Red RC » Gas

June 4, 2023

Phend & Maifield lift ’23 ROAR Fuel National titles

Dakotah Phend and Ryan Maifield lifted this year’s ROAR 1:8 Fuel Offroad National titles, Phend successfully defending his Buggy crown but hitting late issues that denied a repeat of the TLR driver’s 2022 double Tekno’s Maifield would take the Truggy win. Hosted by AMain Hobbies’ Silver Dollar RC Raceway in Chico, California, qualifying saw Phend secure the overall TQ honours for both categories. In Buggy it was Xray’s Ty Tessmann who was his closest challenger as the only other driver to register a TQ run in the four rounds. Truggy saw Seth Vandalen secure P2 after coming out top of a three way tie-breaker with Spencer Rivkin (P3) and Jared Tebo (P4). With the 45-minute Truggy Main up first, Phend was on target to retain his title but clutch issues in the final two laps dropped him to third allowing 5th place qualifier Maifield, who mounted a challenge for the lead earlier in the race, to come through to lift his 7th National Truggy Championship 4.7-seconds ahead of Tebo. After the disappointment of Truggy, Phend was able to convert his qualifying form into victory winning the 1-hour encounter from Maifield with the Team Associated of Rivkin completing the podium. In the 1:8 Buggy Junior Final Team Associated’s Jonah Wilson took the win from Top Qualifier Andrew Beauchamp with Phi Long Nguyen third.

Image: JConcepts [Facebook]

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 28, 2023

Takahata successfully defends JMRCA 1:8 Onroad title

Mugen Seiki’s Shoki Takahata has successfully defended his Japanese 1:8 Onroad National Championship title with a tone to tone victory at Infinity International RC Speedway. Topping all four rounds of qualifying to secure the overall TQ honours from fellow Mugen driver Hayato Ishioka, the reigning World Champion lead all 187-laps completed over the 45-minute final. Proving his closest challenger, the Infinity of former 1:10 Nitro Onroad Naoto Matsukura finished just 6-seconds back having qualifier 3rd. With Ishioka encountering problems that would see him retire after 15-minutes, Shinnosuke Yokoyama would complete the podium having started from fifth on the grid. World Finalist Shinya Shimazaki maintained position qualifying and finishing 4th with Yuya Sahashi completing the Top 5. The Infinity International RC Speedway will host the 23rd edition of RC racing’s original World Championship category from October 27 to November 5. Red RC will be travelling to Japan to tell the story of how the title unfolds.

Image: Atsushi Hara [Facebook]

May 28, 2023

Greiner wins ENS Germany

Capricorn’s Dominic Greiner has won the opening round of the Euro Nitro Series in Germany. The reigning European 1:8 Onroad Champion took victory at the Ettlingen track from Infinity’s Jilles Groskamp who finished less than 6-seconds back at the end of the 45-minute encounter. Having secured the overall TQ on Saturday, Toni Gruber lead out the 12-car field but after just 18-laps hit issues that would drop him to last place. This resulted in Simon Kurzbuch’s Mugen taking over the lead but as the race approached half distance he too hit problems as he flamed out. Groskamp and Merlin Depta then took turns at the front before Greiner took charge of the lead in the final quarter of the race where he would stay to the finish. Setting the fastest lap of the race, Gruber wold recover to salvage a podium finish from the weekend. Bumping up from the B-Main Tobias Hepp would finish fourth with Alex Thurston and Teemu Leino completing the Top 6. In 1:10, Top Qualifier Melvin Diekmann converted for the win ahead of French duo Quentin Leroux and Basile Concialdi.

