2025, the year Kaerup came of age & became a double World Champion

2025 will go down as the year the Danish teenager Marcus Kaerup came of age with the Team Associated driver becoming the new IFMAR 1:10 4WD World Champion just 37-days after winning the inaugural 1:8 eBuggy World title in Portugal.  The son of former European 1:10 Electric Touring Champion Jonas, becoming a double World Champion on a Monday was made even more special by the fact this time his dad was here in Australia as his mechanic – this father & son team’s working relationship & bond special to watch.  Having secured the TQ, his second of the week as he also started on pole in 2WD, a podium the end result there, Kaerup would see off a brilliant title defence effort from his own team-mate Davide Ongaro.  Taking the win in A1 ahead of the Italian, he would have to work even harder in A2 to keep his main challenger at bay, but he did to secure a title that is widely viewed as just the beginning, the legend of our sport Atsushi Hara one to tip Kaerup for greatest.  With Ongaro going onto win A2 ahead of the Xray of Dakotah Phend, a long 9-days in Sydney would concluded with an AE 1-2 with Phend taking the final step of the podium.  Driving his Mugen Seiki 4WD prototype, Burak Kilic would just miss the podium taking fourth ahead of European Champion David Ronnefalk.

Reacting to his win having had the opportunity to watch A3 from the sidelines and let the result sink in, Kaerup said, ‘It’s still completely unbelievable.  I feel like this was way harder than Portugal because I didn’t have such a pace advantage but we managed to hold off Ongaro’s pressure.’  On that pressure from the 4-time World Champion he said, ‘He didn’t really let me off easy.’  With his father having been unable to travel to Barcelos for eBuggy but making the long trip Down Under for these Worlds, the 17-year-old said, ‘It’s more than amazing to have him here, he missed out on Portugal, so it was really special to have him here.’  Asked what goals he had for these, the 40th anniversary of the 1:10 Offroad Worlds, before boarding the long flight to the Hills RC Off Road track he revealed, ‘I didn’t even expect to be in the Top 3.  I didn’t really do any practice for this event because the focus was on 1:8 but not winning the 2WD fuelled me to do everything I could for 4WD.’  Asked what was next for him, he replied, ‘Well I have a lot of school work to catch up on.’

Grateful in defeat, Ongaro said, ‘I am happy with P2, we were trying to defend my title but actually it didn’t work out.’  Coming close in A1 to a win on A2 he said, ‘I was confident with my car after Q5, I knew I had the pace to stay with Marcus but the track is really tight and lets say you can’t overtake easy so I tried to pass him fair because I can’t take him out.  I tried it, I tried my best, and I gave 100% so I am happy.’  On A3 he said, ‘On the first lap I jumped a little bit short on the right step-up which cost me a little bit of time but then I was confident with me pace and I knew I was good.  It was great to give AE a 1-2.’  He concluded, ‘next year it’s 8th scale, that’s the main one’, Ongaro going for an unprecedented 4-in-row in the USA in 2026.

Summing up his finals, Phend said, ‘Obviously the goal was to win, that’s why we come here, but a podium is still decent.’  The US Champion continued, ‘We definitely lost pace today come main time with the weather being a little bit colder and stuff.  I made some changes and got it better for that last run, but yeah it is what it is and we did what we could do.’  Getting close to Ongaro for a time, he said, ‘I felt I was a little bit faster on the left side and was kind of able to reel him in there but he was able to gap me a little bit on the right side, so we yoyo a little bit.  This track is really tough, you give a little bit of wheel spin it’s a couple of tenths.’

While making his first 1:10 World Final in Sydney and finishing fourth with a prototype car, which he has had little wheel time with, Kilic’s deep disappointment at missing the podium was written all over his face.  With the Turkish driver, who didn’t have any pre-event experience of the dirt track, impressing many with how he drove in 4WD, the 21-year-old said, ‘My car and electronics were mega good and I drove good in A1 and A2 but I’m a bit sad to not make the podium but at least I made Top 5 with a prototype car on only the second time running it.  It’s really promising and I will come back for the trophy in 2-years for sure.’  Only racing 3 or 4 1:10 events a year, 1:8 Offroad his speciality, the two 1:8 Nitro Buggy World finalist said, ‘Still Top 5 in the world is really good but I wanted that podium really bad, I just didn’t quite find the speed in the last one.  I made a small bobble in the second lap, it was the first time I made a mistake in the triple.’

