‘I feel that I am in the right place again’ – Ronnefalk

In the same year that his official status got upgraded from ‘Kid’ to ‘Teenager’, a then 13-year-old from Sweden would showcase driving skills that marked him as having a talent that was going to take him places.  Attending the European Championship that year, his speed on track was enough for US Offroad star Richard Saxton to state to Red RC during our coverage from that Austrian event that EFRA was about to get its first ever B and A Champion.  While he didn’t make the Main on that occasion, that hotly tipped talent would go on to become a European Champion not once but three times as well as taking home the greatest prize our sport offers – World Champion.  That year was 2009 and that talent was David Ronnefalk and now 15-years on from making that memorable first impression, he goes into the 19th running of the IFMAR 1:8 Offroad World Championship confident he is in the hunt to add a second World title to the one he claimed in Las Vegas in 2016.  Just before David made the trip Redovan, Spain, where today (Sunday) drivers hit the track for the first of two days of free practice, we chatted to him to get his take on the race that only comes around every 2-years and that last time round he came rather close to winning.

Opening our chat by describing the now 28-years-old as ‘being around a while now’, David was quick to agree saying ‘for sure that’s how it feels too.’  He added, ‘I have had some great opportunities, I have been around for a long time but you know I am still enjoying it like I did 10-years ago and we are still pushing.’  Asked if the Worlds was still the greatest race for a driver his response was, ‘You have other big races but once the Worlds comes around there is always a bit more buzz around it and it really brings out the best of the best.  Everyone from Asia, Europe and the USA, they never come together unless it’s a World Championship so I definitely still think it is the pinnacle of 1:8 scale racing.  It is definitely the biggest for me.’   Looking back to his first big career win, the 2013 European title he won as a Kyosho driver, and if the David of today as a driver has changed he said, ‘I definitely think so.  When I won my first European Championship in 2013 I was pretty young and at that age you don’t think, you go to the race and just drive.  Now maybe I treat it a little bit different.  When I won those Euros in 2013 & 14 I was still not a full time Pro driver.  I was still in school.  I finished school in 2015 so that was my first year as a full time professional.  I think after that it changed a little bit in terms of it being a job and not only a hobby and something I loved but I had to treat it as a job.  I think now being older you think a bit more which can be good and bad.  I have had some struggles here I would say the last 2-years.  There has just been a lot going on outside of the track that has been affecting the results poorly as well but I definitely feel since 6-month or so back I feel that I am in the right place again.  I feel as strong as I did before, obviously a 3rd place at Euros was good especially as I knew I didn’t nail everything there on the set-up for the final.  Finishing on the podium is a great result.  I definitely feel very strong coming into these Worlds this time around and hopefully we can have a good showing.’

David’s package both on and off the track for these Worlds is quite different to previous editions.  Now with Xray and recently doubling up on his ‘Made in Slovakia’ package by switching to FX Engines, this will be the first time he will contest a World Championship without Adrien Bertin.  The Frenchman first introduced his protege to the World in 2009.  Asked about the split, which was only announced in July, of this synonymous duo, David said, ‘Taking the decision it was clear for me what was going to happen not having Adrien there anymore.  Obviously I can’t be more thankful for having him there all these years.  He has been like my second dad, the mentor, all in all just very close friend of mine and he still is but the decision that was made purely for my best moving forward.  I want to keep racing at least until I am 40 I guess.  That has always been my goal, you never know what happens but driving for Xray now it was always a natural decision to also go to FX.  I mentioned before, too many things outside of the track have been affecting the results in terms of not having the mental side in the right place where it needs to be because the competition is so tough today that you can’t afford having any doubts in your head or second thoughts.  Everything has to be very clear both at home, your family, everything has to be working well for you.  With Adrien there was some other issues I had.  Xray weren’t necessarily pushing me to go FX when I signed because then obviously I then would have been with FX from the start of my Xray career.  They were fine with me continuing with Corastec and Adrien until later but I took the decision that it was best for me to go with FX in the end because the whole system/programme would be complete and lot easier to work with all things coming from the same house lets say which is Xray.  Definitely it isn’t something I have experienced before because Adrien has always been there with me before.  I had Max Gotzl, who is an Xray driver as well, helping me a little bit at the Euros, my father and Martin Bayer took care of the pitting so there won’t be any issues in terms of that.  I have spent a lot of time on the track the last 2-months so I feel well prepared.  I now have good knowledge of the car and set-up and I have driven the engines quite a bit now.  Everything should be good, and third place at the Euros wasn’t a bad result at all considering I wasn’t feeling 100% with the set-up the Main.  I am looking forward to what the future has to bring but like I said I am forever grateful for everything Adrien did for me.  Winning the Worlds together will always be there with me forever.’

