February 11, 2026

TITC Rewind – a quick look back on recent moments from the world’s greatest race

In 2003 when the first edition of the Thailand International Touring Car Championship was held no one could have ever imagined what this race would become.  For sure the fact that the first ever 1:10 Electric Touring Car World Champion Surikarn Chaidajsuriya won it as the reigning World Champion brought attention to the race and got it off on the right footing, but over the 20 editions held since it has established itself into one of the races that every great driver of our sport wants to claim.  Like the Monaco Grand Prix, the Indy 500, Le Mans, and the Dakar Rally, are to full size motorsport, the TITC is iconic and one of the most coveted wins there is in Electric Touring Car and RC racing in general.  Manufacturers of all sizes flock to it such is its significance and only an IFMAR World title trumps it in terms of prestige but for that you must wait 2-years between attempts.  For drivers it is not a case of flying out a day or two early to get into the swing of driving around the Infinity RC Addict track in conditions that are always changing due to the Thai heat & humidity.  Drivers pretty much relocated themselves in Bangkok in search of finding that little something that might help them come out victorious at the end of what is officially only a 4-day event, all else going well because it can be a cruel race.  Australian racer Michael Stone made his TITC debut last year and asking him on our arrival to cover the 2025 action how he was finding the experience his reply summed it up perfectly, ‘I am coming for longer next year.’  The race hadn’t even officially started at that stage but it highlights the unique atmosphere that you have to actually experience to truly appreciate.  On the eve of the official action getting underway and the 22nd edition attracting the greatest media attention the TITC has ever seen, including its first proper livestream production by our friends RC Race Media, we want to rewind a little and take a look back at some of the more recent editions of the TITC as we look forward to telling the story of our sixth TITC.

While we had been to RC Addict in 2012 to witness Thai driver Meen Vejrak become the IFMAR Nitro Touring Car World Champion ahead of Atsushi Hara and Francesco Tironi, our first TITC would be in 2017.  Bruno Coelho had won the race for the first time a year earlier and he was to successfully defended that title but only after what he described at the time as the ‘hardest win’ of his career.  Qualifying would see Jilles Groskamp take the opening two qualifiers with Coelho taking the next two leaving it all to play for in Q5, but on the limit & under pressure from Coelho who had a really strong car for that round, Groskamp made a mistake and crashed out allowing Coelho to secure the TQ.  In A1 Coelho took an easy win as a frantic battle took place for second with the Yokomo of Nicolas Lee coming out on top.  Coelho would however make a mistake in A2 and crash out with team-mate Alexander Hagberg also having an error, with both incidents delaying Groskamp.  This allowed Lee to take the win meaning it was all up for grabs in A3.  While Groskamp was no longer a title contender, he put huge pressure on Coelho and contact between them would allow the Yokomo of Ronald Volker to go to the front for the win but Coelho still needed the second in order to beat Lee for the overall on tie-break.  He did it but admitted he didn’t enjoy the level of pressure he was under for the 2nd place.  Lee was frustrated he backed off to protect his lead in A2 as it ultimately cost him a TITC title.  Volker completed the podium ahead of Groskamp.  Interestingly Marc Rheinard made his debut for Infinity at the 2017 edition but it proved a challenging few days and he ended up qualifying in the B-Main!  After of our first TITC experience we had caught the bug and were the race’s newest fan recruits.

Back for more in 2018, we would witness Akio Sobue win spectacularly by 3/1000ths of a second.  While defending champion Coelho secured the TQ, the battle for the win would be between Sobue and Hagberg, with a win a piece, and Rheinard after Coelho crashed out of title contention in A2.  Hagberg needed the A3 win, Sobue having the advantage of the faster winning time.  Starting second behind Coelho, his team-mate opened the door to put Hagberg where he needed to be.  With Naoto Matsukura and Coelho clashing at the next corner, Sobue and Rheinard now made up the Top 3, the stage set for the 3-way showdown.  After an initial challenge on Hagberg, Sobue dropped back with Hagberg looking like Xray was going to retain the title but over the final 3-laps the race came alive again as the Japanese driver reeled in the leader.  On the last run through the sweeper, Sobue went for a pass getting out of shape in the process before attempting a pass on the inside of the Swede and there was contact, both cars spinning out.  With Hagberg resuming in the lead, with a bigger gap than before the contact, it looked as though the race was decided with three turns to go, but Sobue wasn’t conceding that easily and launching his car at the finish line managed the perfect line to snatch a win by 0.003 of a second that left everyone in amazement.  Behind, 2012 Champion Vejrak crossed the line third securing the final step on the podium ahead of Rheinard.

