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2026 FEMCA Asian GT Championships Race Report
Anthony Wasson
From July 28th to August 2nd, I participated in the 2026 FEMCA Asian GT Championships that were held in Brendale, Queensland, Australia. The event was originally meant to be held in Vietnam earlier in the month, however due to logistical issues they were forced to withdraw. Thankfully England Park Raceway stepped up in order to save the 2026 edition of the event. This FEMCA event was held in conjunction with the 2026 RCRA QLD IC State Titles, and due to this allowed for 1/8th scale and 200mm nitro tourer classes to be contested at the same time.
For this event I chose to compete in both the GT8 and GTE8 categories, therefore resulting in a very busy schedule for myself. It got even busier when I volunteered to perform pitting duties for a talented junior of the name, Zac Bardetta. Something I was very much happy to do considering the importance of promoting more junior participation in the world of RC Racing.
Due to having won the Australian National Title at this track late last year, I was confident that I would be competitive in fighting for the FEMCA Titles. With this said, I wanted to spend some extra days testing various setups to see if I can unlock even more speed out of my already fast Serpent GTR EC and GTE-R chassis. So with this said July 28th to July 31st was dedicated to practice with qualifying and finals taking place over the weekend.
What started off as a great start to my practice program ended up being a difficult time for myself in the GT8 category. Unfortunately I was faced with numerous issues that would hamper my ability to complete my practice programs with the aim of gaining an extra edge over the competition. This would unfortunately filter through to qualifying where I would eventually be forced to start last in the A main final. With this said, I still had confidence in both the car and myself that I could fight for a decent result. A decent result could eventually be considered an understatement as I would find myself being able to fight through the field from last to 3rd by the end of the 45 minute final. Unfortunately I was plagued by an inconsistent engine tune that would force my pitman, Andrew Bardetta, to lean on the engine in order for the car to produce better pace and shift at a more appropriate time. This is racing for you though and not everything can be perfect all the time. Considering everything, I am proud of the result and my perseverance in not giving up. The Serpent GTR EC handled extremely well and consistently over the long final. With a bit more time, I can definitely find more corner speed which would end up being key in taking the top spot. I am beyond ecstatic to see that the Serpent GTR EC is now available to the public to now thoroughly enjoy. It has been an honor contributing to the testing of this fantastic car that has taken my racing to yet another level.
In regard to the GTE8 category, I was able to qualify 2nd for the triple A main finals. Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances I was unable to dedicate the time I wanted into perfecting the setup for the Serpent GTE-R so I had to settle with the base setup with a carbon chassis plate. It is what it is. With this said, out of the box the base setup still proved to be fast. Fast enough for the fight for the 2026 GT8E FEMCA Asian Championship to be taken to the third final. In the end I would have to settle with 2nd place overall.
Many thanks go out to Jono and Tom Tsiklas, Andrew and Zac Bardetta and Steve for all their support over the week when it came to pitting, marshalling and boosting morale. It was a very enjoyable event. An additional shout out must go to Tom and Zac who both directly qualified into the 200mm Nitro Tourer final with Tom finishing 10th and Zac only just missing out on his first podium in a sanctioned event. Thank you to Angelo from Hobbywing for assisting in the tuning of my esc when I was looking for improved driveability. Thank you to the England Park Raceway committee and volunteers, especially President Dan Morris for putting in countless hours in making sure a memorable event was had for all participants. Congrats to Dan on winning the 1/8th scale Masters title as well. Congrats to all the other podium winners across all classes too.
Finally many thanks must go out to all my sponsors that help support my racing and allow me to do what I love.
Please keep an eye out for my GTR EC and GTE-R setup sheets for this event. Of course feel free to contact me via facebook at Anthony Wasson RC for any tech support you may require or if you have any questions.
Final Results of Serpent Drivers:
GT8:
GTE8:
200mm Nitro Tourer:
