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September 17, 2024

Asian Buggy C/ships Season Finale track build – Indonesia

With the 2024 Asian Buggy Championships set to conclude in just under 2-weeks time (26-29 September) in Indonesia, the track build that will play host to the fourth & final round of the Championship has been revealed. The first time the Asian Buggy Championship travels to Indonesia, the country hosting the 2006 IFMAR World Championship where Mark Pavidis took the title, West Side Raceway in Jakarta has created a technical jump filled track for the occasion. Responsible for the Philippine Masters track build, the event hosting the second round of the ABC back in April, Edward Sio visited West Side Raceway prior to the season finale to check out the track. Summing up the build, Sio said, ‘The track is smooth and technical with lots of jumps. Traction is low to medium. The whole facility is top-notch, including the big driver’s area with 65-inch monitor on both ends to keep track of timing and scoring. The challenge for the driver comes from the depth of the track, and the fact there is are no straight jumps and lines. I think the only straight line is the straight-away. Overall, it’s a super fun track once you get the flow.’ Red RC is excited to be making the trip to Jakarta to cover the conclusion of the second season of the Asian Buggy Championships with Scotty Ernst already well underway with plans for the 2025 Championship.

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September 17, 2024

Gruber defends German 1:10 Nitro TC title

Capricorn’s Toni Gruber successfully defended his German 1:10 Nitro Touring Car Title, leading a 1-2 for the Italian manufacturer at the AMC-Hamm track over the weekend. Gruber, who will travel to Thailand in November as a leading contender for the World Championship title, secured the TQ for DMC event ahead team-mate Melvin Diekmann, the reigning ENS Champion the only driver apart from Gruber to top one of the 5 rounds of qualifying. Tim Benson complete the Top 3 on the grid. In the 45-minute final Gruber would set the fastest lap of the race as he cruised to the National title with over a 2-lap buffer on Diekmann. Starting 5th on the grid, Jan-Simon Knispel came through to complete the podium with his Serpent.

Image: Jumpstart RC [Facebook]

September 15, 2024

Welcome to my World (Finals) – Marcus Kaerup

RC Racing has many IFMAR World Championships that come around every two years but none of them come even close to the hype, interest, and spectacle that is 1:8 Nitro Offroad. It is the ‘Rockstar’ category of RC Racing, a 3D spectacle to watch with a field stacked with manufacturer rivalries and the greatest number of proper professional drivers. That’s not to detract from the other World Championships, each with deserving Champions, however results in 1:8 Offroad are hard earned. It is also a category that is full of young up & coming talents one of which is Marcus Kaerup. When a capacity entry of 180 drivers from around the World converge for a week of intense racing in a single category, coming away with a Top 10 finish is a mark of something special, especially when 1:8 Nitro is your ‘second class’. Getting to first meet Marcus when he made his World Championship debut in his preferred category of 1:10 Offroad World last year in Arizona, we witnessed him becoming a double World Championship Finalist, making both the 2WD & 4WD Finals at Hobby Action. Already an impressive feat that will elude many drivers, over the last week in Spain we once again witnessed Marcus exhibited why so many people are tipping him for greater things. With the Ruddog sponsored driver putting his Team Associated in the main show, his racing CV now requires updating to ‘3-time World Championship Finalist.’ Having loved over the years following and reporting on the rise of the careers of the likes of Naoto Matsukura, David Ronnefalk, Dakotah Phend, Michael Orlowski and the GOAT of offroad himself Davide Ongaro, after enjoying following his journey at RC Redovan, Red RC are super excited to do like wise with Marcus. We caught up with the 16-year-old for a quick recap on his impressive showing on Saturday’s finals day.

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September 14, 2024

The GOAT, Ongaro goes 3 in a row at 1:8 Offroad Worlds

It probably won’t be remembered as the most exciting final we’ve ever witness but RC-Redovan will be forever remembered as the place Davide Ongaro became the GOAT of the IFMAR 1:8 Offroad World Championships as he made it 3 World titles in a row today in Spain. Having been the first driver to successfully defend the title when he won at the very same location 2-years ago, the Team Associated driver would end up cruising to his fourth World title by a margin of 37-seconds over Sworkz’s Elliott Boots with Top Qualifier Juan Carlos Canas completing the podium in front of his crowd. Widely tipped as being the person who had the real potential to dethrone Ongaro, unfortunately Canas’ challenge ended with a flameout, however even if he hadn’t been caught short on his refueling in-lap, high tyre degradation left him to finish on a flailing front tyre allowing Boots to go by for second. The last World Champion prior to the start of Ongaro historic reign, that will now go on for another two years, 2016 Champion David Ronnefalk would finish fourth just ahead of Xray team-mate Bruno Coelho, the Q5 winner struggling to deliver the challenge many had tipped the Portuguese star for.

