How a race meeting works: practice, qualifying and the finals.

The broad shape

The formats read for this site share three stages. Practice, where the rules describe it, lets drivers run on the track, sometimes timed. Qualifying heats rank the whole entry, usually by awarding points in each round and counting only the best rounds. Finals then decide the result, with the fastest qualifiers in the top final. The table compares the formats that the bodies have published; each is explained below.

Before the racing

At an IFMAR 1/8 IC off-road World Championship, each driver signs a form at registration accepting the event's published rules (2024, 3.24.e). Each driver may use one car, marked at initial inspection; transmitters are limited to the maker's recommended voltage with no external transmitter packs; and semi-finalist and finalist cars go to a "parc ferme" for inspection straight after their race (3.27). A Team Managers' Meeting called by the Race Director is held 15 to 30 minutes before racing, in the host language and at least English, and all official announcements are in English (3.28 and 3.7.h).

IFMAR World Championships

1/8 IC off-road (nitro buggy)

IFMAR's 1/8 IC off-road rules (2024) cap the field at 180 drivers. The event runs over a week, excluding a spare day: registration and free practice, controlled and timed practice, two days of qualifying, then sub-finals, semi-finals and the main final on the last day (3.0 and 3.1).

• Heats hold at most 12 drivers and last at most 10 minutes plus the last lap, with each driver getting up to six qualifying attempts. Timing for each car starts when it first crosses the start line, a "flying" start (3.2).
• Points: in each round the fastest driver scores 0, the second 2, the third 3 and so on; a driver who does not start or score gets 500. From six rounds, the best (lowest) three count (3.4).
• Finals use what the rules call a "Christmas tree" ladder, in which every driver gets a final. Odd-placed qualifiers form the A series and even-placed qualifiers the B series, and the top 3 or 4 of each sub-final move up. Lower sub-finals last 20 minutes, those from the eighth-finals to the semi-finals 30 minutes, and the main final 60 minutes, with 11 or 13 cars including the winner of a 15-minute last-chance qualifier (3.2, 3.5, 3.6).
• Extra finals: an exhibition final for drivers over 45 and, where applicable, a youth final for drivers aged 15 and under (3.1 and 3.5).

1/10 electric off-road

IFMAR's electric off-road rules (2019) give at least six practice rounds on the first day, in heats of up to 15 drivers and 6 minutes; five qualifying rounds with the best three point scores counting; and an A-Main run as three separate five-minute finals of ten drivers, of which each driver's best two count (1.5, 1.6, 1.8). All heats and finals last five minutes plus the time to finish the last lap, and main finals use a staggered grid of ten rows (1.9 and 1.10).

Nitro track and GT

IFMAR's 1/8 IC track (2023) and 1/10 IC track (2024) rules run qualifying over two days, with heats of between 4 and 7 or 8 minutes. The top qualifier (TQ) and the winner of a "Super Pole" go straight into the main final; lower finals run 20 minutes, semi-finals up to 30 minutes and the main final 60 minutes. In the 1/8 GT rules (2025), qualifying runs over two days with 7-minute heats after a 3-minute warm-up and a rolling start, with no refuelling once a heat has started.

EFRA

EFRA's electric rules (Handbook 2026, Appendix 3, version 4) set qualifying heats and finals at 8 minutes for 1/12 track and 5 minutes for 1/10 off-road and 1/10 on-road, each plus the time to finish the last lap (up to 40 seconds, which can be extended for off-road and on-road) (A.9.4.1). Qualifying uses a "round by round" points system that ranks every driver against all others in each round; two rounds count from three, four or five completed rounds, three from six, and a single round is void (A.9.4.1). Qualifying uses a staggered start; all finals use an "F1" type grid in two rows, and the top qualifier chooses the left or right side for every final (A.1.1.10 to 1.1.14). The timing computer must make automatic announcements in clear English, including two minutes and 30 seconds to the start, a 10-second countdown, time and race order every two minutes, and race over (A.1.4.1).

For 1/8 off-road, EFRA's section meeting of 8 November 2025 passed unanimously an amendment to Appendix 2, rule 2.5: finals of 12 cars, with 4 moving up from each sub-final and 6 from each semi-final to the main final, plus a 13th car from a 15-minute last-chance race. Lower sub-finals last 15 minutes, the 1/64 to quarter-finals 20 minutes, semi-finals 20 or 30 minutes and the main final 45 or 60 minutes. As at IFMAR, odd-placed qualifiers form the A series and even-placed the B series.

ROAR Nationals

ROAR's current rule book was not read. Its National Guidelines (revised 13 October 2026) describe the Nationals, which a Race Management Team contracted by ROAR runs; where the guidelines and the ROAR Rules differ, the ROAR Rules take precedence.

• Electric classes: four rounds of qualifying over two days with mains on the third day, a re-sort after two rounds, and AAA mains, in which the A main is run three times, in classes with three full heats (14.1.1).
• Fuel classes: four to six qualifying rounds over two days with mains on the third day. ROAR has adopted IFMAR-style ladder mains, with the TQ going straight to the final and the rest seeded into A and B semi-finals; unlike IFMAR, the number of drivers in a final may vary (14.1.2 to 14.1.2.5).
• Entry limits: electric on-road 25 qualifying heats and electric off-road 30, each with at most 10 cars per heat; fuel off-road and fuel on-road 20 qualifying heats split between two vehicle types; at most three classes per entrant; a class with fewer than 15 entries at the cut-off may be cancelled (13.3, 13.8, 13.9).

BRCA

The BRCA's 2026 section rules were not read; its published series pages show the format in use. The 2026 South West 10th off-road regionals run two timed practice rounds of 3 or 4 minutes, four qualifying rounds of 5 minutes with the best two counting, and a three-leg A final of 5 minutes, with every other final run as one leg. A search summary of the BRCA's Large Scale Off Road pages gives lower finals of 10 to 20 minutes and an A final of 30 minutes; that is unconfirmed, as the rules document was not read.

Flags

IFMAR's 1/8 IC off-road rules (2024, 3.29) use the host nation's flag to start and a chequered flag to finish. An all-black flag, shown with a car number on the instruction of the Race Director or Referees, calls that car into the pits, and ignoring it for two laps brings disqualification.

How laps are counted is on timing and transponders, and who marshals and who decides disputes is on marshalling and officials.