On the unique situation of the same track hosting back to back Worlds this year David said, ‘I don’t mind it at all.  They put somewhat a new layout in, some sections stay the same as last time, the layout now is a mix of a few layouts they have had.  I think it is going to be a much closer race because the Americans and others that where there now kind of know what to expect.  Us Europeans already knew what to expect in 22.  Now everyone has been there, everyone is familiar with the place and facilities and everything will run smoother even though it was a great event in 22.  Everyone is going to bring their A Game for this one.  I don’t think the advantage is there for the Europeans as it was in 22.  It is going to be a very level playing field.  As much as I would like to go to different places for the Worlds, considering everything that happened I think this is not a bad option.’

A Mayako driver at the last Worlds, having secured the European title with them, on that 2022 result and getting so close taking the World title back from Davide Ongaro, David said, ‘I was never in contention that weekend at all.  I was lacking pace, I didn’t get the car to be where I needed it to be to be fast.  In the Semi I struggled.  I was I think the last man through our Semi and I started 11th so going into the main we where like we didn’t expect to challenge or even be in the Top 5.  So then we made a gamble on the tyre choice which worked out incredibly well and made it possible for me to be able to challenge Ongaro for the win.  I was surprised, of course I had the speed, I made a couple of mistakes towards the end.  If not I would have been World Champion but at the same time I was never thinking I would have that chance going into the Main.  During the whole week I never thinking about winning, I was just trying to figure out how to get more speed out of the car.  Everything came together so quick and I had been driving through the field in the Main and trying to get to the top and when I was there I would say I was too stressed.  I was just not used to being there and threw it away in a way.  I never expected to be fighting for the win going into the main.  Right after the Main I felt like a second place was a good result, then obviously watching the main after looking back I know I had two mistakes that kind of cost me the win but if someone would have said that going into the main I would have been laughing.  It was a tricky situation but I hope I can make it one better this time now that I have a good package and good feeling going into the event.  I will see what we can do.’

A driver who by choice doesn’t have a tyre sponsor, asking David if this gives him an edge over his rivals as buggy performance is more evenly matched, he responded,  ‘I definitely think there is not one brand that is so much better than other cars out there.  I think it is very close between them all and the main difference today is definitely tyres.  You know if some one says it is 50-60% of the thing before it is now like 80% of the performance today.  Finding that right tyre is going to be key.  Luckily we have some experience now at that track and how they treat the surface and how it is going to develop through the week.  I think we have a good understanding of what we need coming into the race and we just need to nail our choices and options that we have during the week.  Definitely tyre is key and being free gives me option and freedom to choose the best tyre.  At the same time it can be difficult unless you have prepared well.  The Euros for example I used one brand for the first four days and for the final day we switched to another brand that clearly looked like it had better potential in speed, but then we would have needed to change the car a little and that is why I said for me in the main the car was not 100%.  I would have needed to adapt more the set-up for that tyre we ran in the Semi and Main.  So it comes with good and bad sides.  If you stick with one brand maybe it wont be the absolute quickest but maybe you can really dial you car for that tyre.  Also your driving of course as you know how it is going to react but if you just change to another tyre maybe that drives completely different, but I would say it is more towards the positive side to be free.’

Wrapping up our chat we asked David who he expects to be battling with on the big day next Saturday to which he responded, ‘Well if it came down to that I would like it to be a fight between me and Ongaro and me coming out on top so I can get my revenge back from last time.  I think it’s going to be a super close race.  There are going to be quite a few drivers on the same level.  We have seen the Kilic improve a lot the last year, I always expect (Ryan) Maifield to be there of course, Dakotah (Phend) was fast in the main last time round but had an issue towards the end.  He was following me through the field, he is going to be there, along with Canas, Ongaro, Bruno.  It’s hard to say but Canas has had a great year so far.  Ongaro is going for 3-in a row.  I will try to get my second (World title) and I guess we will just focus on ourselves and see what happens at the end of the week.

