Red RC » Gas

September 28, 2024

Kato goes top again in Q3 at Asian Buggy Championships

Having kicked off Day 1 of qualifying at the Asian Buggy Championships Finale in Indonesia with a TQ run, Kouki Kato repeated the feat at West Side Raceway as he opened the second day’s action at the top of the Q3 time sheets. The Infinity driver would set the new fastest time of qualifying by a massive 6-seconds, overnight track maintenance and a better tyre choice by the Japan National Champion contributing factors. With Q2 winner Naoto Matsukura setting the early pace in the 5-minute qualifier, until the first of two mistakes dropped him to P6 for the round, it was local racer Jason Nugroho who continued to be Kato’s closest rival. Setting a new fastest lap and getting very close to being the first driver to go 39-seconds, the Sworkz driver finished 2.6-seconds back on the Pro driver with the similar car of Christian Wolhuter completing the Top 3.

Continue reading here

September 27, 2024

Matsukura ends Day 1 of ABC qualifying with TQ run

Day 1 of qualifying at the Asian Buggy Championships season finale in Indonesia closed with Naoto Matsukura hitting the top of the time sheets. With Infinity team-mate Kouki Kato taking Q1 as Matsukura found himself P7 after a costly last lap mistake, the No.2 seed made amends in the second of the 5-planned qualifiers to post the fastest 5-minute run so far ahead of the Sworkz of Christian Wolhuter, the young Aussie another driver to benefit from eliminating driver errors. Despite improving his Q1 time by 1-second Kato found himself P3 with the Japanese Champion feeling he didn’t have the right tyres for the condition of the last run of the day. A close 2nd to Kato in the opening qualifier, Jason Nugroho would run the fourth fastest time despite suspected radio problems. Seeding fourth fastest but not having a good Q1 attempt, Kyosho’s Rama Tribudiman completed the Top 5 with his second effort.

Continue reading here

September 27, 2024

Kato takes Q1 in Indonesia

Having set the pace in seeding practice, Kouki Kato carried that form into qualifying to TQ the opening round at the season finale of the Asian Buggy Championships in Indonesia, but only just. While putting together a perfect error few 5-minute run, the Infinity driver didn’t have the same outright pace as the morning with local Sworkz driver Jason Nugroho coming to within 0.1 of a second of denying him the top spot. With visiting drivers still finding their way in terms of how the track conditions change over the day, another local to open qualifying with a strong showing was track owner & builder Adrian Wicaksono who took his Team Associated to third ahead young Australian Christian Wolhunter.

Continue reading here

September 27, 2024

Kato Top Seed at Asian Buggy Championships Finale

Kouki Kato is the Top Seed at the season finale of the Asian Buggy Championships, the Japanese driver leading an Infinity 1-2 in Indonesia from fellow countryman Naoto Matsukura. Racing on the completely natural dirt West Side Raceway track which is proving a big hit with the visiting drivers, Kato set the fastest two consecutive laps in the single seeding round. The only driver to dip into the 40-second lap times, Kato ended up almost 1-second quicker than Matsukura over the 2-laps. A regular in the Asian Buggy Championships finishing on the podium at the previous round in Brisbane, Sworkz driver Christian Wolhuter opened his third race of the current season with a Top 3 time. Just 3/10th back on the Australian, Indonesia’s own Rama Tribudiman took his Kyosho to fourth fastest time, the local racer saying afterwards that the traction is completely different to what he used as a result of the large entry who have made the trip to Jakarta this weekend so bring a close to the second season of Scotty Ernst’s Asian Buggy Championships.

Continue reading here

September 23, 2024

Matsukura wins 2024 Singapore Open

Naoto Matsukura was the winner of the annual Singapore Open race which once again took place over the same weekend as Formula 1 took to the streets of the small country’s capital. Attracting drivers from 12-countries, qualifying would see former winner Matsukura, fresh from the 1:8 Offroad World Championship, take his Infinity to the TQ at the Marine Parade Radio Control Modellers Club track. Fastest in 3 of the 4 rounds, the multiple category World Champion secured the top spot from former Electric Touring Car World Champion Jilles Groskamp who set the pace in Q4. Takaaki Shimo end qualifying 3rd ahead of reigning Nitro Touring Car & former 1:8 Onroad World Champion Tadahiko Sahashi but wining Super Pole Shimo joined Matsukura directly in to the 45-minute Main. In the race, Groskamp would be an early retirement as Matsukura lead all the way to win by a lap from Shimo with Thailand’s Chavit Saligupta completing the podium.

Image: Infinity [Facebook]

September 23, 2024

2025 FEMCA 1:8 Offroad C/ship returns to Vietnam

The FEMCA 1:8 Offroad Championship is to return to Vietnam in 2025 with March 13-16th scheduled as the dates for the crowning of the official Champion of Asia. With the FEMCA Championship returning last following its forced break due to Covid, it was Kyosho’s up & coming offroad star Phi-Long Nguyen who added the most significant win yet of his promising career. Having made the investment that lead to it successfully hosting the race in 2024, with over 110 drivers from across the largest continent in the World attending, FEMCA has awarded the L.A Track the championship for a second year so as the organisers Vi Nguyen Hobbies can further recoup that investment. This decision by FEMCA has the potential to help with the development of tracks across the region if hosts know that their investment and a well executed event could lead to a second opportunity to host the prestigious race. Counting Atsushi Hara, Kyle McBride and Shin Adachi among its past champions, the 2025 FEMCA 1:8 Offroad Championship will be limited to 150 drivers.

Source: FEMCA [Facebook]

September 23, 2024

Boots claims 3rd consecutive British National title

Fresh from his podium finish at the 1:8 Offroad World Championship in Spain, Sworkz’ Elliott Boots clinched his third consecutive British National RallyX Championship title at a rain effected season finale hosted by NEMO Raceway over the weekend. Securing the TQ ahead of Xray’s Jonathan Skidmore, bad weather would see the finals cancelled and the Round 5 result declared on the best 2 from 4 qualifiers. With 149 drivers scoring points over this year’s BRCA National Championship in the overall ranking it was Team Associated’s Neil Cragg, who qualified P4 at NEMO, who finished runner-up with 2021 Champion Skidmore completing the season’s podium.

Image: BRCA [Facebook]

September 22, 2024

Balestri retains 1:8 Onroad European C/ship Title

Infinity’s Dario Balestri has retained his EFRA 1:8 Onroad European Championship title, the Italian claiming the title for a fourth time with victory at Miniautodromo Locorotondo in Italy. Qualifying fifth and having to come through the Semi Finals, winning his encounter, the reigning World Champion would line 5th for the 45-minute decider behind the Top 4 direct qualifiers. While the Mugen Seiki of Top Qualifier Simon Kurzbuch lead way the field, the Swiss driver’s quest to retake the title he last held in 2018 ended in the first round of fuel stops. With his engine running lean, he suffered a glow plug failure dropping him to last from where he could only recover to eventually finish 6th. A race that saw a number of contacts between drivers, leading to a post race protest against Balestri which EFRA would reject, despite being on a three tyre stop strategy Balestri would take the win by 2 seconds from his 2-stop team-mate Carmine Raiola. Suffering a crash earlier in the race after contact with Serpent’s Andrea Catanzani in which he then got collected by Raiola, 1:8 GT World Champion Toni Gruber would take his damaged Capricorn to the final podium position only half a lap down. Winner of the Last Chance Final to secure P11 on the grid, Lamberto Collari came through to take P4 followed by Xray’s Filippo Domanin.

Image: EFRA [Facebook]