While we set-off on our first flight for what should have been our third consecutive TITC in 2019, it all came to an abrupt stop when we reached Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.  Pakistan had closed its airspace due to missile strikes and this caused complete travel chaos.  The alternative routes offered would have only got us to Bangkok just in time for the Sunday finals with that option including an overnight stay in Russia!  Unfortunately we would miss seeing Hagberg make up for missing out by a hair’s length a year earlier.  Securing the TQ, he fended off Sobue in A1 and Naoto Matsukura in A2 to claim his second TITC win having previously won in 2015.

2020 would be the year Sobue became a repeat winner giving Infinity title number 2 but that trip will probably be best remembered as the last big race before our world changed forever.  At the time Xray, staunch supporters of the TITC each year, made the decision not to travel to Thailand due to health concerns over a virus outbreak in Asia.  Rheinard and Ronald Volker also opted to not travel for that reason.  While big names were absent, Sobue took a perfectly executed victory in an all Infinity podium that saw Jilles Groskamp finish runner-up and Naoto Matsukura third.  Little did we know that within 2-weeks of Sobue’s win the world would start to shutdown due to the Corona Virus.

Having been forced to go two years without a TITC due to Covid, on the race’s return in 2023 it was Coelho who put the race back on the international stage with a perfect weekend.  From the TQ Coelho wrapped up his 3rd TITC win ahead of the outgoing Champion Sobue and Ishioka Hayato.  The win made Xray the race’s most winning manufacturer.

Having to wait until 2024 to make our post Covid return, we would witness a great drive from Mugen Seiki’s Ronald Volker, the resurgent 2016 World Champion securing the TQ honours ahead of the defending champion Coelho but the finals that followed would divide fans across the globe.  With Volker leading A1, Coelho would tangle with the German handing Rheinard the win.  A2 would be a repeat scenario, this time Hagberg the benefactor.  Having witnessed many racing incidents over the 20 years Red RC has been online, and for many years joked with Volker that he is one of the most PC drivers on the world tour, the frustration of those two incidents exploded out of him that day.  In A3 his weekend wouldn’t get any better and he would spin out of the lead on his own handing Coelho the leg and a record equalling fourth win.  Hagberg and Rheinard completed the podium with P6 not any reflection of how on form Volker was that year a decade after his only TITC win.

As used in our main headline for last year’s 21st running of the TITC, the Rookie came and the Rookie conquered, after a number of year’s of other class commitments preventing him from attending, Michal Orlowski showed up in style.  Completing a clean sweep of all four rounds of qualifying, he was untouchable and winning A1 & 2 gave Schumacher their first TITC win to see them become the sixth different manufacturers to do so.  2025 also marked the race debut of Bruno Coelho for Infinity.  Chasing three in a row, having a year earlier claimed Xray’s 8th win and matched the all time winning record of Hara, the World Champion wouldn’t quite pull off the fairy tale debut with Infinity but second wasn’t a bad way to begin his new adventure with the Japanese manufacturer that has only gotten a lot stronger over the 12-months since.  The result however was very nearly a third place as we witnessed a flash of pure Marc Rheinard greatest as he made a last lap pass on his great rival but with a better line at the final corner Coelho just beat the Awesomatix to the loop.

With 11 different drivers having gotten to raise the TITC winning trophy above their head, 6 of them on more than one occasion, will 2026 see a new name emerge or will we witness Coelho becoming the TITC’s most successful driver.  Thanks to Cayote and Gens ace we will spend the next four days at RC Addict following how the action unfolds.

TITC Roll of Honour

2025 – Michał Orłowski (Schumacher)
2024 – Bruno Coelho (Xray)
2023 – Bruno Coelho (Xray)
2022 – Cancelled due to Covid
2021 – Cancelled due to Covid
2020 – Akio Sobue (Infinity)
2019 – Alexander Hagberg (Xray)
2018 – Akio Sobue (Infinity)
2017 – Bruno Coehlo (Xray)
2016 – Bruno Coelho (Xray)
2015 – Alexander Hagberg (Xray)
2014 – Ronald Volker (Yokomo)
2013 – Atsushi Hara (Hot Bodies)
2012 – Meen Vejrak (Xray)
2011 – Andy Moore (Hot Bodies)
2010 – Atsushi Hara (Hot Bodies)
2009 – Atsushi Hara (Hot Bodies)
2008 – Teemu Leino (Xray)
2007 – Andy Moore (Hot Bodies)
2006 – Marc Rheinard (Tamiya)
2005 – Atsushi Hara (Hot Bodies)
2004 – Surikarn Chaidajsuriya (Tamiya)
2003 – Surikarn Chaidajsuriya (Tamiya)

