Red RC » R On Road

June 5, 2023

Balestri wins EFRA GP at Lostallo

Infinity’s Dario Balestri has made it two from two after winning the latest EFRA GP International race which took place at the iconic Lostallo circuit in Switzerland over the weekend. Winner of the EFRA GP in Leno, Italy back in April, the former World Champion was fastest in qualifying with a best time of 12/4:00.363 set in the final of his three attempts. His closest rival would be team-mate Carmine Raiola whom he held over a 1-second advantage. Lamberto Collari, who claimed the most recent of his record nine 1:8 Onroad World Championship titles at the same circuit back in 2009, would qualify third ahead of Capricorn’s Mirko Salemi. In the half hour final, Balestri posted the fastest lap of the race on his way to victory with Collari in second just 4-seconds back. With Riola retiring after 10-minutes, Salemi would complete the podium ahead of the Mugen of Massimo Aliprandi.

Image: Dario Balestri [Facebook]

June 4, 2023

Orlowski wins ETS Season opener

Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski has won the opening round of the ETS at Apeldoorn in the Netherlands. Having claimed his first ever win in the series at last season’s finale in Daun back in January, the Polish driver registered his first outdoor win ahead of the Awesomatix of Lucas Urbain and Mugen of Erik Dankel as reigning champion Ronald Volker kicked off his title defence with a fourth place. Getting qualifying underway with a TQ run, Orlowski would start the finals from P2 behind Top Qualifier Marc Rheinard, the Awesomatix driver topping two of the four rounds, while Q2 pace setter Urbain secured 3rd on the grid. In the opening A-Main, Rheinard would take the win ahead of Urbain and Dankel with Orlowski retiring from the race. In A2, Rheinard would suffer a spin allowing Orlowski to go to the front and claim a win that put everything on the line in A3. Leading away the field, Rheinard would suffer an early issue that would allow Orlowski to the front where he would stay to secure the overall win. Holding second, few laps later, Rheinard’s car came would come to stop at the end of the straight ending his race and leaving the German with only a P7 for his weekends’s efforts. In Pro Stock Olivier Bultynck enjoyed the best start possible to the season as he took the TQ and win with Lukas Ellerbrock and Max Machler making it an all Awesomatix podium.

June 1, 2023

Manuel Stankowitz joins Iris Racing

Electric Touring Car manufacturer Iris Racing has announced that Euro Touring Series 40+ Champion Manuel Stankowitz has officially joined its racing team. The German driver will not only race the Iris ONE, but will also campaign the upcoming ONE FWD version once it is released later this year. Having raced the Iris ONE for some time already and provide valuable input, the car’s designer Andreas Myrberg is looking forward to working with Stankowitz as a team driver saying, ‘I met Manuel not to long ago, but already from the go I thought he was a very cool, likeable and very fast touring racer. He has been aboard for a while now already and his hard work, dedication, setup input and overall development with Iris ONE and ONE FWD has already been great. I am looking forward to keep working with Manuel with current and upcoming IRIS cars on and off the track.’

Source: IRIS [iris-racing.com]

May 30, 2023

David Spashett’s Zen Racing takes over Shepherd

Multiple 1:12 World Champion David Spashett, through his company Zen Racing, has taken over Onroad nitro manufacturer Shepherd and its associated brand Brilliant RC. On making the exciting announcement, having made a more bleak announcement about the company’s future in April, the German manufacturer said, “We are thrilled to announce that a new era dawns upon us as Zen Racing, our esteemed partner and current UK distributor, takes the reins of the legendary brands Shepherd and Brilliant RC. With David Spashett’s extensive experience in the RC industry, including his four prestigious World Championship titles and 13 European titles he, along with the Zen-Racing team, are the perfect visionaries to lead Shepherd into the future. His remarkable achievements and expertise further solidify our confidence in Zen-Racing’s ability to take these brands to new heights. Zen Racing’s long-standing role as a distributor for Shepherd and Brilliant makes this transition a natural progression. They have already demonstrated their dedication and passion for these brands, and we are excited to witness the synergy that will be created as Zen Racing led by David Spashett join forces as the driving force behind the next chapter of the journey. In the coming days and weeks, we embark on a path of transformation and growth. As we navigate this transition, we sincerely apologize in advance if there are any temporary disruptions in our spare parts supply. Rest assured, we are working tirelessly to ensure a seamless transition and to deliver the exceptional service you have come to expect. We invite you to join us on this thrilling new chapter, as Zen Racing bring their unparalleled expertise and passion to the forefront. Together, we will redefine the boundaries of excellence and lead Shepherd and Brilliant RC towards an even more glorious future.”