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Kaerup just holds off Ongaro to take A1

An intense A1 of 4WD at the IFMAR 1:10 Offroad World Championship saw Top Qualifier Marcus Kaerup just hold off defending Champion Davide Ongaro as the two Team Associated drivers dogged it out over the 5-minutes.  With Kaerup struggling out of the corners, Ongaro was all over the rear wing of the Dane making contact on a number of occasions.  The Italian’s big chance to go to the front would come as the race approached the final minute, Kaerup catching the pipe at left side double and coming up short on the landing.  However Ongaro would land on the inside pipe and miss the corner handing the lead right back.  With Ongaro then coming under pressure from the Xray of David Ronnefalk, Kaerup was able to bring home the win.  Having got by his team-mate Phend, when they touched wheels coming off the main straight & into the double double, the American coming off worst, Ronnefalk completed the Top 3 ahead of Mugen Seiki’s Burak Kilic and Schumacher’s Daniel Kobbevik.

Giving his thoughts on A1, Kaerup said, ‘The car really hard to drive, the rear was stepping out everywhere so I had to single single a couple of times to make sure I didn’t do the same as the practice final (he came up sort allowing Ongaro to go to the front).  Overall it was a good run and I just need to find some comfortability for the next one.’  On the error that allowed Ongaro to momentarily take the lead, the 17-year-old said, ‘the car was stepping out so I ran into the pipe and I couldn’t clear the jump.  Thankfully he hit the pipe on the landing and I was able to maintain the lead.’

Joking that the race was ‘super relaxed and nothing crazy’, Ongaro said, ‘Let’s try in A2 and see what happens, but actually we have the pace to be there.  I was a bit on one side unlucky when he missed the double and I hit the pipe but then was lucky to not flip so it was 50-50 on my side.’  On his car, the 3-time back to back 1:8 Buggy World Champion said, ‘It was super super good.’

Summing up his race, Ronnefalk said, ‘It was pretty good.  Unfortunately we were not close enough to the guys in front when they made some mistakes.  We were just a little bit too far back but stuff happens and I am sure Davide is not going to let Marcus win that easy in A2 so I expect the same things to happen.  We have got to be a little closer and try to pick up the pieces when something happens in front.’

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Kaerup is 4WD Worlds Top Qualifier

Team Associated’s Marcus Kaerup is the Top Qualifier at the IFMAR 1:10 4WD World Championships, the Danish star securing pole position for the today’s finals with a third TQ run in the fifth & final round of qualifying as the 40th anniversary of the Worlds reaches its final day in Australia.  With the running order reversed for Q5, the top seeded heat up first, Kaerup set the pace topping the group from Xray’s Dakotah Phend and defending World Champion Davide Ongaro.  Overall however 2WD World Champion Broc Champlin, going in the second fastest heat, would get within 8/10ths of Kaerup’s time to secure a P2 for the round.  In terms of how they line-up for the title decider the result means it is Ongaro who starts behind his AE team-mate with Phend and David Ronnefalk, who got a 5th for the final round ahead of Spencer Rivkin, locking in third and fourth on the grid.  Winning 2WD from 2nd on the grid, Champlin faces a tougher task if he is to do the double at the Hills RC Offroad track as he completes the top half the grid in 5th.

Claiming his second TQ start of the week here in Sydney, having wrapped up an early TQ in 2WD, on his Q5 performance Kaerup described it as, ‘Pretty good’ adding ‘the car was good.’  He explained, ‘I think we made some good set-up changes for this morning.  Maybe the diffs were too light again but we worked it out and got the TQ.’  Having struggled with his car set-up come the 2WD finals having been so strong in qualifying, asked about his 4WD, the 17-year-old said, ‘I think it’s way better than 2WD.  I am way more confident also with this car than the 2WD so I think we’re good.’  Asked about the switch now to racing, he said, ‘the track has quite a few bumps now so I think it is going to be difficult.’

