August 30, 2025

Kaerup cruises to A1 win at eBuggy Worlds

Marcus Kaerup cruised to an unchallenged win in the opening A-Main of the IFMAR eBuggy World Championship in Portugal, the Team Associated driver finishing almost 6-seconds ahead of Michal Orlowski.  Leading away the 13 car field, the Top Qualifier together with Orlowski quickly gapped the chasing pack, the lack of any trackside commentary & a Wimbledon esque ‘quiet please’ announcement at the start of the race, would set the ton for what was to follow.   While Orlowski initially looked like he might provide some entertainment in chasing down Kaerup, he would get hooked up on a pipe early on allowing the Dane to gap him.  With Kaerup getting it slight wrong at the quad and also catching the piping as he completed his 7th lap, this was Orlowski’s opportunity and while he entered the first corner on the leader’s rear wing he couldn’t stick with the leader.  With the only other notably moment of the race being a mistake by Ongaro on lap 2 that promoted Elliott Boots and David Ronnefalk to third & fourth, the procession continued.  For the Nitro Buggy World Champion Ongaro his race would get even worse as he and Juan Carlos Canas clashed, the Italy clear annoyed by the incident after the race.  With a mistake from Orlowski, that saw him go off the track, he rejoined ahead of Boots but the Sworkz driver never posed a threat.  In the end the British driver finish third 7/10th of a second behind Orlowski and more than 3-seconds up on Ronnefalk.

Summing up his A1 effort Kaerup said, ‘That was intense with Michal, then unfortunately he crashed and I could cruise away to the finish line.’  He continued, ‘I had to find my rhythm the first 3 or 4-minutes but once I got there I could really push on.’  Looking the A2, when he could potentially become the first ever 1:8 Electric Buggy World Champion, the 17-year-old said, ‘We’ll go with the same strategy, just keep it within the lines and drive around.’  Asked about how the track is today, the Barcelos area again experience rain overnight, he said, ‘It’s a bit more loose, the line is very very narrow so you don’t have to go to much on the outside to lose a couple of tenths, so it is very hard.’

Asked how he felt his race went, Orlowski said, ‘It was OK.  We made a change to the car trying to give it a bit more traction but definitely my car was worse than it was yesterday during the qualifiers, and I think the track conditions are quite similar so we will go back with that and maybe adjust the car to these conditions but I am sure the track will keep developing over today.’  With Ryan Maifield, who was marshalling the A-Main, offering the Schumacher team driver some set-up advise based on what he say the Pole’s Xray chassis doing, Orlowski continued, ‘It is nice to get a second in the bag when you are really struggling to get around the track.  It wasn’t how I wanted my car to feel’.  On his mistake, when he ended up off the track, he explained, ‘I had that mistake trying to just keep up with Marcus so I am happy to get second with not a perfect run.’

‘Third is pretty solid’, that was Boots reaction to the race.  Tje We went on probably too soft a compound, it was good at the start but then they went off and it became a bit edgy so as you could see I dropped off a bit from the other two just to survive really and bring home decent result.    For the next one we will go up in with the compound and leave the car as it is.  It feels pretty good.  I’ll try not to get involved with everyone else’s mess and stay clean and run my own race really.  We got a 3rd as a banker so just need to back that up with another good result.

August 30, 2025

Chassis Focus – Elliott Boots (Sworkz)

Chassis – Sworkz S35-4E EVO
ESC – Reds Racing Z8 Gen3
Motor – Red Racing V8 Gen6 2200Kv
Battery – Gens ace Redline 2.0 6500mAh Shorty
Tires – Hot Race Sahara
Radio/Servo – Sanwa ExzesZIII/SanwaPGS XB2
Body – JConcepts S15

Notes – Elliott is running a number of options parts from his own brand EBRC including shock caps, shock stand offs, steering weights, steering plates, and wheel nuts.  The buggy is also built using a titanium screw set from T-works and is also fitted with their Lexan rear wing.

