Radio Active RC

With the clock ticking down the 8th installment of the RARC Championship Points Race Series the race and track crew have a big thank you to give. With the annual track resurfacing and visual upgrade happening the cost of the chemicals and paint took a leap in the wrong direction. But with a RC community like RARC and it's dedicated racers no problem is too big to tackle. We would like to thank Pine Auto Electrical, Johan Truter, Francois Benade and Juan Lappies Labuschagne from Lappies Truck Repairs for stepping up and helping in a big way to get this large project back on track!

On race day Die Loots and Mita in the kitchen will once again be serving refreshments and delicious race fuel (also known as food) to the racers and the spectators.

With the racing year being where it is the racers are all doubling down on effort to secure maximum points in the hunt for the flashy year end trophies! Spectators are always more than welcome to join in and view the epic on track action!

And here it is, the wait is over! The racers are on a hair trigger to hit some fast laps and score maximum points this Sunday! The Tamiya Stock Touring class has now evolved to include Pro and Clubman divisions to include the more seasoned racers in the budget friendly and fiercely competitive class. The VRX Octane XL class has a full grid of crazy racers, definitely a spectator favourite class. The other classes still have entries coming in and the grids are sure to be packed with serious entertainment and action coming in. Spectators are always welcome to join in for the day.

RARC hits the road! This coming Saturday there is a 3 hour Endurance Race using the Tamiya TT01E Euro Truck as the spec chassis at Redline RC Racing Club in Gauteng. The two Bloem teams have been testing and tuning for quite some time, The Race Shop built two efficient and fast chassis with custom paint work on the bodies to tackle the challenge. Practice will be Saturday morning for the final fine tuning and then the 3 hour continuous battle commences. There are more than 10 other teams that will be competing for podium spots in this very specialized form of racing. Motus Bloemfontein really stepped up to the plate with backing for both teams, our safe transport is well sorted with a Mitsubishi Destinator 7 seater, the racers will arrive fresh and ready for action. Watch this space for updates on the day. Good luck racers, and a big thank you for the other racers at Radio Active RC for helping with testing and batteries for the day.

Saturday the 8th August 2026 will go down in the record books as a show of solid dominance by local 1/12th legend Brian Botha! Traveling to Welkom to the famous Welkom RC Arena he had a second hauler bag stocked with large helpings of kick ass, and he used that hauler bag with zero regard for lap times!

Having secured a very comfortable Top Qualifier spot and getting his groove early in the day the finals loomed large. Not one to be easily rattled (the local close racing at RARC helping in that regard) Brian stepped up in the first final and stamped down his authority, the second final was marked with a few uncharacteristic bobbles... and then in the third final he drove angry and absolutely ripped into a overall victory!

Results for the year has Brian with one hand on the Championship trophy, only one last Nationals to go.

A big congratulations from everybody at Radio Active RC Raceway Brian, getting it done!

A new month that is crammed with RC Racing goodness at RARC!

FIrst up is on the 8th, Brian Botha, our local 1/12 Nationals Champion heading to the famous Welkom RC Arena to defend his 2025 Championship crown and he has his sights set on a third championship title!

Then on the 16th there is a Setup Clinic hosted by RARC Race Shop, with a variety of setup tools and tuning parts on site for the racers to test with and knowledge to help to get everybody a bit faster. Also there will be a Formula 1 race on an chassis specific very fast and flowing layout to maximize the amazing corner speed these cars can do.

With RARC sending two Teams to the Redline RC Raceway for a 3 Hour Tamiya Euro Truck on the 22nd there will be a lot of testing and tuning to be done befor then. The two Team consist of:
Team Radio Active -
Ryno Pienaar
Brian Botha
Martin Deysel
Team RARC -
Shawn Truter
Johan Truter
Francois Benade

Then the BIG ONE, the monthly Championship Points Race! The 30th will have the racers sharpening every tool in the bag for maximum points as the year is past half way and every finish is counting a little bit more than ever.

Spectators are always welcome on each race and event, Die Loots making sure there is much to eat and drink. Saddle up everybody, it's gonna be a busy one!

As the morning of Sunday the 26th of July rolled in the typical Free State winter came with it. The track was quiet with a promise of a solid day of RC Racing. Little did the coming spectators and racers know what was waiting for them. Practice started with shadows still looming over the racing surface, the track was quite busy in this window as the layout was a lot faster than what was expected. The first qualifiers started and that is when the temperature went from snapping cold to red hot in an instant! Records were broken, absolutely insane runs were done and a brand new level of close quarters combat made a home at the busiest RC track in central South Africa! Here is what went down, class per class:

*VRX Octane XL Stock
1) Johan Truter - VRX Octane XL brushed
2) Julian Bastone - VRX Octane XL brushed
3) Frans Benade - VRX Octane XL brushed
Sharing a class with the Unleashed cars the Stock racers were fighting each other, the track layout and everybody who got too close! With open wheel racing being a test of mental aptitude Johan kept his head on the longest and grabbed the 1st place, Julian tucked the 2nd while still being within striking range at times and young racer Frans staying out of trouble for the 3rd. Frans has improved his consistency and race craft, if he keeps at it he will have a bright future with RC Racing.

*VRX Octane XL Unleashed*
1) Ryno Pienaar - VRX Octane XL modified
2) Jacques Boucher - VRX Octane XL modified
3) Jc Smit - VRX Octane XL modified
Some say that Ryno fitted a motor powered by its own little sun, the way his Octane did wheelies on command and wheel stands down the back straight might just confirm the suspicion. He has been on the forefront of chassis and class development in the quickest growing and very affordable class at RARC. Ryno taking a blistering 1st made way for a white knuckle fight between Jacques in 2nd and JC in 3rd, they were trading tire marks and paint for the majority of the day.