Commenting on his run Ongaro said, ‘It was good, the car was actually ok for the track conditions but I did two bobbles and I think I will start P3 for the main.’  On the mains and the Italian in fact starting P2 after getting the tiebreaker over Phend, he said, ‘Anything can happen.  It will be tough for sure for everyone, we are all tight.  I mean it is not over so we will see what happens.’

Reacting to his final qualifier, an upbeat Phend said, ‘It was a clean run so I am happy with that.  Got a decent point which I needed to drop that 9.  I’m happy with the car, it feels comfortable and I’m comfortable with the pace I was doing so we’ll prep it and get ready for the main.’  Asked his thoughts for the finals, the American said, ‘It is going to be tough for sure.  The triple, landing on top of it you get a weird balance, and the same thing with that step-up.  There is a lot of different lines through the step-up so it’s going to be pretty interesting, but we in it and we’ll give it everything we can.’

Claiming his first ever IFMAR podium finish 10-years ago in Japan in 4WD, on the final qualifier Ronnefalk said, ‘I definitely wanted to keep the car on the wheels because I knew maybe the other heats were going to be a little bit faster so I didn’t want to give the points away to guys being able to jump in front of me on the starting grid.  I kept all four wheels on the ground for 5-minutes but had one lap were I was a little wide in the back and lost a second, that would have been a P2 but it would not change much for the overall standings.’  The reigning European Champions added, ‘Still happy to be in the Top 4, you definitely want to be in the Top 4, we saw in 2WD Batta started 4th and he ended up 2nd overall so it is all to play for’.  On the racing, the Swede was another who expects it will be ‘hectic’, saying, ‘it’s a whole lot different than just driving a qualifier I think, so it’s going to be interesting to see and I am going to try to be there in case something happens in front, just like I did at the Euros earlier this year.  That’s a good omen, I started 4th when I won the Euros, lets see how it goes this time.’

Asked to sum up his Q5, Champlin said, ‘I went on too new a tyres and lost a ton of time on the start which ended up hurting me, now I will start 5th instead of 4th.’  Finishing 4th from 7th on grid 2-years ago in Arizona, looking to the racing here in the finals, he said, ‘I think in the mains at least in the first main it will be decently smooth but I think every main after that will be complete chaos when everyone starts to send it.  I think honestly my prediction is being fifth it is still doable to win.’  On his Schumacher buggy and any set-up changes for the finals he said, ‘I am going to try and get it to go through the bumps a little bit better.’

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Phend finally hits the top in Q4 Down Under

Having started out qualifying day at the IFMAR 1:10 4WD Offroad World Championships in Sydney with a P3, but then having two rough rounds, Dakotah Phend finally hit the top in Q4 heading a 1-2 for Xray as David Ronnefalk also ended the day with his best run.  With Team Associated’s Marcus Kaerup getting his second TQ run of the day in the previous round, Q4 would see the Dane DNF, his car coming to a halt 3-laps in.  While Kaerup didn’t have an explanation for the car stopping, Salton Dong from his electronics sponsor Hobbywing revealed afterwards that their data from car led them to believe it was a radio issue as a result of lost signal.  Overall it was a tough round for Associated after they topped the opening three qualifier.  Defending World Champion Davide Ongaro TQ’d Q2, but the Italian wouldn’t have a clean run and ended up 9th.  Kouki Kato would be their fastest driver in P7.  Behind Xray it would be Schumacher who were the next best in a repeat of Q3 when they finally got themselves somewhat into the mix.  Orlowski, who went to the top of the timing screens for most of the run, would complete the Top 3 ahead of Broc Champlin and Daniel Kobbevik.  Putting in the most consistent performance of the day Burak Kilic capped of a strong day with P6, his Mugen Seiki prototype never outside the Top 6 today having opening with a P2 run in Q1.

