The International Federation of Model Auto Racing (IFMAR) is the world governing body of professional radio controlled car racing. The organization was created in 1979 by professional racer and RC model entrepreneur Ted Longshaw. At that time, many different governing bodies operated under their own rules throughout the world. IFMAR was conceived as a way to bring the different, fragmented organizations under a single, governing body. IFMAR's constitution also promotes international friendship and sportsmanship. Each of the member blocs organises the IFMAR World Championship event on behalf of IFMAR. Masami Hirosaka is perhaps the world's most distinguished racer. He has a record of 14 IFMAR World Championships, followed by Lamberto Collari with 9 titles, all within a single category and in nitro powered cars.

Governing bodies

IFMAR governs RC racing through four international governing bodies, or "blocs" representing 45 member nations and with full voting rights: * European Federation of Radio Operated Model Automobiles (EFRA) – Oversees racing in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. * Far East Model Car Association (FEMCA) – Governs

Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. * Remotely Operated Auto Racers (ROAR) – Oversees and promotes races in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

and is credited with producing more world champion drivers than any other bloc. *

Fourth Association of Model Auto Racing Fourth Association of Model Auto Racing, otherwise known as FAMAR is the governing body of radio-controlled car racing in South Africa, Mexico, Central and South America. It is one of the four member blocs to be entitled full voting right within ...

(FAMAR) – The newest IFMAR bloc and oversees

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Secretariat

Presidents

Eligibility to IFMAR World Championship event

To be allowed to compete in an IFMAR World Championship event, the competitor has to be a member of a national body (such as ROAR of North America, SARDA from South Africa, BRCA from the United Kingdom, etc.). The competitor has to contact a representative of the body who will determine if they are competent enough to compete in the world championship round. The driver does not specifically have to have qualified in that discipline in which they choose to race (e.g. a driver who is competent in 1:10 on road racing wishes to qualify for 1:8 off-road).

IFMAR World Championship Winners

Statistics

NB: Excludes World Cup winners ''Updated as of 22/5/2025''

Most Wins

Drivers

Car manufacturers

IC Engines

Electric Motors

By Member Blocs (Drivers)

Win(s) by Nations (Drivers)

Most Wins in a single season

Drivers

Consecutive Wins

Drivers

Car manufacturers

Most Top Qualifiers (TQ)

Most Finals appearances

A-main/finals appearances

Drivers with at least 10 finals appearances are listed ''Italics'': drivers who have not or yet to have won a Worlds title. Bold: drivers who have actively appeared in a final race within the two previous Worlds Craig Drescher has the most appearances for a driver who have yet to win a title as of . Despite his last A-main appearance being in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, he inherited the title after Ralph Burch Jr. finally won his first title in 2010 having tried since 1981 at the age of 13. Ryan Maifield claimed the honor from Drescher in 2013, who held it until he win his off-road double in 2017.

Podium finishers

Drivers with at least 5 podium finishes are listed ''Italics'': drivers who have not or yet to have won a Worlds title. Bold: drivers who have actively appeared in a final race within the two previous Worlds Takaaki Shimo has the most podium finishes for a driver who have yet to win a title as of , having inherited the honor from Ryan Maifield in 2017.

Notes

References

Sources

n.b. all championship winners and other info to do with it are sourced from the following sites.
ROARRACING.comEFRA.wsIFMAR.org
*https://web.archive.org/web/20110611090123/http://www.nil.org/RC/ifmar-1-8ic-results.html

External links

IFMAR official website

Nitro Modelismo - Internet Magazine to divulgue RC Car Model Races in Brazil

2002 IFMAR 1:10 200mm Sedan World Cup
{{Main world championships International sports organizations Radio-controlled car racing organizations Sports organizations established in 1979