September 6, 2023

‘Definitely the strongest team we have ever had’, says Orlowski

Michal Orlowski goes into the IFMAR 1:10 Offroad World Championship at the end of this week confident his Schumacher team is fielding what is ‘definitely the strongest team we have ever had’ for a Worlds.  12 years on from making his World Championship debut in Vaasa, Finland, the Polish driver is expected to be a leading contender in the European challenge to deny the US drivers victory on their very own doorstep.  Only racing 2WD at the 2011 WC because he couldn’t get hold of Tamiya’s 511 4WD kit at the time, the recently turned 22-year old heads up a strong Schumacher team going to Hobby Action RC Raceway in Arizona.  With the vastly experienced Ryan Cavalieri & Lee Martin, a very on form Broc Champlin, and Daniel Kobbevik as team-mates, he is also coming off the back of his own very successful run of results, in both off and onroad.  Winner of last weekend’s most recent Euro Touring Series encounter at Marc Rheinard’s home circuit Arena33, he travels to the US as the European 4WD Offroad Champion having regained the title back in July 8-years on from first holding it.

Describing 2015 as ‘a break through year’, he attributes that to joining his Schumacher team that year after leaving Team Durango and it is fair to say that his relationship with the British manufacturer, and in particular engineer Trish Neal, has gotten stronger and stronger with each season.  As European Champion in 2015, Orlowski qualified P2 in Japan behind 4WD Champion elect Bruno Coelho but finished the finals in 4th.  Now looking back on that chapter he says, ‘I way too nervous.  I couldn’t deal with the pressure behind me from Naoto (Matsukura), and (David) Ronnefalk.  I had just turned 14 before worlds.’   Two years later the best in the business went to China and what started out looking like a very promising championship for Orlowski.  Topping seeding & Q1, he form was washed away in the rain, literally, and he found himself struggling to adapt to the new track conditions finishing P8 while Ryan Maifield finally got the monkey off his back with double World titles in Xiamen.  With an early prototype L2 for 4WD, reliability issues meant Orlowski could only end the week in the C-Main.  After another 2-year wait Slovakia in 2019 didn’t get off to the start he hoped for but come 4WD he would achieve his first World Championship podium finish behind repeat Champion Coelho and Dakotah Phend. 

Having now served a doubly long 4-year wait for the 19th edition of the IFMAR Worlds, Orlowski is aiming high for the title that so far eludes him.  He said, ‘In 2015 it was only me (in the team).  Then Joern (Nuemann) but never a top American driver.  Ryan (Cavalieri) has so much experience.  Our cars are the best they have ever been.  We have had our best preparation – lots of work and passion have gone into this.’  Asked about the track and in particular reigning 2WD Champion Spencer Rivkin’s home advantage, he replied, ‘I know it is his home track but loads of us have been there plenty of times and there is only so much you can do.  No one is expecting a European to win.  The surface, the tyres are so different there to what we usually race.   The pressure is on the Americans to win it, I go there with no pressure.’  He continued,  ‘(I am) not really bother it’s his home track.  It’s always different at the Worlds.  The three main guys are Broc, Spencer and Dakotah from our trips there and I’m excited to battle with them.  Remember in Slovakia everyone said Xray would dominate, they didn’t.’

On the importance of his working relationship with Schumacher’s engineer Neal, he said, ‘Trish and I have developed an amazing friendship.  I have grown into a man spending a lot of time with him.  I spend 3 weekends a month working with him.  When I come off the driver stand we usual have the same idea of what we need to do.  He’s very good at watching the car and understanding what it is doing and how I can improve my driving.’  Asked about his travel plans to Chandler and any final preparations he need to make, Orlowski concluded our chat with, ‘We will go straight to the event.  Going early and doing testing at another track would put a lot of pressure on myself.  We have the work done – arrive fresh and relaxed.  I’m doing a lot of races this year and that approach has worked well.’


