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March 31, 2025

2025 Speed King Tour Rd1 – Report

The popular Japanese Speed King Tour kicked off its 2025 season at the Super Rajikon Oomiya indoor tarmac track in Saitama prefecture Japan where Xray’s Shin Sawada took the win. Once again in the same format as last year the Speed King Tour was made up three electric touring car and 2025 opened with fully booked out capacity entry. In the TC0 class (Modified) A Final, TQ driver Ryosuke Yamamoto led the race but he made mistake and broken his car at the 2-minutes mark allowing Sawada to moved up into P1. He kept that position until finish and won the event’s top class from Infinity’s Rento Sasaki with Axon’s Hayato Ishioka completing the podium.

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March 31, 2025

Catanzani wins Italian GT Championship opener

Serpent’s Andrea Catanzani put in the perfect weekend at the opening round of the highly competitive Italian 1:8 GT National Championships over the weekend securing the TQ and win at the Kronio Speed Park track in Sciacca, Sicily. Qualifying for the first round of the three race AMSCI run National Championship would see recent Florida Winternats winner Catanzani secure pole for the 45-minute Nitro final ahead of Alessio Mazzeo on his debut with the Raptor chassis. Defending Champion and Schepis Model team driver Rosario Giaimo would complete the Top 3. In the final, Catanzani would set the fastest lap en-route to victory by over a lap & a half from fourth place qualifier Daniel Schepis. Mugen Seiki offroad star driver Burak Kilic would complete the podium on his GT race debut, just 1-second ahead of Giaimo. The Turkish driver was running a Schepis Model MZGT powered by new engine sponsor Nova Engines. Having won last year’s season opener, Mazzeo would finish fifth ahead of 2023 National Champion and World Championship Top Qualifier Alex D’angelo. For reigning European Champion Natanaele Senesi it was a tough weekend resulting in a DNF in Nitro.

Image: Star RC [Facebook]

March 30, 2025

Rheinard adds 1:12 European title 17-years after last win

Having won the European Electric Touring Car Championship last year 13-years after he last held the title, Marc Rheinard has become the EFRA 1:12 European Champion once again after 17-years. Racing in Zwevegem, Belgium, qualifying for the 42nd running of the championship saw the CRC of Ollie Payne hold the overnight TQ after taking Q1. Saturday’s action would see former World Champion Rheinard’s Awesomatix open with the fastest time in Q2 and another TQ in Q3 before Payne would come back to take the final two rounds. This left the duo tied on points but with his Q2 time the fastest of the 5 rounds it was Rheinard who was the Top Qualifier. Behind, Schumacher’s reigning 1:12 World Champion and defending European Champion Michal Orlowski secured P3 with two Top 3 runs while Xray duo Adam Izsay and 8-time EFRA Champion Alexander Hagberg made up the top half of the A-Main grid. In the finals, A1 saw Rheinard put in a perfect run to claim the win by 4 & a half seconds from Orlowski who got ahead of his former team-mate Payne in the final minute of the 8-minute encounter. In A2 was a much closer affair as Payne ran right with Rheinard until traffic caused the British driver to hit the boards and drop to third. Recovering the position he couldn’t find a way past the German who took it by 6/10ths and with it became the 2025 European Champion, the first driver to hold both the Touring Car & 1:12 title simultaneously since he last did the double back in 2008! With Orlowski winning A3, the Polish driver would finish runner-up with Payne completing the Modified podium. In 1:12 Spec, Payne would claim the title having started from the TQ ahead of Spec World Champion Max Machler, the Awesomatix driver also finishing runner-up with the similar car of Olivier Bultynck taking the final podium position.

Image: Marc Rheinard [Facebook]

March 28, 2025

Top Qualifier D’angelo confirmed for 1:8 GT Worlds, Chile

Following last week’s confirmation that Toni Gruber will defend his IFMAR 1:8 GT World Championship title in Chile later this year, 2023 Top Qualifier Alex D’angelo’s participation in the Santiago event has also been confirm. Making his World Championship debut in Sydney 2-yeas ago, D’angelo secured the overall TQ honours for Genius Racing when he TQ’d the sixth & final round of qualifying at the John Grant International Raceway. Unfortunately a number of engine flame-outs in the 1-hour final denied the Italian’s a shot at the title with him eventually finishing 6th. Joining Capricorn for the 2025, the Italian manufacturer’s owner Patrizio Rossi confirmed his star driver will lead their challenge at the third running of the 1:8 GT World Championship. Hosted by Club de Aeromodelos de Chile (CACH) at their multi discipline RC facilities, the Worlds will run from September 14-20th.

March 27, 2025

Ratheisky confirmed for eSIC 2025

Following last week’s announcement that Atsushi Hara will contest the Electric Singapore International Challenge (eSIC) for the first time, the organisers have confirmed another first time entry from Xray team driver Jan Ratheisky. The well travelled German racer will participate in the third edition of eSIC which moves from September to an earlier date of July 12-13 in 2025. The brainchild of top Singapore touring car racer Nicholas Lee and Chhua Jookiah with the aim of bringing top level international competition to the country, last year’s race which is held at the RCMC race track attracted factory entries from Mugen Seiki, Awesomatix, Yokomo, ARC and Xpress. The previous two editions of the race were won by Mugen Seiki’s Ronald Volker.

Source: eSIC [Facebook]

March 27, 2025

2025 MonTech New York Grand Prix – Announcement

The organisers of the MonTech New York Grand Prix have announced details of the seventh edition of the annual indoor race that takes place at the 360v2 RC track in New Rochelle, New York. Taking place from October 16th to 19th, avoiding the annual Columbus Day holiday this year, the event has become one of the highlights on the annual US onroad racing calendar and draws an international entry stateside. Last year it was Awesomatix’s Kemp Anderson and Xray’s Keven Hebert who came away as the big winners securing victory in Mod 1:12 and Mod Touring Car respectively. The vision of long time 1:12 racer Donny Lia, the NYGP is the nearest thing RC will get to having a race in Time Square, the track just a 20-minute train ride from the centre of the City That Never Sleeps. Counting multiple World Champions Marc Rheinard (2022 NYGP Winner), Ronald Volker (2019 NYGP Winner), Alexander Hagberg, reigning 1:12 Stock World Champion Max Mächler and Ollie Payne as previous participants, 360V2 is one of the biggest indoor tracks in the US with racing takes place on a track layout covering an area of 105 X 48 feet.

Source: Fordham 360 Hobbies & Raceway [Facebook]

March 26, 2025

Niko Saarinen crowned double Finnish 1:12 Champion

The third & final round of the Finnish National 1:12 Championship was run at the Powerpark track in Härmä, where Schumacher’s Niko Saarinen secure the title double with wins in both Mod and Stock. In Modified qualifying closest battle was between Niko and Teemu Saarinen. Niko made a TQ in Q1. In Q2 Teemu took TQ honours but Niko was able to take rounds Q3 and Q4. In the first two finals Niko took P1 followed by Teemu and Jere Saarinen, but Niko made a flawless drive and secured the win. In the last final we saw a very close drive between Niko, Teemu and Jere as top 3 were within a second, but as Niko made no mistakes, he won also the last final before Jere.

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March 25, 2025

T-Works X4 1.6mm Split Type Upper Decks

T-Works has released four new top decks for the popular X4 touring car platform from Xray. Produced from 1.6mm carbon fibre, the front and rear decks are each offered in V1 and V2 versions. Their ultra-lightweight design enhances stability and the two different cuts give the option to precise control of flex and to adapt the car set-up to various track conditions.

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