Image: Oli Meggit

May 28, 2023

Takahata Top Qualifier at Japanese 1:8 Onroad Nationals

Mugen Seiki’s Shoki Takahata will start on the TQ at the Japanese 1:8 Onroad National Championship which are taking place at this year’s IFMAR World Championship host circuit Infinity International RC Speedway. The reigning World Champion and defending JMRCA Champion locked his OS powered MRX6 into the overall TQ when he made it three from three in the penultimate round which brought Saturday’s action to a conclusion. Attracting a field of 63 drivers, with one last qualifier still to run on Sunday morning it is ISTC World finalist Hayato Ishioka who holds second ahead of the Infinity of multiple World Champion Naoto Matsukura and his team-mate Takaaki Shimo.

Image: Atsushi Hara [Facebook]

May 28, 2023

Gruber TQ’s ENS season opener

Capricorn’s Toni Gruber has TQ’d the opening round of the Euro Nitro Series in Germany. With 2023 a big year for 1:8 Onroad with the return of the World Championship after a four year break, this year’s ENS is an opportunity for Europe’s top drivers to get in some top level competition ahead of the trip to Japan in October. The first of three rounds that make up this year’s series, Gruber secured the overall TQ in Ettlingen when he topped the final two qualifiers with his Ielasi Tuned powered C804. Behind the German, former World Champion Simon Kurzbuch secured P2 for Mugen having TQ’d the opening qualifier. Fastest in Q2, reigning European Champion Dominic Greiner will start P3 ahead of Capricorn team-mate Merlin Depta with Team Shepherd’s Lars Hoppe and Infinity’s Jilles Groskamp completing the Top 6. In 1:10, Melvin Diekmann secured the TQ topping 3 of the four qualifiers for Capricorn with Q3 pace setter Milan Holthuis lining up second.

Image: Toni Gruber [Facebook]

May 25, 2023

Flavio Elais claims 5th South American 1:8 Onroad title

Team Shepherd driver Flavio Elias has claimed his 5th South American 1:8 Onroad Championship title at Club de Aeromodelos de Chile. The leading Brazilian onroad nitro driver showcased his exceptional skills, securing an astonishing fifth title in this prestigious competition. Elias demonstrated his dominance right from the start, winning all four qualification rounds and claiming the pole position for the final race. With high expectations surrounding him, he was poised to deliver yet another remarkable performance. As the final race commenced, Elias wasted no time at the start and quickly pulled away from the rest of the field. With each passing lap, he extended his lead, impressing the audience with his rapid and precise manoeuvers with his Velox V8.2. After 45 minutes of intense racing, he crossed the finish line as the commanding leader over the Infinity of Matias Otaegui. The other Shepherd drivers also left their mark on the competition. Alexandro Giardino delivered a solid race, securing a excellent fourth-place finish. Displaying his talent and technical understanding of the model car, he showcased the strength of the Shepherd team. Alvaro Jara achieved an impressive fifth-place finish, while Pablo Riveros, Reinaldo Gil and Pablo Baudino secured a respectable 8th – 10th place position, contributing to the overall success of the Shepherd team.

Source: Shepherd [team-shepherd.com]

May 22, 2023

Electric to run as ‘World Cup’ at IFMAR 1:8 GT Worlds

The organisers of the IFMAR 1:8 GT World Championship in Sydney, Australia, have announced they will have a 1:8 Electric GT class as a supporting ‘World Cup’ race during the event from October 8-14th. Having also run as a ‘World Cup’ race at the inaugural 1:8 GT Worlds in Homestead in 2020, the electric class will continue as a support race given the low numbers achieved last time. While expect slightly higher numbers at John Grant International Raceway than the 18 that was achieved three years ago in the US, IFMAR says this is not enough to warrant a true IFMAR World title. While the official Warm-up Race run by the hosts New South Wales Radio Control Racing Car Club was effected by rain, several drivers have tested on the Monday after that event to check tyre wear for the 1 hour main final and it was confirmed that the Q3 tire from PMT, which is the controlled tyre for this event, can make the 60 minutes without any problems. More news on the Sydney event will be available in the 2nd Stage report which should be available end of June.

Source: IFMAR [imfar.org]