2024 IFMAR 1:8 Offroad World Championship coverage presented by Ruddog

The first of three World Championships Red RC will attend this year, our coverage from 1:8 Offroad in Redovan is being supported by Ruddog.  This German based company is steeped in offroad racing history being a distributor for 32 times World Champion manufacturer Team Associated and iconic offroad tyre brand JConcepts to name but a few.  Founded in 2006 by Sven Rudig, himself an avid offroad racer, they have developed their own product ranges such as Ruddog Racing which offers a line of electronics and engines.  They are also behind Revolution Design Racing Products which has established itself as a designer & producer of high-quality tuning parts and are popular upgrades among offroad racers.

Action & Driver Stand Images : JConcepts [Facebook]

RC Redovan reveals 1:8 Offroad Worlds Track

The track that will determined the 2024 IFMAR 1:8 Offroad World Champion has just been revealed in a video that shows off the latest track build by the team at RC Redovan.  Setting a new benchmark as hosts of the World Championship two years ago, RC Redovan was again thrusted with hosting the event after a late cancellation by Brazil on staging the 19th running of the sport’s biggest prize.  Taking on the task of having to rebuild the track for the return of the Worlds to Spain, despite the short lead in time the Baldo family have executed it stating, ‘It gives us enormous pleasure and pride to present the new design of our track, host of the next World Championship. Months of hard work in record time now bear fruits “We are going to give you the best world championship in history.” And we firmly believe we have done everything to achieve that! Welcome to RC Redován, welcome to the World Championship 2024.’  Having supported our coverage of the 2023 1:10 Offroad World Championships in Arizona, we are delighted to be teaming up with Ruddog for the trip to Redovan to attended our sixth 1:8 Offroad World Championship.  Our coverage will kick off with news from seeding practice on Tuesday, 10th September.  Click here to view track reveal video.

Source: RC Redovan [Facebook]

1:8 Buggy World Championship preview by Scott Guyatt

While attending this year’s Philippine Masters we had the pleasure of meeting Scott Guyatt who has been working as part of the media team behind Scotty Ernst’s Asian Buggy Championship this year.  Talking all things RC and sharing old RC stories with this Aussie over dinner each night while in Manila, talk of him creating some content for Red RC was floated.  Having worked with Scott on content from the ABC and now with the greatest spectacle in RC, the IFMAR 1:8 Offroad World Championship, just around the corner, when Scott put together a preview of event for his own Action R/C podcast we thought what a great opportunity and way to introduce his writings to Red RC readers.  Sharing his thoughts is the ideal way to start building up this great race as we get ready to build up to our own coverage from Spain which is presented by Ruddog.  So take it away Scott –

What will almost certainly be the most-watched race of 2024, the IFMAR IC Buggy World Champs, is just a few weeks away. You have to believe we’re excited about this one, and can’t help but cast an eye over the field to preview the event. We’ll do it by producing our own Tier List for the event (yeah, we know Tier Lists are a bit 2018, but we’re so old-fashioned that we’re still all about the long-form story here, so let’s go with a Tier List as well). We’ve picked the drivers we think most likely to run up front, those aiming for a semi- or quarter-final, and a few wild cards with enough talent to up-end the predictions completely. Disclaimer: We used the most recent entry list we could find – so forgive us if some we’ve named don’t make it to Redován come September.

So here’s our Tier List broken up into six categories, with a few explanatory notes. Don’t forget to tell us where we’re right, where we went wrong, and who we missed entirely!

S: THE LIKELY WINNERS
Ongaro, Canas: We’ve picked two we think will battle it out for the win – defending and back-to-back World Champ Davide Ongaro, and arguably the form driver of 2024 – Juan Carlos Canas. Neither needs any introduction, nor any justification. Canas just scooped up the Euros, he’s driving the S-Workz with JConcepts rubber (more on them later). He’ll be there. And Ongaro? He’s Ongaro. When he’s on, the AE/Matrix driver is all-but impossible to beat.