2023 IFMAR 1:10 Offroad World Championship coverage presented by Ruddog

The first of four World Championships Red RC will attend this year, our coverage from 1:10 Offroad in Arizona is being supported by Ruddog.  Founded in 2006 by Sven Rudig, himself an avid offroad racer, Ruddog is steeped in offroad racing history being a distributor for 31 times World Champion manufacturer Team Associated and iconic offroad tyre brand JConcepts to name but a few.  In addition, they have developed their own product ranges such as Ruddog Racing, a new line of electronics offered by the German company that already has a European Championship title to its credit in touring car.  Revolution Design Racing Products has established itself as a designer & producer of high-quality tuning parts and are popular upgrades among offroad racers.  Red RC’s trackside coverage of the 1:10 Offroad World Championship will kick off on September 10th with the start of the 4WD action and conclude on September 16th when the 2WD Champion is decided.

World Championship Schedule
4WD Buggy
September 9 – Check-in, Pit Setup, Tyre purchase and tyre tech
September 10 – Open Practice and 2 rounds of controlled practice
September 11 – 1 round of controlled practice and 4 rounds of qualifying
September 12 – 1 round of controlled practice, 1 round of qualifying and Mains

2WD Buggy
September 13 – Track Closed, 2WD Buggy Tyre purchase and tyre tech
September 14 – Open Practice and 2 rounds of controlled practice
September 15 – 1 round of controlled practice and 4 rounds of qualifying
September 16 – 1 round of controlled practice, 1 round of qualifying and Mains

March 5, 2023

Volker crowned inaugural MIBO International Champion

Ronald Volker has been crowned the inaugural MIBO International Race Champion, the Mugen driver turning around his form for the Mains to dominate the final day in the Czech Republic.  Having had a difficult Saturday, the former World Champion opened Sunday’s action with the fastest time of the weekend in the final qualifier to become Top Qualifier.  Having denied Xray’s Antoine Brunet pole position, Volker would pull clear of the French driver in A1 as he took his first step towards the overall crown.  A2 would be a repeat, with no one able to chase down Volker.  With the title in the bag, Volker wasn’t done completing the perfect day to put his car at the top of the results sheets for a fourth time. Behind, Brunet would be rewarded for a great effort in Hrotovice with second overall ahead of Xray team-mate Oliver Havranek. Showing good pace Eric Dankel would finish 4th in front of Christopher Krapp, the Yokomo driver having a character building few days.

‘A transformation’ was how Volker summed up his win.  The German, who ended up takin the TQ on tie break with Brunet, continued, ‘Yesterday I struggled a lot and today the car was always easy to drive. This gave me good confidence for all mains’.  A driver with plenty of found race winning memories from the Sport V Hotel, he said, ‘It’s good to be back here and for sure I will return to the MIBO International next year’.

Summing up his finals, a clearly disappointed Brunet said, ‘I struggled a little bit today with my lines.  Ronald was a bit faster than us today’.  The 25-year-old continued, ‘I am frustrated with my Q4, I was leading it and made a mistake.  I lost a big chance yesterday to win the race today’.

Also making the podium in Stock, Havranek got straight to the point saying, ‘in the finals Ronald was faster so it was then between me and Brunet. In the first A-Main we switched position 2 or 3 times but then touch and Eric passed us for 2nd.  In A3 I knew I need to win to get second and Ronald was too fast so I focused on keeping my third.  At the end I am happy with the result.’

View our event image gallery here.

March 5, 2023

Izsay crowned Stock Champion

Adam Izsay took the win for the biggest class of the MIBO International Race securing the Stock Touring Car title in Hrotovice from Xray team-mate Oliver Havranek and Enrico Jung.  Securing the overall TQ when he took his Xray to the top of the times in 2 of the five qualifiers, the 20-year-old Hungarian would win A1 from the Yokomo of this weekend’s track designer Jung.  After that Izsay would have his work cut out for him. In A2 Šimon Horak would go to the front and take the win and then Havranek would get by to win A3. Luckily second on both occasions was enough to seal the deal.  In FWD Jung would get the win beating Top Qualifier to the title while in Formula Gergö Valent had the perfect weekend securing the TQ and win A1 & 2 to secure an early title.

