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January 2, 2025

IFMAR announces China to host 2026 1:12 & ISTC Worlds

IFMAR has officially announced China as the host of the next 1:12 and 1:10 Electric Touring Car World Championships, 2026 seeing the two events being brought back together for the first time since South Africa in 2018. The titles will be decided in the city of Foshan on two different tracks with the GDC Indoor track the location for 1:12 and a brand new outdoor asphalt track being built for ISTC. For the passed two years the GDC track has played host to international racers with World Champions Bruno Coelho, Naoto Matsukura and Ronald Volker racing at the impressive facility’s FIRC event which for 2024 was given FEMCA Championship status. Marc Rheinard, Jilles Groskamp and Atsushi Hara also paid the track a visit in December watching Coelho take the FEMCA title, with the trio very complimentary of the race venue owner Gavin Kwok has created. Under the guidance of Kwok the FEMCA Championship was a mini rehearsal for the World Championships with a very impressive opening ceremony, and he will be joined by Rick Wang in bringing the 2026 World Championships to fruition. Wang played a key role in China’s successful hosting of its previous two IFMAR World Championships – 2016 ITSC in Beijing and 2017 1:10 Offroad in Xiamen. With China recently removing Visa requirements for many European visitors, the championships are scheduled for March 27 – April 5, 2026, with the Stage 1 report expected in the next few months.

Source: IFMAR [Facebook]

November 27, 2024

2024 1:10 Onroad World C/ship Chassis Focus Index

Exactly 10-years after it hosted its first World Championship, the very unique Huge RC Circuit in Bangkok, Thailand was once again the challenging battle ground for the 10th edition of the IFMAR 1:10 Onroad World Championship. A track thats high traction challenged even the very best drivers in the world, following more than a week of action it was Infinity’s Jilles Groskamp who came out on top and in doing so became only the second driver ever to win both an Electric and Nitro Touring Car World title, the other driver being Naoto Matsukura who was once again in the mix this year. Having already written about the official manufacturer stats in our race coverage, during our time in Bangkok we managed to photograph 11 cars from 5 different manufacturers which will have now compiled together for our latest event Chassis Focus index.

View Chassis Focus Index here

November 23, 2024

Groskamp back on top of the World

Jilles Groskamp is back on top of the World, the Infinity driver becoming the new IFMAR 1:10 Onroad World Champion at the Huge RC Circuit in Bangkok 12-years after winning the Electric Touring Car World Title. Having booked his way directly into the 1-hour Main by winning Super Pole, Groskamp would in the end cruise to victory to become Nitro Touring Car’s 10th different Champion as outgoing Champion Tadahiko Sahashi struggled in his quest to be the first driver to successful defend the title. Starting as the Top Qualifier, this being his second time to secure pole at the Worlds, Teemu Leino’s race lasted less than 10-minutes as the Finn flipped his Infinity after his second fuel stop and the impact with the boards broke a front shock. With 2018 Champion Naoto Matsukura looking like he was on to repeat his earlier dominant Semi final performance, as the race reached halfway and he had a clear lead over the field, a touch of the curbing ended his challenge. The subsequent impact after the roll would break a rear shock shaft but with the car still running on the spring he would limp home in P6, 7-laps down on his winning team-mate. For 1:8 World Champion Dario Balestri a dead receiver battery would cause him to crash out of a podium finish and DNF with just over 2-minutes to go. Behind Jilles, having managed to un-lap himself towards the end of the race, Capricorn’s Toni Gruber would claim second with tenth place starter Charlee Phutiyothin making it two Capricorns on the podium.

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November 23, 2024

Sahashi title defence back on track in Thailand

Tadahiko Sahashi’s 1:10 Nitro World Championship title defence is back on with the Infinity driver booking his place in final at Huge RC Circuit after finishing second to team-mate Dario Balestri in the second of the two Semi Finals. Having topped seeding, Sahashi then struggled throughout qualifying and found himself scrapping his way onto the back of a direct spot in the Semis. In the early stages of the final it looked like the Japanese driver’s quest to become the first back to back Champion of the class was over, however by the 10-minute he was up to third, helped in part by 2012 Champion Meen Vejrak and Takaaki Shimo both running out of fuel. Up front a flip by pole sitter Balestri allowed Chavit Saligupta to lead but shortly after third way distance his car came to a permanent stop ending his hopes of repeating his 2022 final appearance. Looking like he was safely into the final as he lapped in 3rd position there was a heartbreak for Australian Jessie Davis. With three minutes to go and having just exited pit lane his car came to a stop and with his engine refusing to restart his Worlds was done. Capricorn’s Thilo Diekman would finish 3rd to book the German’s first World Final start. In the other Semi, Naoto Matsukura looked like he was out for a Sunday drive, the 2018 World Champion lapping the entire field with a flawless drive that has the Infinity driver highly motivated for the final. Having started on pole, Capricorn’s Toni Gruber came home 2nd as he continues to challenge the might of Infinity here in Bangkok but the 1:8 GT World Champion admitted himself that his Semi performance was not a Title contending performance and they need to improve for the final. On the road it would be Viktor Wilck that would complete the Top 3 but his car would be deemed to be too wide in post race technical inspection and Charlee Phutiyothin was promoted to the final. The final two places on the grid would be decided on fastest times which went to Milan Holthuis and Sinnosuke Yokoyama.

