August 13, 2023

Gruber takes ENS Round 2 victory

Capricorn’s Toni Gruber took the 1:8 victory at the second round of the ENS in the Netherlands today, the German leading home Dutch driver Jilles Groskamp at the Apeldoorn circuit.  As he did at the circuit last year, Gruber would start the 45-minute final as the Top Qualifier.  His third consecutive ENS TQ start, this time round the reigning 1:10 European Champion would convert the pole position into victory, setting the fastest lap of the race with his Ielasi Tuned powered LAB C804 to build up a winning margin of almost 2-laps over the Infinity of Groskamp.  Winner of the Dutch ENS encounter last year, Dominic Greiner would lead for a number of laps following a tyre stop from Gruber but the former European Champion would be forced to retire as the race reached half way.  With the third place qualifier out, Mugen’s Steven Cuypers, winner of the recent Dutch National Championship third round at the track, would complete the podium line-up after a strong race from 8th on the grid.  Making it a Capricorn double Melvin Diekmann took the 1:10 win, his second of the season, with Tim Benson runner-up and Top Qualifier Milan Holthuis third.

Image: Jilles Groskamp [Facebook]


August 12, 2023

Gruber Top Qualifier at Dutch ENS

Toni Gruber is the Top Qualifier at the second round of the ENS in the Netherlands.  After a dominant performance on Friday when the Capricorn/Ielasi Tuned driver topped all three qualifiers, unfortunately Saturday morning rain forced the cancellation of the remaining two qualifiers at the Apeldoorn track.  Top Qualifier at the season opening in Ettlingen, Germany, and at the recent European Championships in Portugal, Gruber will start Sunday’s scheduled 45-minute final on pole from Infinity’s Jilles Groskamp.  The Dutch driver was the closest challenger to his German rival setting the second fastest time in each of the three rounds of heats.  Capricorn’s Dominic Greiner, winner of the season opener in May, completes the Top 3 ahead of Shepherd’s Lars Hoppe counting a P3 and P4 run as his best two rounds.  In 1:10, Infinity driver Milan Holthuis secured the TQ ahead of Round 1 Top Qualifier & winner Melvin Diekmann with Tim Benson set to line up 3rd on the grid.

Image: Toni Gruber [Facebook]


August 8, 2023

Bowie Ginting wins Xcampus Race 2023

Team Yokomo’s Bowie Ginting took the win at this year’s Xcampus Race at the LC Arena in Indonesia.  A highlight of the electric onroad racing calendar in Indonesia, the event attracted almost 100 entries with Ginting adding to his tally of wins at the annual event.  In qualifying Ginting secured the overall TQ after topping all three rounds of heats with Infinity driver Muhammad Izzah his closest rival securing P2 on the grid ahead of Ary Aditya and Teddy Syach.  In the triple finals, things went to A3.  Having won A1, Ginting had a DNF in A2 with Infinity’s Ryan Ignatius taking the win, but the pole sitter was back in business in A3 leading home Izzah to take the overall win. Ignatius’ A2 win would see him completed the overall podium.

Image: Bowie Ginting [Facebook]


August 5, 2023

3 in a row as Coelho takes 2023 European Championship

Bruno Coelho is the 2023 1:10 Electric Touring Car European Champion, the Xray driver making it three in a row with his latest victory in Germany today.  Securing the overall TQ in the finale round of qualifying after a battle with Mugen’s Ronald Volker and Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski, the Portuguese ace opened final’s day at Türkheim  with a 0.25 second win from a closing Volker, the race finishing order remaining unchanged from how all 10-drivers line-up on the grid.  A dramatic start to A2 would see Volker spin out in front of the field and get collected, leaving Orlowski to mount the challenge on Coelho and while the Polish driver would set the fastest lap the gap at the end was 1-second.  The win secured the title for Coelho with A3 the battle for runner-up spot.  Volker would get the win ahead of Orlowski who would complete the overall podium followed by Awesomatix’s Marc Rheinard and Mugen’s Eric Dankel.  In Pro Stock it was also a win for the Top Qualifier with Awesomatix’s Simon Lauter securing the title in A3 after runner-up Jan Ratheisky won A2.  Outgoing champion Olivier Bultynck completed the podium.

