September 19, 2016

Inaki Otero takes Spanish 1/8th on-road title

Inaki Otero takes Spanish 1/8th on-road title

The fourth round of the Spanish 1/8th Nitro On-road Championship was hosted by the Automodelista Vigues club this past weekend. Carlos Peracho and Alberto Alonso battled for the overall TQ with the better end for Carlos but in the 45-minute main final it was Inaki Otero who came out successful roughly two seconds in front of Sergio Montesinos. With the win Inaki also secured himself the overall championship title while Nacho Lopez completed the day’s top 3 result one lap down.

Image: Inaki Otero


September 19, 2016

Naoto Matsukura crowned JMRCA Nitro Buggy Champ

Naoto Matsukura crowned JMRCA Nitro Buggy Champ

The Futaba Buggy Track in the Japanese Chiba prefecture played host to last weekend’s JMRCA 1/8th Nitro Off-road National Championships. It was a mixed weekend in terms of weather with the final day holding occasional rain but the 1-hour main final would be held on a maintained track and in dry conditions. Multiple electric class World Champion, Naoto Matsukura (Kyosho/O.S.) excelled even at the wheel of a gas-powered vehicle and took the TQ honours. In the final he jumped into the lead instantly and never looked back to take the title in a very controlled manner. At the end he grabbed the national title one lap ahead of multiple national champion, Kazuya Tanaka (Kyosho/Reds Racing) while up and coming Yusuke Sugiura (Kyosho/O.S.), a rival Naoto’s in EP racing and in his maiden GP buggy racing year, completed the podium result in third.

Source: O.S. Engine [os-engines.co.jp]


September 16, 2016

EFRA 40+ On-road European Championships – Report

EFRA 40+ On-road European Championships – Report

The EFRA 40+ On-roaad European Championships were recently held in Hamm, Germany. In the 1/8th scale class it was last year’s winner Luca Martinelli (ARC) who saw the checkered flag in first position after delivering a flawless performance. The battle for the remaining podium spots was wide open between Shepherd colleagues Arie Manten, Andreas Giesa and Frank Schewiola. A few minutes before the end Andreas had a crash at the end of the straight caused by a piece of chunked tyre that saw him dropping him down the order. In the closing stages Frank tried to hunt down Arie but he ran out of time. Arie took the runner-up spot with Frank completing the podium. TQ Michael Salven had to retire early after he had a moment and damaged his car.

Continue reading the report here


September 16, 2016

Homestead to host 2018 200mm Nitro Onroad Worlds

Homestead hosts 2018 200mm Nitro On-road Worlds

Homestead RC Raceway of Florida, USA, was selected to host the 2018 IFMAR 200mm Nitro On-road World Championships. Home of the 2011 1/8th Worlds that gave Mugen Seiki’s Robert Pietsch his first IFMAR title, the club is used to organising high-class events on his long 305 metres track with the next one being the 2016 ROAR Fuel On-road Nationals in October.

View an image of the 2011 Worlds track here


September 15, 2016

Xray Turkish On-road Championships Rd6 – Report

Xray Turkish On-road Championships Rd6 – Report

The sixth and final round of the Xray Turkish On-road Championships were held at the Bursa Bumod track. This was actually the fifth round this year as round five was cancelled due to sanctions all of the country at that time. The 1/10th 200mm Nitro A-main saw Mustafa Alp loosing the lead in the opening stages as he took off a little bit late which allowed P2 starter, Halit Körpe to jumbo into the lead. Mustafa though was able to soon pass Halit for the lead and he started to pull away right away. At about 6 minutes into the race Alp already started to lap the field and from that moment on the went into cruise mode. About 50 laps into the race, Halit ran into issues and he had to retire, promoting Alain into second place. A planned stop for tyres didn’t change anything up front and so Mustafa took an easy win some six laps ahead of Alan with Onur rounding out the top 3 result. Overall in the championship Mustafa brought home the tittle from Halit Körpe on the runner-up spot and Alain Sarafyan who completed the championship podium.

Continue reading here


September 15, 2016

SARDA On-Road Gas Nationals Rd3 – Report

SARDA On-Road Gas Nationals Rd3 – Report

The third round of the South African Gas On-road National Championships was held at the long and testing DMCC race track in Durban, Kwazulu-Natal.  Conditions for the weekend would prove a little bit unpredictable with rain for most of official practice on Friday. Driver’s setups made in open practice would need to be tweaked with very little time to get ready for Saturday qualifiers. 1/8 Scale would see the battle between Jacques Liebenberg (Capricorn) and Wayne Joelson (Mugen) be hotly contested. With both drivers equal on qualifying points, the decider would come down to last round with Liebenberg taking it to a tie breaker and the TQ with only 0.3 seconds ahead of Joelson. Harold van Eeden (Capricorn) who has been showing his metal this year would claim the last top 3 spot.

Continue reading the report here


September 14, 2016

Cole Ogden wins at 10th Annual Futaba Nitro Challenge

Cole Ogden wins at 10th Annual Futaba Nitro Challenge

Hosted by the St. Louis Dirt Burners, this year was the 10th Annual Futaba Nitro Challenge. With over 200 entries, this race drew racers from all over the country to compete in the 3-day event. Qualifying would be held on Friday and Saturday, and the mains on Sunday. This year also featured the Dash for Cash exhibition and double A-mains for the Pro classes. In Pro Nitro Buggy Cole Ogden would take the overall TQ from Josh Wheeler in second.

Continue reading here


September 14, 2016

Ryan Lutz trifecta at SikCross 2016

Ryan Lutz trifecta at SikCross 2016

This past weekend the Pro-Line test track in Banning, California held the famous SikCross event. This was the second annual event put on by Levi Jackson and as per usual, the event was unique. There were three qualifiers with each one counting and points were given on how high racers have finished their race. The races were heads-up, gate start and super exciting moto cross style legs. But qualifying didn’t mean much as it just allowed the pick of gate position. The nitro mains were also unique in that they were basically a typical 45 minute A-main but broken up into three, 15-minute races back to back with 5-minute breaks in between. This break allowed for a change of tyres or air filter or if a driver happened to have a mechanical failure as there was another chance in the next one. All three counted and so every position was paramount.

Continue reading the report here