2026 Asian Buggy Championships Round 1 Results

Press Release From Asian Buggy Championships:
www.asianbuggychamps.com

Caleb Noble is the biggest winner at the end of a fantastic week of on-track action at Counties RC Car Club for the opening round of the 2026 Asian Buggy Championships, presented by Team Cayote and VP-Pro Team.

NITRO BUGGY
Noble, off the back of an off-season switch to SWorkz and JConcepts dominated qualifying, and threatened to do the same in the 45-minute Nitro Buggy A Main. Jayden Jamieson, however, hadn’t read the script, the Kiwi (also SWorkz) pilot getting around Noble early to lead through the first fuel stint. Uncharacteristic mistakes from Noble let Jamieson ease away, before Caleb’s firmer compound tyre choice started to pay dividends as the track dried out, and Jamieson’s soft-shod SWorkz, to the contrary, overheated its rubber. That shifted the balance to Noble, and over the last 40 minutes, he was unstoppable, eventually putting Jamieson a lap down.

Behind that pair (who had dominated the weekend) it was helter-skelter –Logan Toia, Kasey Dawson and Dylan Toia all holding third but running into trouble, allowing the veteran Mike Stratford to grab the position. He refused to let it go, even as 12-year-old Dylan mounted a stirring fightback – Toia coming up just shy of the podium, and one step ahead of a delighted Darren Perry in fifth.

Earlier, lower mains had seen Brendan Pollock and Simon Turnbull bump up from the D main, Jaxon Mabey and Jamie Neeves from the C, and Ben Boyt and Ryan O’Connor complete the A-main field by bumping from the B.

EP BUGGY
With Noble having wrapped this one up on Saturday, Jayden Jamieson duly took the A3 win to secure second overall, Jonathan Coluccio an excellent third, and a really impressive set of drives from local 18-year-old Ben Boyt promoted him all the way up to P4 overall, ahead of Dylan Toia.

The lower EP Mains were won by Jonathan Thompson (B), Jamie Neeves (C) and Ashton Lilley (D).

MASTERS NITRO 45+
What had been billed as the big showdown between TQ Mike Stratford and fierce rival Darren Perry came to nought when Stratford peeled a front tyre early, necessitating a long pit stop and dropping him deep in the field. That left Perry with a 28-minute safety-first run to a comfortable win, while Stratford fought back through the field to second – a result he was happy with, even if the way it happened wasn’t to his liking. Roger Vandorsten, meanwhile, was thoroughly delighted with his podium position.

Evan Crichton and Jimmy Rodley bumped out of a super-entertaining B main.

MASTERS EP 45+
Again, Darren Perry had wrapped this one up Saturday. Mike Stratford did what he needed to wrap up second, and an excellent A3 from Jeff Birse meant he rounded out the podium ahead of Perry Field and Allan Looi.

Lower Main wins went the way of Jason Lilley (B), and Paul Farmer (C).

EP TRUGGY
In what was something of a theme, Shane O’Connor had already won A1/A2 on Saturday, leaving him to watch on while brother Ryan ran away with A3 to secure second in his once-a-year R/C appearance, with young gun Jackson Coombes topping off an excellent weekend to be third. Our media team member Scott Guyatt finished fourth (you’ll be able to read his story over at Action R/C) just ahead of Graeme McDougal. Ben Hansen took the B finain.

That’s a wrap on events here, with yet another epic NZ weekend. Huge thanks to the Counties RC Car Club crew, and a particular shoutout to Shane O’Connor for his hospitality and Richard Price for his expertise and behind-the-scenes troubleshooting.

We’re on the move to Malaysia next, the first time the series will visit LAP Paradise RC Raceway. Entries are open now at http://www.asianbuggychamps.com/, with the race set for April 22-27. See you there!

One final thanks to our series partners for 2026: Team Cayote and VP-Pro Team, joined by Sparko Racing, JConcepts Inc, Jetko Power, Tekno RC, Coast2coastrc, Sweep Racing, Power HD, Team Associated, Mach-1 RC Products, and SpeedyRC Online Store. We couldn't do it without you all.