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September 14, 2024

Canas on pole, Ongaro on for 3 in a row

The grid is set for the 2024 IFMAR 1:8 Offroad World Championship with Sworkz’ Juan Carlos Canas on pole position for the 1-hour showdown in Spain as World Champion Davide Ongaro starts right behind him attempting three in a row. Top Qualifier at these Worlds after topping four of the sixth qualifiers, the back to back European Champion showed he hasn’t lost any of his blistering pace as he dominated the half hour encounter. Pulling away early despite one or two mistakes, Canas would finish the half hour encounter 24-seconds clear of his nearest rival. That driver was Joao Figueiredo, the Portuguese Tekno driver putting in a super steady race and holding off the rising talent of Team Associated driver Marcus Kaerup. Unfortunately for Dakotah Phend what was looking like an easy progression to the Main Final came to nothing. Running longer stops than his rivals, the TLR driver ran out of fuel as he approached the end of his in lap for his second stop but missing the loop, this dropped him to the back. Luckily Phend would later get through by winning the 15-minute LCQ race after passing long time leader Joona Haatanen on the last lap having crashed on lap 1 to book the 13th starting spot on the grid. The second Semi would see defending back to back World Champion Davide Ongaro get the win but the Italian didn’t have it all his own way with David Ronnefalk taking the lead on the opening lap. The Swede however would hand it back a few laps later at the whoop section. Behind Ongaro, Mugen Seiki’s Berkan Kilic took second, he and his older brother Burak once again making the final as they did here in 2022. Sworkz Elliott Boots finished third ahead of 2016 World Champion Ronnefalk whose Xray makes it four different manufacturers in the first five grid spots.

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September 14, 2024

1/4 Finals Update – 1:8 Offroad World C/Ship

The big day has arrived at the IFMAR 1:8 Offroad World Championship in Spain with the 1/4 Finals marking the end of the road for two of the 2022 Finalists at RC-Redovan but also seeing other finalists taking a step closer to the 1-hour main show that will determined the No.1 driver in the World. In the first of the two 30-minute encounters it was the Sworkz of Brandon Rose who took the win from 3rd on the grid. The American had a comfortable 9-second gap over the Tekno of Daniel Pariente. Having started out the day in the 1/8 Finals, former 1:10 World Champion Spencer Rivkin continued his progress coming through for 3rd to book his spot in the Semi A Final where he joins Top Qualifier Juan Carlos Canas. Italian Xray driver Alex Zanchettin would complete the Top 4 to secure the last bump up spot after denying Kyosho’s Ryan Lutz a place in the Semi by 0.718.

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September 13, 2024

IFMAR reverts to ‘Pre Tech’ inspection for tyre diameter

In a positive move widely welcomed as being in the best interest of the event, the IFMAR International Jury has announced that the 109mm minimum tyres diameter rule will now be determined by a pre-tech inspection. Yesterday just as qualifying concluded at the 1:8 Offroad World Championship a bombshell, widely viewed as a strategy move my one tyre manufacturer, was landed on the event with IFMAR announcing it would implement checks after racing. The World Governing Body of RC Racing, IFMAR’s own official ruling coming into the 19th running of these Worlds states the specs the tyres must meet but not when any inspection would be conducted. With both EFRA and ROAR having used the pre-tech for the rules, most teams and drivers were working on that procedure so when the announcement came yesterday that cars must finish the final with tyres no less than 109mm it turned the race on its head. With IFMAR first offering Semi finalists an extended 50-minute practice session so as to gauge track conditions after the lower finals and gauge tyre wear, pressure was mounting on them to review the ruling.

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September 12, 2024

Welcome to my World (Quali Day 2) – Marcus Kaerup

In 1:8 Offroad the journey to the World Final starts at best with securing a spot on the grid in the Semi Finals, so making the Top 16 is Stage 1 successfully completed for Ruddog Racing supported driver Marcus Kaerup. From 180 starters in Spain, the 16-year old Dane completed 2 days of qualifying with 13th position ahead of former World Champion Robert Battle which ain’t to shabby for a guy who is more an 1:10 Electric Offroad specialist. Set to line-up in the same Semi Final as Top Qualifier Juan Carlos Canas, he will carry the number 7 on his Ruddog powered Team Associated RC8 B4.1. Catching up with Marcus at the end the second & final day of qualifying, he summed up his performance with ‘it’s being pretty good’ adding, ‘I had four consistent runs in a row so that is pretty good. Then because I knew I was safe (into the Semis) we just tried some different stuff coming into the last 2 qualis which didn’t go very well but we have the data and know how to change to what ever track conditions we drive’.

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