Red RC » Mugen

December 5, 2023

Triple win for Drake at 19th Annual Toys For Tots Race

This past weekend Mugen/JConcepts driver Adam Drake and his wife Ronda hosted the 19^th Annual Toys For Tots Race at The Drake Raceway in Palm Desert, CA. With 180 entries, the event had a lot of competition and also brought in some great toy donations for kids in need this holiday season. Qualifying started at 9am that morning and the race program called for two rounds of qualifying to determine each class TQ. There were 12 classes to compete in and only a driver’s best qualifier would be used to determine who made the main events. Drake set the TQ in 1:8 Expert Nitro Buggy, 1:8 Open Electric Buggy, and 1:8 Open Nitro Truggy classes, and he would go on to take the win in all three classes but ultimately the biggest winner was the kids’ charity.

Source: Adam Drake [Facebook]

November 29, 2023

Project-RC MRX6X Radio Plate & RX battery mount

Italian brand Project-RC has released a new optional radio plate and receiver battery mount for the Mugen MRX6X 1:8 Nitro Onroad chassis. The new radio plate is redesigned to allow the mounting of an Infinity or ARC fuel tank. A special mount for the RX battery pack also means it can be moved under the tank, ensuring a better weight balance in the car.

View fitted to chassis here

November 9, 2023

Mugen Seiki’s Volker confirmed for FIRC 2023

Mugen Seiki Electric Touring Car ace Ronald Volker has been confirmed to attend the inaugural Foshan International Invitational RC Championship in China on December 15-17. A country in which the German driver became the 2016 World Champion, he will make the trip to the new GDC Indoor Race Club track in Guangdong for the recently announced event. The hope is that having international electric onroad racers at FIRC will boost the level of competition among young local racers. Officially opened in May of this year, and at 800 square metres the largest professional indoor onroad track in China, a number of international team drivers are expected to be announced shortly. Red RC is excited to be making the trip to GDC to cover what the organisers hope will become an annual highlight of the international touring car race calendar.

Source: GDC Indoor Race Club

November 4, 2023

Takahata to defend World title from P3 in Japan

Mugen Seiki’s Shoki Takahata is to defend the 1:8 Onroad World Championship title he won in California four years ago from P3 on the grid in Japan after a near perfect Semi Final performance. Starting the second of the half hour encounters from P2 on the grid, the Japanese driver would win from the Capricorn pairing of pole sitter Toni Gruber and Dominic Greiner, the later having to start from the back of the grid after calling time in the warm-up to change engine. In the first of the Semi Finals, Jesse Davis executed a text book race to repeat his 2019 performance when he booked himself into his first World Championship final. Behind the Australian, Infinity team-mate Naoto Matsukura secured his place in the 1-hour final ahead of a delighted Francesco Tironi, the Italian having bumped up from the quarter finals. As the drivers with the fastest two race times outside of the Top 3 Semi Final finishers, 2013 World Champion Tadahiko Sahashi and 1:8 Onroad World Championship debutant Kouki Kato complete the 10 car line up that will compete for the 23rd IFMAR World Title here at Infinity International RC Speedway.

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November 2, 2023

Kurzbuch is Top Qualifier in Japan

Eight years on from TQ’ing in Brazil on en-route to becoming the 2015 World title, Mugen Seiki driver Simon Kurzbuch is again the Top Qualifier at the IFMAR 1:8 Onroad World Championship. Four drivers, all World Champions, went into the sixth & final round of qualifying at the Infinity International RC Speedway in Japan with a chance of the overall TQ. Q1 winner Dario Balestri was the first driver to go by the wayside, his car coming to stop half way through the qualifier. Next it was Q2 pace setter Toni Gruber who came to a halt a minute later. That left just Kurzbuch and Shoki Takahata in the battle although the later wasn’t on a good run. All the while 17-year-old World Championship debutant Kouki Kato surprised them all snatching the TQ for the round ahead of Kurzbuch but with two TQ runs to go with his P2 it was the Swiss ace who goes into the history books as the Top Qualifier of the 23rd running of the sport’s original World Championship. With his TQ run, him being the fifth different driver to do so over the six rounds, Offroad racer Kato put his Infinity into the Super Pole. This was duly won by Dario Balestri who denied defending World Champion Takahata a direct spot in the final alongside Kurzbuch. First to go the Mugen driver ran a best lap of 13.633 which neither Kato or Toni Gruber could better but last to go Balestri needed just three laps to produce a 13.518 to win a feat he also achieved at the 1:10 World Championship in Thailand 12-months ago.

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November 2, 2023

Kurzbuch repeats in penultimate qualifier

Mugen Seiki’s Simon Kurzbuch has become the first driver to repeat a TQ run at the 1:8 Onroad World Championship as he made it two in a row in the penultimate round of qualifying in Japan. The Swiss driver managed the run perfectly as Infinity’s Naoto Matsukura pushed him for the TQ but on the last lap the Japanese driver once again ran out of fuel. This handed Dario Balestri the second fastest time, the Infinity driver just 3/10ths off. More than a second back, a big margin at these World Championships, Toni Gruber would complete the Top 3 just ahead of defending Champion Shoki Takahata with everything still to play for in the sixth & final round of qualifying at the Infinity International RC Speedway.

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November 2, 2023

Kurzbuch finally delivers TQ run in Q4

After difficult first day of qualifying in Japan, Top Seed Simon Kurzbuch finally delivered on his speed with the Mugen Seiki driver taking the TQ for the fourth round of 6 at the 1:8 Onroad World Championship. The 2015 World Champion would be more than 1.4 seconds quicker than his closest rival Yuya Sahashi as the first of the day’s three qualifiers saw a number of drivers in the top have issues. Infinity team-mates Jessie Davis and Naoto Matsukura were in the mix for a Top 3 run until they both ran out of fuel. Having TQ’d the second round yesterday, Capricorn’s Toni Gruber would make a driver error and end his run early. All this meant that running in the 3rd fastest heat Takaaki Shimo would complete the Top 3 for the round ahead of Dominic Greiner, Shoki Takahata and Dario Balestri. Having TQ’d the final qualifier yesterday but having had poor results in the previous two, reigning World Champion Takahata described Q4 as a ‘safe run’ adding he would ‘push more’ in the next one.

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October 31, 2023

Kurzbuch is Top Seed in Japan

Simon Kurzbuch is the Top Seed at the IFMAR 1:8 Onroad World Championship, the Mugen Seiki driver setting the fastest 3-consecutive laps of the day in the fourth & final round of timed practice in a great battle with Capricorn’s Toni Gruber. The duo swapped position at the top of the timing screens, their engine tuner Daniele Ielasi finding it hard to keep up with which of drivers was currently fastest, but at the end of the 7-minutes it was Kurzbuch who was 2/10ths faster than Gruber. That time would give the very much back in form 2015 World Champion the tiebreaker in the final seeding points ranking as himself and Gruber both count a P1 & P2 each. Fastest in the second round, Infinity’s Naoto Matsukura would put himself out of contention for the confidence boosting Top Seed status when he crashed out just before the final 2 and a half minutes of the run which is when the times start to tumble. Another contender, having topped Round 3, Dario Balestri could not match the lead pace and finished with the third fastest time just ahead of Infinity team-mate Jesse Davis. Overall that would seed Balestri third.

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