View our event image gallery here.

November 18, 2022

Video – Main Final

Watch how the 2022 IFMAR 1:10 Nitro World Championship unfolded over 60-minutes of intense racing at the RC Addict track in Bangkok, Thailand, where a number of drivers take turns at the front. Commentary from the one and only Scotty Ernst.

November 9, 2022

Greiner from Matsukura in Q2

It was a battle of the Champions in the second round of qualifying at the 1:10 Nitro Touring Car World Championship with 2016 winner Dominic Greiner posting the TQ run ahead of reigning Champion Naoto Matsukura. Leading out the cars for Q2, Q1 pace setter Jilles Groskamp was on for another strong run until he rolled and needing to be marshalled quickly putting him out of contention. Having done the same thing himself in Q1 ending up with a P7, Greiner’s run to the fastest time was not without its moments. The Top Seed used up a lot of his luck reserves as he did a 360 at the end of the straight somehow without hitting anything and also being avoided by the two cars following behind his Capricorn. Despite this Greiner would come back to take the TQ for the round by 1.6-seconds from Matsukura with Infinity team-mate Dario Balerstri completing the Top 3.

‘Almost good’, was how Greiner summed up the second of the six qualifying rounds. He continued, ‘I made a 360 at the end of the straight. I ran wide and drove on the white line and the car spun. I was lucky the other cars didn’t hit me’. A driver always striving for better he was pleased with how his reunion with pit man Thomas Gunsel, saying ‘I had a perfect pit stop’. Having flipped early in Q1, something he admitted after the second qualifier ‘was maybe a driver issue’, the German said, ‘I drove very calm and tried to be smooth on the sections the car can flip and then built up my speed over the qualifier’. Looking to Q3, which will bring the first day of qualifying to a close, he plans to ‘stay same with car’ as ‘hopefully for this one there will be less grip’.

Asked about his performance, Matsukura said, ‘it was not too bad. I had a little mistake, just a small driving error. The track was slower but still edgy so I tried to be smooth with my driving’. Happy with his car’s performance the World Champion over three different RC disciplines said, ‘my focus is to get the points today and then tomorrow I can push more’.

Balestri joked, ‘I just tried to survive on the track’.  Top Qualifier at the previous 1:10 World Championship encounter in Miami, he added, ‘I was super slow but had no flip’.  A driver chasing the double of 1:8 and 1:10 World Champion, he continued, ‘You really can’t push so I just try to get the points from each heat’.

Posting the fourth fastest time, Tadahiko Sahashi said he improved his car for Q2 having ‘flipped many times’ in the opening round.  Another driver who could potentially achieve the double here at RC Addict, the 2013 1:8 World Champion is finding today’s track conditions more tricky compared to yesterday when he topped the opening two rounds of seeding practice. The No.2 seed plans to make further set-up changes for Q3 as he continues to ‘chase the perfect set-up’.

P3 in the first round Jesse Davis took 5th on the second time of asking. Asked how his run was he replied, ‘It was a safe run, not really’. He explained, ‘I crashed one time when I touched the curb and flipped which damaged the rear shock tower so after that I just drove around safe after that’. Continuing he said, ‘I probably could have been 4th or 3rd for the round without the mistake but we’ll fit a new shock tower, and a new rear wing as I broke that too, and we’ll go again’.

Completing the Top 6, Takaaki Shimo said ‘the car is not bad today, yesterday it was super difficult’. Suffering one flip over the 7-minutes he said otherwise the run was OK. Asked if he planned further changes to his Infinity he said, ‘Maybe I will keep it the same and work instead on the driver’.

View our event image gallery here.