 

Manufacturer Modified Wins

Xray – 8 wins
Hot Bodies – 6 wins
Tamiya – 3 wins
Infinity – 2 wins
Schumacher – 1 win
Yokomo – 1 win

January 9, 2026

Serpent’s Catanzani confirmed for inaugural Nitro Party

Currently one of the fastest Nitro Onroad racers in the World, Serpent’s Andrea Catazani is the latest top international driver to be confirmed for the inaugural Nitro Party race in Foshan, China, later this month.  The 20-year-old Italian, who was the Top Qualifier at both the IFMAR 1:8 Onroad and the 1:8 GT World Championships at the end of the last year, joins the already stacked entry in making the trip to the new Hongyu GDC facility for its first major nitro onroad event.  The reigning Italian GT Champion, he joins compatriots Alessio Mazzeo, Natanaele Senesi, and Filippo Domanin for the first edition of what the 2026 ISTC World Championship host venue plans to build into a major annual event on the nitro racing calendar.  Other confirmed entries for the January 24-25th race include Infinity’s Naoto Matsukura and Genius Racing’s Bernard-Alain Arnaldi.

Source: Hongyu GDC [Facebook]

January 6, 2026

Infinity confirms Matsukura for inaugural Nitro Party

Infinity has confirmed they are sending multiple World Champion Naoto Matsukura to the inaugural Nitro Party race which takes place later this month at the new Hongyu GDC track in China.  The Japanese driver holds one of the most impressive World Championship records in our sport winning 6 World Championship title over three different classes, 1:12, ITSC, and Nitro Touring Car, and has appeared in World final across numerous disciplines including 1:8 Onroad and 1:10 Electric Offroad.  Fresh from racing at the FEMCA Asia Championships, TQ’ing the opening qualifier, at the impressive Hongyu GDC facility in December in preparation for the upcoming ISTC World Championships, the Japanese ace will return to the city of Foshan on January 24-25 for some nitro action.  With the Nitro Party race creating great excitement within the Asian nitro onroad scene, the race has also attracted international attention with newly crowned 1:8 GT World Champion Alession Mazzeo one of a number of Italians already confirm for the first edition.

Source: Hongyu GDC [Facebook]

January 5, 2026

Mazzeo confirmed for inaugural ‘Nitro Party’ race

The organisers of the inaugural ‘Nitro Party’ race, which takes place later this month at the new Hongyu GDC track in China, has announced that newly crowned IFMAR 1:8 GT World Champion Alessio Mazzeo will travel to the city of Foshan for the brand new Asian nitro onroad fixture.  Taking place at the 2026 IFMAR ISTC World Championship host track on January 24-25, the Gimar team driver is one of a number of new European entries confirmed for the race which Hongyu GDC has plans to grow & establish into one of the regions major nitro onroad events on the annual international racing calendar.  With European GT Champion Natanaele Senesi previously confirmed for the Nitro Party, the latest drivers to join the race also includes Xray’s Filippo Domanin and Attilio D’Angelo, Spanish GT Champion & European Finalist Raul Daras Anton, and Hot Race tyres owner & accomplished 1:8 Onroad racer Nicola Marrone.  Racing on the world class facility’s 80m X 43m asphalt circuit, the event has attracted huge interest in the region and beyond, with future high profile entries expected to be announced shortly.  Having covered the recent FEMCA Asia Electric Touring Car Championships at Hongyu GDC, Red RC is excited to returning to the very impressive venue to cover the inaugural Nitro Party and to hear it echo to the sound of nitro engines.

Source: Hongyu GDC [Facebook]

December 4, 2025

Deja vu! Catanzani is Top Qualifier in Chile again

It was a case of Deja Vu at the IFMAR 1:8 Onroad World Championship in Chile today as Serpent’s Andrea Cantanzani claimed his second overall Worlds TQ of 2025 in the sixth & final round of qualifying, the super quick Italian having pulled off the same feat 11 weeks ago to the day when he was Top Qualifier at the 1:8 GT Worlds.  With Catanzani equalling Maxine Ripoll with a second TQ run of the event in Q5, this set the stage for a thrilling duel between the two young guns.  The highly anticipate battle however wouldn’t go the full distance.  Steeling time from his rivals with his super quick fuel stops to TQ Rounds 3 & 4, unfortunately this time round Ripoll would have issues in pit lane, his engine flaming out during refuelling.  This ended what has been a super impressive and entertaining to follow challenge from the 19-year-old for the top spot on grid.  With Ripoll out, Catanzani would TQ the round ahead of Capricorn’s Toni Gruber and Mugen Seiki’s Shoki Takahata to secure the overall TQ, the first in a long long time for 1:8 Onroad pioneering manufacturer Serpent.  For Gruber and Takahata the result will see them go directly to the final as Top 4 qualifiers.  One of the favourites ahead of championship, Simon Kurzbuch would end quali with a P4 which wouldn’t be enough and now the 2015 World Champion has a Semi final between him and lining up to try and claim a second World title.

