8 GT Nitro Championship, alongside the nitro cars the event will also cater for Electric GT. With GT crowning only its third World Champion this year in Chile, Raptor/Gimar driver Alessio Mazzeo doing the double, the first Asian Champions are set to be crowned between July 17-19th, 2026. FEMCA will publish further details on the championship in due course.

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November 17, 2025

Capricorn welcomes back Vrielijnck

Capricorn has announced that Dutch 1:8 Onroad racing stalwart Rick Vrielijnck has joined its official race team. A podium finisher during this year’s Euro Nitro Series, the World and European Championship finalist returns to the Italian manufacturer having previous signed with them back in 2016. Representing Infinity for the past number of seasons Vrielijnck announced his departure from the Japanese team at the end of last month. On welcoming back Vrielijnck to its line-up Capricorn posted, ‘His comeback is not only a technical and competitive choice, but also proof that when there is mutual trust, shared goals and real passion, you always return to the place where you felt you truly belonged.’

Source: Capricorn [capricornrc.com]

November 11, 2025

Pequito defends World title at PNWC

Xbility driver & designer Jose Pequito has successfully defended his 2WD Open World title at the PN Racing World Cup in Colorado. Winning the 1:28 title last year in France, then racing for RC Atomic, the Portuguese driver would repeat the feat with his own car this year taking the ‘One’ to victory in 2WD Open at 5280 Raceway in Denver. In qualifying it would be Reflex Racing’s John Dickson who secured the TQ ahead of Pequito and PN Racing’s Mathieu Da Rocha, the latter taking the TQ & win in the AWD Open class. With Dickson suffering a DNF in A1, Alex Soto-Pagan took the win ahead of Pequito before the World Champion came good in A2 & 3 to win both and retain his title. Soto-Pagan would fill the second step on the podium which was completed by Marka driver Guillaume Loie. Counting a 6th from A2 and a 3rd in A3, Dickson would finish 5th. In 2WD Stock Chris Lemaire had the perfect weekend topping qualifying and taking the win while in Formula 1 EJ Courtemanch covnerted his TQ after turning around an A1 DNF to win the next two for the title.

Image: MOD Live Media [Facebook]

November 11, 2025

Apolaro & Ernst claim Infinity double at Cow Patty Classic

DJ Apolaro and Scotty Ernst gave Infinity a double win at the annual Cow Patty Classic at the Nuggets Ranch Raceway in Arcadia, Florida. One of the US nitro onroad race majors and run by US nitro onroad stalwart Greg Esser and his family, the 14th edition not only attracted the Top US Nitro racers but also a group of European visitors. In qualifying, each driver’s fastest time determining the order, after the 6 rounds it was Apolaro who secured the TQ ahead of the Capricorn of German’s Thilo Diekmann and former Nitro Touring Car World Champion Ralph Burch. In the 1:8 Masters class it was Robert Ronas who took the TQ ahead of Ernst. With a 40-minute final determining the Masters result, Ernst would set the fastest lap with with his Kabuto powered IF8-3 and take the win after Ronas’ race came to an end with 6 minutes to go. Behind Ernst, Donna Garcia and Peter Berton completed the Masters Top 3. With a 45-minute Main for 1:8 Open concluding the weekend’s action, Apolaro would be kept on his toes by Diekmann, the two very evenly matched on outright pace, Apolaro’s best lap a 15.063 compared to Diekmann’s 15.093. With Burch retiring from the race, in the end Apolaro took the win by under 10-seconds from Diekmann with Joachim Bruneau taking the final step on the podium while Ersnt backed up his early win with a P5 in Open. In Nitro Touring Michael Palazzola took the TQ and win ahead of Alex Eesser while in 1:8 GT Nitro the Raptor of World Championship finalist Carlie Lopez took the win.

Image: Cow Patty Classic