*Tamiya M-Chassis*
1) Emil Beckmann - Tamiya M-05
2) Shawn Truter - Tamiya M-05
3) Abrie Du Plooy - Tamiya M-05
Emil came with a bag full of speed and consistency, and the bag was just about big enough for the day, he had some quick and level headed runs to secure another 1st for the day, his 2025 Champion pedigree showing. And this is where is got interesting! Shawn has done some serious setup work on his chassis and Abrie has got himself a brand new M-05 that he had his first race with. The laps times were close, too close to be honest. Shawn with his experience with the M-05 platform and race craft gave him the 2nd for the day with a surprised Abrie in 3rd.

*2wd Buggy*
1) Brian Botha - XRAY XB2
2) Ryno Pienaar - Associated B6.3
3) Ewan Koen - Associated B6.3
Now this, this racing as seen on TV! After a 5 year and 4 months unbeaten streak Ryno was just not on it enough for Brian who came with everything he had and some more to finally claim a top spot on the podium! But it was not easy going, Ryno had his Buggy glued to the back of Brian on both finals, neither giving an inch of budging off line. The spectators and the other racers were holding their breath at each corner as the racing was textbook EPIC! In 3rd place was Ewan, another big battle taking place for the podium spot as 3rd, 4th and 5th were tied with points after the finals, the results being decided by qualifiers. The class was absolutely on fire the whole day, a true testament to the commitment and tallent at RARC.

*Short Course Truck*
1) Christoff Meyer - Associated SC6.4
2) Ewan Koen - Associated SC6.2
3) Martin Deysel - Associated SC6.4
The Associated boys came with all guns blazing for a monumental scrap! Points leader Christoff had his hands full as Martin put in two masterful runs for Top Qualifier, the battle going in to the finals. After the dust, scraps, bumps, shoves and block passes settled Christoff hooked a 1st, Ewan clawed his way up to 2nd and Martin took the 3rd. Always an entertaining, high speed class to spectate. A special mention has to go out to Divan Jonker, he is so far the only racers that can successfully quad the whole rhythm section lap after lap, takes a special kind to do that even once!

*Tamiya Stock Touring*
1) Juan Lappies Labuschagne - Tamiya TT01E
2) Jacques Boucher - Tamiya TT01E
3) JC Smit - Tamiya TT01E
With a full grid there was a lot of anticipation for some close racing, the cars are all exactly the same and with little adjustability the racers are happy to race in the class. Lappies did a ton of quick and consistent laps, taking a convincing 1st! Behind him the racing was on fire! Rapid passes, a lot of position changes and some pale racers leaving the driver's stand it was Jacques in 2nd place and Points Leader JC in third. Jacques had the comeback drive of the day, starting the finals in 10th place and fighting his way up! For the next Points Race the classes will be divided into two categories for some even closer and competitive racing!

*21.5 Spec Touring*
1) Brian Botha - Associated TC8
2) Sj Coetzer - Associated TC8
3) Ryno Pienaar - Associated TC8
The Associated racers were squaring each other up from the first lap, the times between Brian and SJ was less than paper thin, the TQ was decided by 0.07 of a second. If the wind changed direction the result would have changed. Then on to the finals, and the close as they come racing was slapped into high gear! In the first final Brian and SJ were basically driving one car so close were they. The second finals Ryno found a helping of speed and the three of them were a high speed freight train knocking down the laps with millimeter perfect driving! When all was said and done Brian took the hard fought 1st, SJ in 2nd and Ryno in a much closer 3rd, another spectator friendly class.

The day left the racers drained, minds tired and tires hard worked. RARC's racers have really stepped up to the next level again, the competition on track and brotherhood in the pits are sterling examples of what a RC community can achieve and become. Tools and spare parts are lent and borrowed in the family friendly pit and spectator area, and the food and drink supplied by Die Loots and Mita are hitting every spot imaginable. Big shout out the the racers and spectators for another spectacular race day, next month is going to be a busy one for RC in Bloem, watch this space. And as always, Stay Radio Active!

After a productive practice day the racers are ready for some high speed shenanigans tomorrow at RARC! The Tamiya M-Chassis class racers are all buttoning down chassis rebuilds, fresh tires and tweaked setups for the coming battle! Some new bodies will give a shiny and fresh look as the track is going to get some visual revamps in the next month. Die Loots and Mita will be fueling the racers and public with delicious food and beverages, bring a camping chair and join in on the friendly and inviting atmosphere at RARC!

It's coming closer with ludacris speed! The monthly RARC Championship Points Race is starting to breath and take shape! With a pack of wild, untamed racers on the hunt for podium spots and maximum points the on track action is guaranteed to be spectacular! As always spectators are more than welcome to witness the flat out action!

This coming Sunday the Tamiya Racers and Formula 1 die hards will square up for the second Tamiya Cup event at RARC! In the M-Chassis class there will be all manner of chassis scrambling for podium spots as the massively competitive class is setting the stage for another awesome showdown! In Stock Touring there are some racers that have a score or two to settle, and some new faces showing up looking to draw a line in the sand. Then, after a long away time, the Formula 1 racers are going to be back at it. Fighting the track and each other once again! Spectators are always more than welcome to witness the on track action and breath is some epic RC community goodness.

A New month with a new event and Championship Points Race lurking in the shallows! The second installment of the RARC Tamiya Cup is building steam in the middle of the winter. The M-Chassis and Stock Touring racers will be joined by the Formula 1 racers for a banger of a middle of the month event. The Tamiya classes are always well supported and the F1 guys can dust the cars off for the first time this year. Then for the big one, The Championship Points Race is going to carry a lot of weight for the racers chasing Championship Points. Every race matters!