July 24, 2025

2025 Asian Buggy Championships Rd 3, Australia – Chassis Focus Index

Last weekend Australia played host to the third round of the Cayote backed Asian Buggy Championships, with the Pine Pills Dirt Racing club in Brisbane welcoming its biggest international entry yet.  The third year the oil treated dirt track has been a stop on the Asian Buggy Championship calendar, the race would see Infinity’s Kouki Kato make his eBuggy debut with the Japanese manufacturers new prototype electric buggy and win, while in a rain shortened Nitro Buggy final Alex Bernadzik took his Team Associated to victory.  Unfortunately we were unable to photograph the winning Electric and Nitro Buggies – Kato’s eBuggy still at prototype stage and Bernadzik’s RC8 B4.1 featuring special rear hubs that the US manufacturer was not yet ready to show to the public.  Red RC’s first time to visit the highly praised Pine Pills Dirt Racing track, which is locate in very nice setting of the James Drysdale Sporting Complex, during our coverage of the race we did still get the opportunity to photograph 8 buggies from 6 different manufacturers.  In case you missed any of the Chassis Focus’ during our coverage of the race, we have compiled them all here in our latest Chassis Focus index.

Nitro Buggy

Kouki Kato (Q2/P2) – Infinity

Pekko Iivonen (Q4/P3) – Mayako

Tyler Jones (Q3/P5) – Sparko Racing

Caleb Noble (Q5/P4) – Tekno

Atsushi Hara (Q8/P7) – Sworkz

eBuggy

Alex Bernadzik (Q1/P2) – Team Associated

Tyler Jones (Q3/P3) – Sparko Racing

Pekko Iivonen (Q4/P4) – Mayako


July 20, 2025

Bernadzik reigns as rain halts Asian Buggy Championships Australia

Team Associated’s Alex Bernadzik converted TQ honours at the Australian round of the Cayote backed Asian Buggy Championships into the win but unfortunately Mother Nature put an early halt to what was building into an epic battle in Brisbane.  Having TQ’d all three hostings of the Asian Buggy Championships at the Pine Hill Dirt Racing track, Bernadzik led away the race’s most stacked international field yet for what was original scheduled to be a 1-hour final.  While the intimidating dark clouds started to gather in the distance, racing got underway in the sunshine and the early pace was hot but all the time the darkening skies were moving in.  Unfortunately for Kouki Kato and Tyler Jones, the latter got into the eBuggy winner Kato on the opening lap sending the Infinity and Sparko drivers dropping to the back of the field.  The American did show great sportsmanship in waiting after the contact with the talented Japanese driver.  Up front it was Bernadzik who led from Pekko Iivonen, but 6-laps in, the home favourite made a mistake allowing the fourth place starting Finn to take over at the front.  From there he looked very strong as he led the field into the first round of pit stops just after the 7-minute mark.  While touching the wall on the tight pit lane entry, once the first & only stops were completed, it was still Iivonen who was in charge.  Coming up on 10-minutes however a mistake would hand the lead back to Bernadzik with Kato, who briefly took over the lead during the fuel stops and was now firmly back in the game, also going through for second.  Locked into their intense battle, Jones having worked his way up to fifth behind 2024 winner Caleb Noble, little did the drivers know they had less than 3-minute left to play things out.  A track that drew huge compliments from drivers for both it surface and size, unfortunately one of the downsides of its oiled dirt surface is that oil & water don’t mix!  As soon as the lightest of drops started falling the effect on the cars was immediate forcing Race Director Scotty Ernst to call the race just shy of 13-minutes – the heavens opening up shortly after.  While the disappointment of having their entertainment cut short clear on everyone’s face, including Bernadzik, a result is a result and Bernadzik goes down as the third different winner of the 2025 Asian Buggy Championships season.  Less than a second back Kouki had to settle for second while Iivonen completed the Round 3 podium.

Reacting to his win, Bernadzik said, ‘Kouki was super fast and honestly it doesn’t feel the greatest to win like that but at the end of the day it is an official result so you’ve got to take it.’  On his performance in the shorter that expected race, the former Australian National Champion said, ‘Everything was running good.  My car was a little bit hard to drive, I think the track conditions changed today with longer mains on it, but the car was good.  I had a few small bobbles which probably cost me so I could have been well ahead at that stage, but yeh I’ve got to take it.’  On his one & only pit stop, the 23-year-old said, ‘the fuel stop was sweet.  We were going with 7:30 stops just to be safe cause fuel economy gets a bit risky going into a 1-hour final.’