One his Q6 run Catanani said, ‘it was really good but difficult with the wind, the final 4-5 laps the wind came really hard and it was difficult to drive but I managed it well so I am really happy.’  He continued, ‘I’m sorry for Maxime that he flamed out because I think it would have been very close in the quali but yes I am very happy get the TQ.’  On his second Worlds TQ in one year, unfortunately the 1:8 GT Worlds Final not going way after an early engine flame out, the 20-year-old said, ‘I hope that now it will be good for the race,’  Asked what he felt would be the biggest factor for Saturday’s 1-hour final he said, ‘we have to check all the tyre wear on the old sets that we have and then we will make a strategy but I think the most important thing for a 1-hour final is to be consistent and no errors.  It will be hard but I hope that we will do a good job.’  On car set-up he said in general there is no need to change the car for the longer run however he said they may try something in the Top 4 practice session but emphasised it would not be something to different to what they already have.  He concluded, ‘I think the car is really fast and really good and also really easy to drive and in these conditions this is the most important thing.’

Clearly disappointed at missing out on the TQ, on the final qualifier Ripoll said, ‘I had a mistake just before the refuelling and when we make the refuelling the engine stop and so it was finished.  Still P2, and for the final it is good and I will fight for the win.  It is a long race 1-hour so anything can happen even the guy who starts in 10th can win.’  Having never raced a 1-hour final before, the European Championships a 45-minute main, asked if he has thought about his strategy for the final yet he said, ‘We will have tomorrow the whole day to prepare the car and prepare the strategy.’  Putting it to him that he was obviously disappoint to miss the TQ having been right in the hunt but that he is still in his first World final, Ripoll replied, ‘yes I know but when you almost get the TQ and you lose it at the end its a bit disappointing but in 1-hour it will be OK and I will be happy but for the moment it’s tough.’

‘The overall of the TQ was gone so then it was to make Top 4 so the final qualifier was perfect in that way.  It’s good’, that was how Gruber summed up the final qualifier.  Asked his thoughts on the upcoming final, the 2023 runner-up said, ‘I heard that maybe it is a rain day on Saturday, maybe then the grip and track will change completely after the rain.  If it doesn’t rain the track is pretty consistent, if it’s windy, if it’s hot we know how our car works but I think we might have to make something little on the set-up because when the wind was strong it was overall too loose.’  On tyre wear and the number of changes he expects to make, the German replied, ‘I think for everybody it has to be two times full.  Other strategies with tyres makes no sense.  It is strange because in both sides the wear is almost the same.  Of course the left is more tyre wear because of the big right corner but you also have a lot of tyre wear in the front right because of the left corner in the middle.  So it makes no sense to make half (change) because in the end the tyre gets too small and also that makes the car completely difficult and even more with the strong wind, you cannot drive like this.’  With tomorrow (Friday) a car prep day he will use the down time to consider his game plan for the final.

The fourth & final driver securing a direct spot in the final just ahead of his team Kurzbuch, Takahata said his car had ‘no pace’ in the final qualifying round, something that is a little concerning giving it ran at a similar time of day to when the final is scheduled.  Making changes to the car after improving it for Q5, he said the latest change didn’t work.  Asked it his thoughts on the final, the 2019 World Champion’s response was very clear, ‘I want more speed.’  Asked if going back to his Q5 set-up would make him more competitive, he said they need to find something more.  A driver who was in regular contention yesterday but hampered by driver errors, he said today that speed has just disappeared.  The 31-year-old hopes they can come up with some ideas to test in Top 4 practice session.

December 1, 2025

A decade on – life is different, but the drive & focus on winning in Chile are the same for Kurzbuch