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August 29, 2025

Coelho dominates LCQ to complete WC grid

Infinity’s Bruno Coelho dominated the LCQ race to book his place in the inaugural IFMAR eBuggy World Championship final, the Portuguese driver making an early pass on pole sitter Ryan Cavalieri before quickly pulling clear to take an unchallenged win.  Not Coelho’s chosen route to tomorrow’s final at Barcelos Buggy Arena, the multiple Onroad & Offroad World Champion found himself in the B-Main after traffic delayed him in the sixth & final qualifier when he was on pace for a run that would have put him 8th on the A-Main grid.  With a stacked grid for the 10-minute LCQ, five Americans looking to somehow infiltrate the all European A-Main grid, Coelho needed just a lap to find his way to the front.  Having a moment with 4-minutes to go when he got his IFB8 E Prototype up on two wheels and had to save it, such was his lead he still managed to win by over 6-seconds from Xray’s Bartek Zalewski with Mugen Seiki’s Burak Kilic finishing third.  Dropping to 5th, Cavalieri maintained his status as the top US driver, on what has been a disappointing World Championships showing for the nation.

Asked about his appearance in the Last Chance Qualifier race, Coelho said, ‘We had a very tough week actually it was a lot of work we struggled a little bit with the high traction.  I mean the European Championship was amazing we finished second and it was pretty low traction  so are car was pretty good there here it was also difficult for us to find a set-up for the super high bite so today the low was good for us to improve the car.  In one of the qualifiers I made a mistake and in the last one we had a bit of trouble with the traffic when I was fighting for the Top 3 which would put me directly in the final, but now I am here.’  He added, ‘I knew I had the pace and I just need to keep calm, keep my head down and not make any mistake and it worked out.’  On the car set-up for the final, Coelho said, ‘for sure we still need sometime to work on the car, especially for me as it is a new platform.  We got it working well on the low bite but we need more time on the high bite the develop the set-up of the car and our knowledge of it.  It is work in progress for us.’

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August 29, 2025

Chassis Focus – Bruno Coelho (Infinity)

Chassis – Infinity IFB8E Prototype
ESC – Hobbywing Xerun SR8 Pro G3
Motor – Hobbywing Xerun 4268 2200KV
Battery – Sunpadow 5400mAh Shorty
Tires – Hot Race Sahara
Radio/Servo – Futaba T10PX/MKS HBL566 X6
Body – Infinity

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August 29, 2025

Kaerup is inaugural eBuggy Worlds Top Qualifier

Team Associated’s Marcus Kaerup is the Top Qualifier for the inaugural IFMAR 1:8 Electric Offroad World Championship, the Dane securing the honours in Portugal with a round to spare after Michal Orlowski TQ’d the penultimate round at the Barcelos Buggy Arena track.  With three consecutive TQ runs in Q2, 3 & 4, only Xray’s David Ronnefalk could deny the talented teenager from leading away the 12 buggy grid that will battle it out tomorrow to become the first ever eBuggy World Champion.  Going in the first group of potential title contenders, Ronnefalk couldn’t deliver the required TQ as last year’s Nitro Buggy Worlds Top Qualifier Juan Carlos Canas topped that heat with a time that was eventually be good enough for the 3rd fastest time.  With that result confirming Kaerup as the overall TQ, Q5 was now just an opportunity to chase 4-in-a-row as he was next up to run, but a mistake would bring an end to his very impressive run.  In the end Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski finally delivered his promised TQ run ahead of Ongaro, giving them the Top 2 for the round.  With the tension levels palpable going into sixth & final qualifier, many leading drivers desperate for a good result to make the A-Main cut, the focus was on who would line-up behind Kaerup, that battle for P2 between Orlowski, Ronnefalk and Ongaro.  In the end, Orlowski backed up his Q5 TQ with another, this time ahead of Kaerup.  Overall, Ongaro will start third ahead of Elliott Boots and Ronnefalk with Cement Boda completing the top half of the grid.  While currently an all European final line-up, there is still an outside chance for a US driver to fill the 13th spot via the B-Main LCQ race.  Ryan Cavalieri starts pole on that grid as the best American qualifier with P13.  The offroad racing powerhouse nation will get an opportunity for a stronger showing at the 2nd edition of eBuggy Worlds which it was announced will take place in the United States in 2027.

