Masami Hirosaka looks back on his first 1986 world title at the Vintage Championships in Las Vegas

Photo: Team Associated / X (@MasamiHirosaka) (source)

A homecoming for the 1/10 buggy legend

The Team Associated Vintage Championships ran from September 2 to 6, 2026 at the Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, bringing together thirteen vintage buggy and truck classes across 2WD, 4WD and truck categories. At Saturday September 5’s banquet, Japanese driver Masami Hirosaka took the floor for an emotional speech honoring the importance of this venue in his career.

Hirosaka recalled that Las Vegas hosted his very first 1/10 buggy world title back in 1986 — a championship then dominated by European and American drivers, where the best Japanese finish was stuck in the B-main. That 1986 edition was won by American Tony Neisinger, on Team Associated. That formative defeat, he said, fueled his determination to claim a world title, which he would go on to hold for eighteen years of dominance.

A symbolic full circle for the multiple world champion, now a member of Team Associated’s product development advisory board alongside fellow 1/10 buggy legends Jay Halsey and Cliff Lett.