A: LIKELY PODIUM, MAYBE WIN
Maifield, Phend, Ronnefalk, Coehlo: These are four of the all-time greats, they’ll be in the mix for the podium and absolutely capable of winning the whole shebang. We’re not quite confident enough to push them up to category S, and here’s why. Maifield and Phend are clearly the best Americans, but like most American drivers, they just don’t have the track record in 1/8th scale away from home soil…at least in part because they rarely travel.

Phend’s TLR was amazing in quali in 2022, Maifield can be utterly dominant when the mood strikes (particularly if it gets rough). But will the mood strike, and is the Tekno the car for smooth, high-grip conditions? It’s come a long way since 2022 and Maifield will be hungry.

David Ronnefalk is a past World Champ, and he’s always there…just not “quite” there with our top two picks above in recent times. If he gets the XRAY in the window, and his free tyre-choice arrangement plays in his favour…watch out.

Bruno Coelho is in any conversation about the current best R/C racer in the world. He doesn’t have the singular focus on 8th off-road of the rest of our top 6, but another World Championship win in yet another category would seal his place on the list of RC greats.

B: LIKELY A MAIN, MAYBE PODIUM
Rivkin, Berkan Kilic, Boots, Baruffolo, M Fuller, Berton, Figueiredo, Matsukura, O Baldo: There’s so much talent in this list. A podium would be no surprise for any of them, and a couple could well win if everything goes their way (Kilic, Boots, Fuller for example). Rivkin has never quite broken through in 1/8 in an international race – could this be the one? Boots has been TQ in the past and is in arguably career-best form. Matsukura may be the dark horse, and we love watching him drive. Then there is one of the event hosts, Oscar Baldo…he’ll be motivated…and uniquely experienced in Redovan racing conditions.

C: LIKELY SEMI, MAYBE A MAIN
Batlle, Monteiro, Rose, Lutz, Lime, Berkan Kilic, Bornhorst, B Baldo, Navarro, Nguyen, Savoya, Wiggins, Skidmore: You might take us to task for some of the names in this category – like ex-World Champ Robert Batlle, or US guns Wiggins, Rose, Lime and Nguyen. And then Savoya is fresh from a stellar Euros run, Skidmore is a past Worlds finalist, Kilic can do anything, Lutz is in superb touch. The problem is, there are only 13 spots in the A final, and maybe 50 racers with a claim on one of those positions. We have no doubt one or more in this category will prove us wrong and it might just be an international break-out performance from someone like Phi Long Nguyen or Brandon Rose.

D: LIKELY ¼ FINAL, MAYBE SEMI
Van Dalen, Widmaier, Todd, Miguel Sanchez, D Pariente, K Fuller, Heckert, Drake, Boda, Kota, Kobbevik, Neumann: The list just goes on doesn’t it? I even feel bad putting these guys in this category. Any one of them has more talent than I dream of, and any one of them has a genuine chance to be in the Main event – but they’ve each got to put it all together for the race of their lives. Clement Boda is one we’d love to see running up front, and we’ve all seen Jorn Neumann be lights-out fast when conditions suit.

E: THE WILDCARDS
Orlowski, Sontag, Haatanen, Kaerup, Cavalieri, McBride: These are the guys who (a) we couldn’t quite land in any of the categories above, and who (b) can do absolutely anything and we won’t be surprised. Take Orlowski – along with Coelho he’s arguably the best RC racer on the planet right now. He was in the semi final two years ago, he’s a better driver now – but not much track time in 1/8th. Or Sontag, a slightly surprising 2wd EP IFMAR World Champs winner in 2023. Or Marcus Kaerup who is ridiculously fast. And then we’ve dropped two veterans here as well – Ryan Cavalieri and Kyle McBride. You can’t argue with their ability, or their history – but who knows about preparation?