On his first World Championship TQ, Kaerup said, ‘I am happy with being in front and will try and drive away if possible but it is so close out there.  There are so many strong contenders so I feel it is going to be a long 10-minutes.’  With the TQ wrapped up allowing him to use the final qualifier to test ahead of the triple 10-minute finals, he said, ‘we changed some stuff but it didn’t work as we thought it would so we are going to go back.’  On how the track has evolved after the overnight rain and with the completion of Day 2 of qualifying, the 1:10 Offroad World Championship finalist said, ‘It is getting pretty bumpy out there, and there are some pretty big holes that unsettles the car.  I think if it is going to get patches for tomorrow I think it is going to be ok for us.’

‘Second is a nice starting spot, no pressure of the whole field behind me but now I am just curious what the track will be like for the finals tomorrow’, that was Orlowski’s reaction at the conclusion of qualifying.  The Schumacher team driver continued, ‘It is nice that the car is competitive in the high grip conditions, and now when it’s lower grip, without making many changes.  I saw many guys were thrashing on their cars changing stuff, we kind of decided to chill out and just drive what we have.’  Looking to the finals the former European eBuggy Champion said, ‘We just need to stay on top of the tyre choice for tomorrow.  We have such a big variety of tyres and we don’t know what the track might do.  It is meant to be quite warm tomorrow so we need to make the right choices and drive like I have been driving so far.’

Summing up his third place on the grid, Ongaro said, ‘Finally qualifying is over.  P3 is not bad a starting position, any thing can happen in the main so we are confident.  Considering from where we start I’m pretty happy.’  The Italian continued, ‘We have practice this afternoon so we will try something with different tyres, the car is actually pretty OK, we are just missing some grip.’  An interesting fact highlighted by the reigning Nitro World Champion is that he has never won any of his 1:8 World titles from pole position and as the current European 1:8 eBuggy Champion, the title was achieved from second on the grid.

‘One word, traffic’, that was how Top Seed Boots response when asked to sum up qualifying.  On his P4 starting position the former Nitro Buggy Worlds Top Qualifier continued, ‘yeah anything can happen from there, were kind of in the mix but would have been nice to be starting P2 which could have happened if I TQ’d that round but the same guy again cost me the TQ.  The car, everything, is feeling good.  We made a lot of changes to adapt to the conditions.’  On how he found today’s track, he said, ‘it wasn’t better for us, not with the set-up I was using from yesterday, it was completely different, but now we are on top of it and I was feeling good then.  They were saying I was quite a bit ahead of the TQ pace & comfortable, without that who knows but feeling good going into the finals.’

Asked about his qualifying Ronnefalk said, ‘I would sum it up as very disappointing to be honest.  Obviously I had the two good runs to start qualifying with, then I was on a very good run also in Q3 until the very last corner.  Today the weather has completely changed the track for everyone and I think in the first one my heat being the first top heat it definitely was the slowest, it was still wet out there.  The track was drying all the time so I think the fair thing for the qualifying today would have been to have a short practice round and run all the heats one time and then it would have been a little more equal’.  The former Nitro Buggy World Champion continued, ‘Our heat was always going to be a slower one being first out so that kind of cost me the possibility to do something today.  Basically the other two heats they had our heat to judge which tyre and compound they wanted to go with.’  Feeling he ‘probably picked the wrong tyre’ for Q5 he ‘just didn’t have the drive’.  For Q6 he went back to the soft compound that he ran yesterday and made some other changes he thought was going to be in the right direction but while the car was ‘pretty fast’ it was ‘difficult to drive’ that compounded by contact with Brandon Rose which cost him a potential fourth on the grid.  On the finals, the reigning European Nitro Buggy Champion, who won that title here at Barcelos starting from P5, said, ‘I think it is difficult in terms of it’s like pretty much one line.  I think it is going to be hard to pass unless someone makes a mistake so its all going to come down to whether you can keep you line or not with the guys behind you.  Fifth is not terrible but obviously with the speed I had in the dry before the rain today and all that happened today I’m disappointed for sure.’