Image: Bruno Coelho [Facebook]


August 5, 2023

Finishline RC Raceway set to host ’24 ISTC World C/ship

With IFMAR having unveiled the provisional 2024 World Championship calendar this week but with no venue or date for Electric Touring Car, it has now been announced by Finishline RC Raceway in California that they have been approved by sanctioning bloc ROAR to host the championship for the category.  Located in Bakersfield, the track stated they ‘have a long way to go to make it official with IFMAR’ but all going to plan they are suggesting a Fall date for the running of what will be the 12th ISTC World Championships.  The third time the championship will visit the USA, the last visit was 2014 when Naoto Matsukura took the win in Kissimee and a certain Bruno Coelho announced himself to the world with the runner-up spot.  A decade earlier, when the US held the race for the first time in 2004, Marc Rheinard came away with a debut World title.

Source: Finishline RC Raceway [Facebook]


August 4, 2023

Coelho to defend European title as Top Qualifier

Xray’s Bruno Coelho is the Top Qualifier for this year’s 1:10 Electric Touring Car Championship in Germany, the reigning World Champion chasing a hat trick of consecutive European Championship titles that would equal the achievement of Ronald Volker who held the title previously from 2016 to 2018.  Having topped the opening two rounds of qualifying, Coelho would have to wait until the fifth and final round to secure pole for tomorrow’s finals at the Türkheim track with a third TQ run.  Behind the Portuguese driver, 7-time Champion Volker will start P2 having taken his Mugen to the top of the times in Q4.  Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski, who just recently claimed the 1:10 4WD Offroad European title, will start 3rd in his quest for a first European Touring Car title after posting a TQ run in Round 3.  In Stock, Simon Lauter is the Top Qualifier after he steered his Awesomatix to the fastest time in four of the five qualifiers.  Xray’s Jan Rathiesky starts P2 followed by 2018 Champion Max Machler’s Awesomatix with reigning champion Olivier Bultynck try to go for three in a row from fifth on the grid.  In FWD the TQ went to Daniel Poehlmann while in Formula Andreas Stiebler’s Schumacher is on pole position.

Image: Bruno Coelho [Facebook]


August 2, 2023

2024 IFMAR World Championship Provisional Calendar

With just a month until the first of the four World Championships of 2023 get underway with the 1:10 Offroad Worlds at Hobby Action in the USA, IFMAR has released a provisional calendar for the four classes that will have the bi-annual title decided in 2024.  The World’s best 1:8 Offroad racers are set to travel to Sao Paulo in Brazil in September.  This will be the first time the category has been to Brazil, it’s last trip to South America being Argentina in 2012 where Robert Battle won.  In November the Large Scale Touring Car title will be decided in Sydney, Australia, at the same track where this year’s 1:8 GT World Champion will be crowned October.  For 1:10 Nitro, Costa Rico is where the 10th Champion of the category will be decided.  Also on the calendar next year is 1:10 electric Touring Car (ISTC) which will be hosted by the ROAR Bloc meaning a trip to the United States or Canada with the date also still to be confirmed.

View provisional calendar here


August 1, 2023

BRCA 2WD Onroad Nationals R4 Bedword – Report

The fourth round of this year’s BRCA 2WD Onroad Championship took place at the Bedword circuit near Nuneaton where Ben Moorey took the FWD win on tie break and Michael Lee won F1.   In the FWD the first of qualifying was a close affair with half-a-second covering the top three on 21 laps and saw Moorey’s Awesomatix edge out Ben Cosgrove’s Xray and Andy Murray’s Schumacher, with Aaron Rose’s Schumacher in fourth.  Round two was a repeat result of the first round but with Dale Burr’s Awesomatix in fourth.  Q3 went the way of Ben C, Andy, Ben M and Aaron.  This gave the grid of Ben M, Ben C, Andy, Aaron and Dale.  The first leg of the final’s saw Ben M take the win on 21 laps from Ben C, Andy and Aaron.  The second leg saw a change in conditions and a win for Andy on 17 laps from Ben M, Aaron and Daniel Robins and Ben C was fifth.  So, going into the final leg the win was still up for grabs between the two Ben’s and Andy.  The third leg saw a win for Ben C on 19 laps from Andy, Dale and Daniel.  This left the Top three all on the same points, so it was down to the tie-breaker to decide the overall win and that went to Moorey from Cosgrove and Murray.

View F1 podium here