Reacting to his TQ run Phend said, ‘Finally I had a clean run.  The previous run in Q3 I had a good run going and just cased the step up a little bit and flipped, unfortunately that would have been a Top 3 run but it is what it is so I have two solid points now and I need to try figure out how to get a good point tomorrow.’  On the fifth & final qualifier he said,  ‘We will be at a little bit of a disadvantage with track conditions but we put ourselves in that position.’  On his car, the American said, ‘I made some changes to the car and it was the most comfortable I’ve been and I felt comfortable with the pace.  We’ll try to finish out strong and get a decent starting position.’

Ronnefalk was relieved after his P2 performance.  The Swede said, ‘It was very good.  The run before I changed a couple of things to make it steer a little bit more because what I saw in 2WD was the track got a bit polished when the sun was out but now it was like opposite, the track was really grippy out there and I struggled with the car being too aggressive in Q3.  It was one to throw out lets say.’  He continued, ‘I went back for the last one to what I had in Q2 because I knew the track was going to be faster and grippy without the sun being down.  I had a slow first lap because I was scared of making the same thing I did in Q3 so I was really taking it slow and that cost me like a second and I was just 2/10ths back, I mean it is easy to say afterwards, but I am just happy to get the points and not have to go into the last round needing points to make something out of it.  This should lock me in for Top 4 I think so we’ll see what happens in the last one.’  On that he added, ‘We are going to have the worst track cause it is the opposite running order so maybe you are going to see someone from the B heat in the mix, that’s why it was important for me to get point now.  A good team effort there with me and Dakotah 1-2 on the last lap.’

Orlowski described his effort as ‘OK’, continuing, ‘I was leading all the way until the last lap, it was close.’  He continued, ‘the only positive is that we’re getting closer with the car for my driving style but I’m very far behind on the points and I need a magically Q5 to line up somewhere on the grid to have a chance.’  Saying he was ‘disappointed with my driving so far’, asked what it was he was struggling with in his driving style, the reigning 1:12 World Champion explained, ‘I’m way too smooth.  Here you you need to drift around the corners and whenever my car goes sideways I let off and try and find the grip.  I’m trying to drive it like a touring car but its not the way around this track.’

Backing up his break through Q3 with another P4 in Round 4, Champlin said, ‘it was pretty good for the most part, unfortunately I got caught up with lappers at the end and that honestly probably cost me the TQ which changes the dynamic of everything.  I am going to have to TQ the last round if I want to start inside the Top 4.’  On his buggy the American said, ‘My car is awesome to be honest with you.  I am going to try an alloy steering part to get a little more steering and let it shred in the warm-up and the final qualifier when it’ll be wet.’  Asked if Q5 would be a do or die drive the new 2WD World Champion replied, ‘yes, it was the same in 2WD.’

‘No progress this time with what I did but at least I’m locked into the main even though that’s not what I am aiming for’, that was how Kobbevik summed up Q4 having posted a Top 3 in the previous round.  With Q5 an opportunity to better his counting scores, the 19-year-old said, ‘I will try to do some major changes and look at other cars in the team and look at my own car because it has been busy today so just make sure everything is ok after all the wrenching.’   Expecting ‘lower grip for sure’, he said ‘we are also be the first cars on the track, if they do 3-minute practice for sure it will be super low grip in the first one.’

Complimenting Kilic on a solid day, the 21-year-old replied, ‘It was a really good day and really consistent.  I have never been out of the Top 6 all day.’  Despite his positive day, the Turkish driver was a little frustrated with his Q4 saying, ‘the last one there was so much traffic and the referee did not say anything so me and Broc were stuck there and lost, I think for me, a Top 4 run.’  He continued, ‘but we are in the final.  I’m super happy with the new car and my electronics are just on fire here.’  Asked about his set-up he said, ‘I didn’t change anything on the car at all, I just drove it.’  With one more qualifier to go he said, ‘tomorrow we will try to make another Top 3 run to start more in front but with the new car already in the A-Main it’s a great result here.’