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August 29, 2025

Kaerup again in Q4 as rain fails to dampen form

With overnight rain delaying the start to Day 2 of the qualifying at the eBuggy World Championship and presenting drivers with very different track conditions, it still wasn’t enough to prevent Team Associated’s Marcus Kaerup from making it three TQ runs in a row in Portugal.  With the start to the fourth round of qualifying delayed by an hour, Kaerup topped the times from his team-mate Davide Ongaro, the TQ pace over 17-seconds slower than the Dane’s best from yesterday.  With Q1 winner David Ronnefalk and Top Seed Elliott Boots both having bad runs, it would be the Schumacher pairing of Michal Orlowski and Daniel Kobbevik who completed Top 4.  Playing a pivotal role in Kaerup’s third TQ run, French eBuggy Champion Clement Boda enjoyed his best run so far with the fifth fastest time ahead of Tekno’s João Figueiredo whose time saw him top the fastest heat group.

Summing up his latest TQ effort, Kaerup said, ‘It couldn’t have been better could it.  It was a bit of a rough morning, I was here early to make sure that I had everything prepared for the rain but thankfully before my run Clement (Boda) won his run and gave me his tyres and I was able to TQ my heat.’  In turn giving his tyres to Joona Haatanen, he said,  ‘for his (Haatanen) run they had too much running, they’d already done 15-minutes and normally we do only 10-minutes on mediums and these were three compounds softer.’  Regarding the track conditions, the 17-year-old said, ‘It was way more difficult now.  You had to be so precise to be fast but also not make the car slide.  The two last corners before the line were critical, if you went too wide the car would just push out.  If you pushed it too much around the corner it would slide out, it was about getting it right.’  With Ronnefalk the only remaining driver that can deny him the overall TQ here in Barcelos,  he said, ‘David can still take my TQ but I will for sure go for the TQ in the next one.’

Ongaro explained, ‘that was completely different from yesterday but the tyre wear was ok.  I lost say 1 second and a half with a car that was crashed outside the track and when he come back on the track he put dust every where so my car just starting spinning.’  The Italian Matrix tyres back drivers continued, ‘I think we are now on our side with tyres because the track is losing a little bit of grip’, something he said is to their tyres benefit.  Looking to the penultimate qualifier, the reigning European eBuggy Champion said, ‘It will be a challenge again but we will try.’

‘Again one or two small mistakes and I cased a jump and lost around a second and that was the difference to TQ’, was how Orlowski summed up his first round of the day.  He continued, ‘We are always there, always in the Top 3, it’s good but the track turned upside down from yesterday and it was pretty hectic so I am glad to see us still at the top, now we just need to stay on top of the track development and how its changes.’  Asked how the track had changes after the light rain, he replied, ‘its really loose and its crucial to staying on the racing line.’  For the remaining two qualifiers, 3 of the 6 to count, the Pole said, ‘we will try and get some good scores to try and be in the Top 3 on the starting grid.’

‘Finally a better run’, that was Kobbevik’s reaction to his P4 run.  The Norwegian continued, ‘the track was totally different with the slippery conditions but finally a Top 5 run.  I think the track suited me and I enjoyed the grip.  Yesterday I was always a bit scared because of the grip, I could sometimes traction roll so I was probably driving too safe.  Today I could be more myself.’  Looking to Q5 he said while he expects the track to get better he will keep the car as is and try get another good result to add to his counting rounds.

Asked about his first Top 5 run, Boda said, ‘It was good, I think I am 9th overall so we need to do one more to get the Amain.  It was a clean run without mistake.’  Asked about his first day of qualifying the 20-year-old said, ‘the last qualifying of yesterday was good, P7.  The first one was super good, like Top 3, but on the last lap in the triple I made a mistake, I don’t know why, and in the second one I made a mistake so I have a 21 and a 24.  We need to do the best in the next two.’

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