THE OTHER FACTORS
REDOVAN: Everybody knows the story – the Worlds was meant to be in South America before problems made that impossible and the event was switched back to 2022 host Redovan in Spain. A new track layout is under construction even as we write – but this is a venue and a style of track very familiar to many of the European drivers and they’ll feel confident. But, and this matters, it’s also a track the leading American drivers have raced on – so they’ll arrive with a fair idea of tyres, setup and driving style required to go fast on the gigantic track with its amazing elevation changes. Just maybe it’s a neutral-enough venue to at least slightly reduce local advantage.

JCONCEPTS: The American tyre and parts manufacturer pretty much dominates the US scene, with most of the best drivers running JConcepts tyres, and a lineup of rubber perfectly suited to US conditions. The recent European Championship win in the hands of Juan Carlos Canas maybe showed us that JConcepts are now deadly serious about the kinds of tyres needed to take on Hotrace, Matrix, 6Mik, Pro-circuit and others. IF they get it right for Redovan, JConcepts have an absolutely stacked lineup of drivers and a World Champs win might go home with them. There’s almost no question they’ll be fast enough in qualifying – but we might not know about A Main tyre life until deep into that 60-minute championship final. A factor to watch, for sure.

THE SEMI-FINAL GRAVEYARD
Historically there’s no short-cutting to get to the 60-minute championship final at an IFMAR World Championship. Working on the assumption that’s the same in 2024, every driver has to go through the 30-minute Semi-Final to line up for the main event. And the sport’s history is littered with examples where those Semi-finals have become a graveyard – taking out an event favourite before the main race even gets started. Who’ll be missing after the Semi Final this time around?

THE SURPRISE
Just about everybody in the world will pick Ongaro, Canas, Maifield, Phend, Ronnefalk or Coelho to win. And so they/we should. These are the biggest names with the best records. But IFMAR Worlds have a way of throwing up surprises – take Ongaro’s first win as an example. Just maybe 2024 will be one of those years when a new hero steps up to the plate. Who’s most likely? Burak Kilic? Elliot Boots? Mason Fuller? Or a real left-field possibility like Michal Orlowski? Bring on the surprise!

TYRES
We’d much prefer to see an event like this run on control tyres…but it isn’t and so that makes tyre choice one of the talking points of the event. If track conditions swing towards one particular brand, it’s going to make things pretty challenging for others. Staying on top of tyre choice and having the right options is critical. There are a few drivers, notably Ronnefalk, who aren’t locked down and so can switch brands freely – if he can get access to his preferred tyres.

It’ll be late nights here in Australia as we go into September and find ourselves glued to the RC Racing TV screens, and madly refreshing Red RC for all the latest. The countdown is on, and we can’t wait!

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author.

Ruddog supports Red RC 1:8 Offroad Worlds coverage

While the entire World currently watches sport’s greatest spectacle as athletes do battle in Paris for the greatest prize in their chosen sports, in just one months time RC Racing’s best will do battle for our sport’s biggest prize at the IFMAR 1:8 Offroad World Championship, and Red RC is excited to announce we have teamed up with Ruddog Racing to bring our readers full trackside coverage from Spain.  Having supported our coverage of the 2023 1:10 Offroad World Championships in Arizona, we are delighted to be teaming up once again with Ruddog to attended our sixth 1:8 Offroad World Championship, our first being 2010 in Pattaya, Thailand where Cody King was crowned Champion.  In addition to our regular event coverage from Redovan, we are excited to bring you a new daily ‘Welcome to my World’ column from Ruddog sponsored driver Marcus Kaerup.  The reigning European 1:10 2WD Champion & 2022 4WD Champion as well as a double finalist on his EP Worlds debut last year, the 16-year-old, who will campaign a Ruddog Racing engines powered Team Associated, will give a daily insight into how his World Championship effort is going.  As a company German based Ruddog is steeped in offroad racing history being a distributor for 32 times World Champion manufacturer Team Associated and iconic offroad tyre brand JConcepts to name but a few.  Founded in 2006 by Sven Rudig, himself an avid offroad racer, they have developed their own product ranges such as Ruddog Racing which offers a line of electronics and engines.  They are also behind Revolution Design Racing Products which has established itself as a designer & producer of high-quality tuning parts and are popular upgrades among offroad racers.  The first of three World Championships Red RC will attend this year, our coverage will kick off on September 10th with seeding practice.

Source: Ruddog [ruddog.eu]