2025 marks a decade since Simon Kurzbuch became the Champion of the World.  A driver Red RC have had the pleasure of following on his journey up through the ranks and into 1:8 Onroad racing history books, we first got to know him through the early days of the Euro Nitro Series and as one half of the talented Swiss racing duo that was himself and Silvio Hachler.  Unfortunately we would miss him claiming the biggest prize the sport has to offer, Brazil in 2015 the only 1:8 Onroad World Championship we have missed since going online in 2006.  Thankfully Simon, being the super nice guy he is, hasn’t held that against us and just before he caught his long flight to Chile we had a quick chat to get his thoughts on where he feels he is at as he attempts to become only the 3rd driver to ever win IFMAR’s original WC category more than once.  If he can pull off that feat he would also be the first non Italian to ever do so.  While legend of the category Lamberto Collari won’t be in Santiago for a chance at a 10th World title, and defending Champion Dario Balestri’s chances of a hat trick are on hold as he also wont be there, Simon did address the big talking point around this year’s 24th running of the Worlds – the absence of the entire Infinity team.  ‘I am disappointed that the Infinity drivers are not coming, it is a real shame for Kenji that none of them are coming, but no Infinity does not affect anything from my side in how we approach this race.  In the end there are still very good drivers there and you need to beat them and to beat them you need to work properly before the race in your preparations and then work hard when you get to Chile.  I have a really good focus on the race so from this side it does not change anything if Infinity are there or not.’

Now 33-years old, on where he expects his main competition to come from, without hesitation he replied, ‘Toni (Gruber), Shoki (Takahata) and (Andrea) Catanzani, Catanzani is fast and someone to really watch.  Maybe there will be some other surprises, we will see, but I think these are the guys.’  Asked the difference between the Simon of then (Brazil, 2015) and the Simon of now he replied, ‘There is not a big difference I would say.  A lot of things are the same, of course my focus outside of racing is a bit more into work.  Back at that point of my life I was studying and also had a great time with Silvio Hachler, who is a really good friend.  We studied together and could manage to do as much racing as we wanted to and it was an amazing time that time which also boosted us for good results and everything.  That is the main difference.’  He added. ‘On the other hand my father is still there racing with me and supporting me a lot.  Alex (Kempe) was also there in Brazil as support for Shepherd and now he is directly helping my father so we are looking forward to defend the title of South America.’  While the same dream team that helped him secure the TQ honours at the last World Championship in Japan 2-year-old, and this year’s European Championships, bSimon said it’s not quite the ultimate dream team, his brother having partnered his dad in executing the many pit stops en-route to becoming the World No.1 in Brazil.

Asked if 1:8 Onroad and its high revving little 3.5cc engines have notably evolved since the last Worlds, the class having had almost 50 years to perfect the concept, he said, ‘I think the engines made a big step again the last two years.  The cars have developed a bit also.  I see the difference with my new Mugen but also the other manufacturers have worked to get more from their cars so it is for sure a bit faster.’  On engine and in particular his own program with Ielasi Tuned, owner Daniele Ielasi a rival in Brazil but now one Simon’s key sponsors along with Energy Fuel, who supplied the control fuel for both the 1:8 GT and now the 1:8 Onroad Worlds, he said, ‘reliability is now on a really really good level compared to what we had over the past 10-years in our sport.’  He added this is the result of ‘development but also hard work from Daniele.’

Showing that their is no doubts over his outright speed in terms of being one of the fastest drivers on the planet taking the TQ in Japan on Infinity’s home ground only for a wing issue and engine tuning to thwart his effort in the final, Simon said, ‘this year at the Euros I could manage to TQ against all the Infinity guys and everyone so the speed is there yes, for us it is important to have a clean final.  That is the main focus and it’s been the focus for the last weeks and months in preparation to have more consistency there.  Even though in the last ENS it was not the perfect final race practice but things that happen you learn from them and they are over’.  Suffering a flameout in the last fuel stop at the ENS finale, he explained this was the result of a ‘quick & messy pit stop and lets say a lot of fuel came out and the engine flame out was due to that.’

On going to Chile armed with the new Mugen Seriki MRX7, it three years to the month since he made the switch from then German brand Shepherd after a long stint to the Japanese manufacturer, Simon gave the upbeat reply, ‘Actually it was a great season for the new car.  I could use it since ENS Ettlingen so I have a lot of experience. Durability and everything is as Mugen always was.  I think we could make another step forward with the car in the last month before that I couldn’t spend too much time on the track practicing due to other reasons. We will also get so much practice in Chile I think we will improve the car even further.  There is a lot to discover still.’

Having not yet sampled the track (at the time of our chat), asked his thoughts from what he has seen he replied, ‘It looks like Fontana (2018 WC host track).  I think the grip level will be more suitable for me than it was in Fontana because that was super high grip.  The layout in Chile looks good, and fast, so I think it will make for a proper World Championship.’  On that note we can’t wait to follow how it all unfolds at the impressive CACH facility.

Red RC’s coverage from Chile, which is presented by Capricorn, Radbody, T-Works, and IFMAR, will start on Tuesday (Dec 2nd) with four rounds of seeding practice and continue through to Saturday’s title deciding 1-hour Main,.