Source: Shepherd Micro Racing [Facebook]

May 30, 2023

BRCA 2WD Onroad Nationals Round 2 – Report

The second round of this year’s BRCA 2WD Onroad Championship took place at the West London Racing Centre. Both Saturday’s Practice and Sunday’s race day saw the drivers greeted with sunny, warm conditions which were ideal for what was to prove to be some very close racing. The first of the FWD qualifiers went to Ben Moorey’s Awesomatix from Ben Cosgrove’s Xray and with our Dutch visitor, Robin Van Gog, in third with another Awesomatix. Ben C took round 2 from Dale Burr’s Awesomatix and Andy Faulke’s Destiny. Round 3 went the way of Schumacher’s Andy Murray with the new FT8 from Ben C and Ben M. So, it was Ben C who took pole from Ben M, Dale and Andy. The first leg of the final’s saw Ben M take the win by three-tenths from Andy, Ben C and Dale. The second leg saw a win for Ben C from Ben M by less than four-tenths with Dale in third, so it was all down to the final leg to decide it. It was Ben C who took the win with Ben M recovering to take second from Andy and Dale. So, the overall win went the way of Ben C and his Xray from Ben M’s Awesomatix and Andy’s Schumacher.

F1 report and podium photo here

May 30, 2023

Hong Nor sign large scale World Champion Grenenger

In this 1:8 GT World Championship year, Hong Nor has made a significant signing in Australian driver Russell Grenenger. In collaboration with with Speedy RC, the 2015 IFMAR Large Scale World Champion joining the Hong Nor Factory Team and will drive the new Hong Nor X3GTS 2023 World Edition at future Australian state and national events to prepare for the GT 2023 IFMAR World Championship in Sydney, Australia. Commenting on joining Hong Nor, Grenenger said “I’m delighted to join the team and take on this new challenge. Hong Nor has been amazing to deal with, and very supportive of feedback and testing. I look forward to seeing how my many years of on-road large-scale, and more recently 1/8th IC on-road transfers over into the 1/8 GT class. I would like to thank Hong Nor and SpeedyRC Online Store for this opportunity”.

Source: Hong Nor [hongnor-racing.com]

May 29, 2023

Volker wins EC Warm-up Race at Türkheim

Mugen’s Ronald Volker took victory at the official Warm-Up Race for this year’s EFRA Electric Touring Car European Championship. Top Qualifier in Türkheim, the 7-time champion took the win ahead Awesomatix’s Marc Rheinard with Xray’s Marco Kaufmann completing the podium. Only the second time Germany will host the European Championships for the category, it was the Türkheim circuit in the south of the country that also hosted that event when Andy Moore lifted the 2006 title. One notable absentee from the small Modified entry over the weekend was that of back to back reigning champion Bruno Coelho who was racing in the US at the Warm-up Race for the IFMAR 1:10 Offroad World Championships. Alexander Hagberg attended the race for Xray finishing 5th sandwiched between the Mugens of Eric Dankel and Robert Pietsch. In Stock, 2018 Champion Max Machler took his Awesomatix to the win ahead of Simon Lauter and Adam Izsay.

Image: Marc Rheinard [Facebook]

May 29, 2023

Isaacs defends ROAR Electric Onroad Paved National title

Sam Isaacs has successfully defended his ROAR Electric Onroad Paved National title, the Awesomatix driver taking the win from the Mugen of Jacob Cruz and Xray’s Keven Hebert. Racing at Coral Springs RC Track in South Florida, Isaacs dominated qualifying taking all four rounds to secure the overall TQ from Hebert, Xpress driver Felix Law and Cruz. Continuing his form in the finals, Isaccs wrapped with the title with wins in A1 & 2 allowing him to sit out A3. While Hebert would take that win, second places in all three mains was enough for Cruz to secure the runner-up spot with Hebert having to settle for the final podium placing.

Image: Jacob Cruz [Facebook]