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November 22, 2024

Sworkz to defend MIBO International title

Having made their debut at MIBO International last year and claimed the 2WD Buggy title with Joern Neumann, Sworkz is the first team to confirm its participation in the third edition of the annual Czech Republic based event. Taking place on February 07-09, with practice starting on the Friday evening, multiple European Champion Neumann and Micha Widmaier will travel to Hrotovice to represent the manufacturer at the indoor event once again. MIBO International brings together both electric offroad and onroad racing on two tracks build side by side in the Sport V Hotel by the team from Mibosport. With entries for the event having opened this week, the Offroad track will cater for 2WD and 4WD Buggy and ‘Offroad Kids’, while on the onroad track the racing action will cater for Modified, Stock & FWD Touring car with a 1:12 GT 13.5T class as well as ‘Onroad Kids’ being introduced for 2025. With a capped entry limit the relaxed schedule means plenty of time in the evening to wind down and socialise over dinner after each day’s racing.

Source: MIBO [mibosport.com]

November 22, 2024

1:10 Onroad WC Manufacturer Statistics

IFMAR, the World governing body of RC racing, has released official manufacturer statistics from this year’s 1:10 Onroad World Championship in Thailand, 2024 marking the 10th running of the championship for the nitro touring car category. In terms of equipment being used by the 58 racers from 16 countries completing here at the Huge RC Circuit in Bangkok, reigning back to back World Champion manufacturer Infinity is a clear leader in terms of choice of car of the six different brands being used. Italy’s Capricorn is the second most popular chassis. In the power stakes it is Japan’s O.S. that has over half the engine share when Thai engine tuner Aood Racing versions are taken into account. The brand of one of the categories former World Champions Daniele Ielasi is the next biggest provider of power with his Ielasi Tuned engines making up 18% of the entry. Controlling the cars, it is Sanwa that makes up almost half the field followed closely by fellow Japanese manufacturer Futaba whose servos are most popular choice over Sanwa and Savox. With drivers having to choose between two official suppliers it is Thai fuel maker Maxima that has 90% of the users. With 1:10 Onroad running a handout tyre everyone is running on Matrix.

View Statistics Charts here

November 13, 2024

2024 ISTC World C/ships Chassis Focus Index

While it was Team Associated and the announcement of their return to 1:10 Electric Touring Car competition at the ISTC World that almost broke the internet when we published the first images of their TC8 Prototype from Finishline RC Raceway in California, they were not the only manufacturers who had new cars at the 12th running of the biggest race in the World. Mugen Seiki also arrived with a brand new car which the Japanese manufacturer for now wants to keep under wraps but it looks like designer Robert Pietsch has come up with a very competitive all new MTC3. While it was great to see 2016 World Champion Ronald Volker in the mix, probably one of the most exciting things of the 2024 Worlds was their young up & coming star Jacob Cruz making the A-Main. Having covered a lot of ISTC World Championships it was brilliant to witness the emergence of a new talent on the World stage and turning just 16-years-old the day after Bruno Coelho took a history making three in a row, we look forward to seeing Cruz develop over the next 2-years before we all travel to Asia for the next Worlds.

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November 10, 2024

Coelho pulls off ISTC World Champion Hat Trick

10-years and 1-month after his father took the gamble on bringing him to the 2014 IFMAR ISTC World Championships in Florida, Bruno Coelho has today become one of RC racing’s greatest drivers of all time after pulling off a hat trick of consecutive electric touring car World titles. Travelling to Finishline RC Raceway in Bakersfield, California, for the 12th running of the Championships two years after dominating the last World Championship in Italy, this time round the Xray driver faced a fierce competitor in Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski. With the duo the class of the field from the getgo, they would battle it out right through the week and into a title deciding A3 showdown. After they clashed in A1, handing touring car legend Marc Rheinard the win, A2 would see Top Qualifier Orlowski lead home the defending Champion and the stage was set for four days of action to come down to the very last 5-minutes of a very well executed Worlds. Leading away A3, Orlowski looked in control but after the first minute the Polish ace was struggling and making a small mistake on his 10th lap, Coelho didn’t need a second invitation to take advantage and go to the front. Still it was game on, the next lap however, Orlowski had another moment which dropped him back to 5th, Coelho now with a clear lead he was never going to relinquish. While Orlowski fought back, contact with Alexander Hagberg on the penultimate lap as they battled over second sealed the deal for Coelho as he also ran the fastest time of the three A-Mains meaning his 29th lap was a victory lap for his latest World title. Having both had an outside chance of the title going in the closing race former Champions Marc Rheinard and Ronald Volker would come together in A3 resulting in P7 and P8 finishes respectively. Overall however Rheinard would complete the podium ahead of his fellow countryman, itself an impressive result for a driver who won his first World title 20-years ago also on US soil.

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