Anthony Wasson Reports the 2026 RCRA NSW IC GT State Championships.

Over the weekend of 16–17 May, I competed in the 2026 edition of the RCRA NSW IC State Titles, held at John Grant International Raceway, home of the 2023 IFMAR GT World Championships, Australia. Weather posed a constant threat throughout the weekend, however we were fortunate enough to complete six full rounds of qualifying along with all finals across the GT, 200mm Nitro Tourer, and 1/8th Scale categories.

I competed in the IC GT class, which attracted a full field of drivers from across Australia, as well as New Zealand competitor Lockie Roach. For the majority of the event, my race program ran flawlessly. I topped both free practice and seeding before ultimately securing the Top Qualifier position at the conclusion of qualifying. There was a minor setback after stripping second gear during two qualifying rounds, however I was able to resolve the issue just in time for the 30-minute A-Main final.

The final itself went very smoothly aside from one small mistake early in the race. After regrouping, I was able to work my way back through traffic and eventually reclaim first position, holding it through to the final lap. During the race, I also set the fastest lap of the event in the GT category with an 18.144-second lap time. Unfortunately a couple of laps were missed by the timing system, however it is what it is. In the end, I believe that there is plenty of more time to be found as I continue to unlock the almost limitless potential of the Serpent SRX8 GT-R.

 
Speaking of which, I was especially impressed with the consistency of the Serpent SRX8 GT-R throughout the weekend. The car gave me the confidence to attack the painted ripple strips at each apex without worrying about rear-end instability. This allowed me to carry significantly more corner speed and maintain consistently fast lap times, a major advantage on a hairpin-dominant circuit such as Moorebank.

Above all, it was fantastic to see an increasing number of Serpent drivers competing across all three categories, including several drivers participating in their first sanctioned event within their chosen class. Below are the final results for each of the drivers:

GT:

4th - Ross Lalic

8th - Bang Phi Trinh

9th - James White

10th - Steve Tully

200mm Nitro Tourer:

5th - Michael Rumiz

8th - Mitchell Motta (Bump up from Semi Final)

9th - Tom Tsiklas (Bump up from Semi Final)

1/8th Scale:

10th - Cameron Kendall (Bump up from Semi Final)

11th - Hamish Scott

15th - Michael Haralambous

All drivers will be looking to build on their success in preparation for the next big sanctioned event, this being the 2026 RCRA QLD IC State Titles and of course the 2026 FEMCA Asian GT Championships being held at England Park Raceway.

Many thanks must go out to volunteers at New South Wales Radio Controlled Racing Car Club Inc for hosting the event and making it a memorable one myself and many others. I am very much looking forward to the 2026 RCRA IC Nationals that will be held there later in October this year.