‘I’m unlucky but this is racing so it is what it is’, was a clearly disappointed Kato’s thoughts on the final.  Winning the eBuggy A-Main earlier in the day ahead of Bernadzik, and agreeing the Nitro Final was just starting to shape up to be a great race, on his buggy’s performance he said, ‘the car was really good, the speed was also good, it was also consistent and we were close to Alex.  Everything was good but we didn’t get enough time to show it.’

Summing up his race, Iivonen said, ‘The start was super good, the car felt actually the best it has been the entire event but I think after the first pit stop the car started to feel maybe too soft or something.  It started to feel to slippery in the rear and a bit uncomfortable to drive so it made it quite hard and I made some stupid mistakes on my own and basically then I lost it.  It could have been better for sure.’  Feeling he may have been to soft with his shock set-up, asked if he may have struggled if the final had run the full hour he said, ‘it depends, I don’t know how it could have been but it really felt like it wasn’t good anymore compared to how good it was at the start because it was really really good.’

Asked, ‘pretty bummed on that.  I put on a newer set of tyres for the final and I think I should have went out on an older set because they just took a while to come in. I unfortunately hit Kato right off the start and I’m a nice guy I’m always going to wait so I waited and I went all the way back to last.  I took off and I was coming and just got up to fifth and the rain hit and unfortunately they called it so ended up there’.  My stuff was good all week, I’m excited where I ended and I’m ready for next year already.’  With the race marking his first time travelling outside of the US, asked how he found the experience, the 25-year-old replied, ‘definitely one for the books.  I had a lot of fun with Ben and Walker.  Hopefully I get to see some stuff before I head home tomorrow but a super cool, once in a life time, experience really and I hope I can come back next year.’  He added, ‘Scotty’s events are always good, good program, tracks are always good, so hopefully I can make a few more next year.’

View Main result here


July 20, 2025

Chassis Focus – Tyler Jones (Sparko eBuggy)

Chassis – Sparko Racing F8e
ESC – Hobbywing XR8 G3
Motor – Hobbywing 2200KV
Battery – NitroPro 6500
Tyres – Hotrace Sahara
Radio/Servo – FlySky Noble Pro+ / NitroPro JTP
Body – Leadfinger Racing V2 Beretta

Notes – As with his nitro buggy, Tyler is running a Position1 RC chassis on his F8 which gives him the option to lengthen the rear of the car by 3mm.

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July 20, 2025

Chassis Focus – Pekko Iivonen (Mayako eBuggy)

Chassis – Mayako MX8e
ESC – Cayote Crest 8
Motor – Hobbywing 1900KV
Battery – Cayote 6500mAh Shorty
Tires – 6mik
Radio/Servo – Sanwa M17/Savox SB2290
Body – Mayako

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July 20, 2025

Kato takes eBuggy at Asian Buggy C/ships Australia

Infinity’s Kouki Kato has won eBuggy at the Australian round of the Team Cayote backed Asian Buggy Championships.  Armed with a prototype of Infinity’s upcoming 1:8 eBuggy kit release, the Japanese driver qualified second to Team Associated’s Alex Bernadzik at the Pine Hills Dirt Racing track in Brisbane but after taking the win in Saturday’s A1 was able to secure his first Championship eBuggy win with another win in A3.  The winner of the previous two rounds of Asian Buggy Championships in Nitro Buggy, the 19-year-old emulated that nitro success of winning first time out.  Making his ABC debut at the season finale in Indonesia last last year and winning, making his electric buggy debut ‘Down Under’ this weekend he also delivered the win.  Having won A2 with ease, Bernadzik looked in control of A3 but a mistake dropped the Aussie back to third leaving Sparko’s Tyler Jones to try to chase down Kato.  Despite putting in the fastest lap, the American couldn’t do anything to get passed, a late error giving Kato the chance to breath and bring home the win.  With a second from A1 and the win in A2, Bernadzik secured second overall with Jones, having two P2 finishes, completing the podium ahead of Mayako’s Pekko Iivonen.

View Final results here


July 20, 2025

Chassis Focus – Alex Bernadzik (Associated eBuggy)

Chassis – Team Associated RC8 B4.1e
ESC – Reedy Power 850R
Motor – Reedy Sonic 1900KV
Battery – Reedy Zappers SG6 6400mAh 95C 7.6V LP Shorty
Tyres – JConcepts
Radio/Servo – Sanwa M17S / Reedy RT3507A
Body – JConcepts S15

Notes – Securing the eBuggy TQ here at the Asian Buggy Championships, Alex is running JConcepts titanium turnbuckles on his RC8 B4.1e as well as a Schelle Racing C Block.

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