Toni Mateo (ES) is the new champion of the ToniSport 40+ Masters class. Toni only raced in this class in three out of five races, but in the end his strong results earned him the overall ETS title ahead of Caspar Morgen (DK) and Ulrich Dinger (DE). We talked to Toni Mateo, who lives on the beautiful island of Gran Canaria, and asked him about his great ETS season!
ETS – Hello Toni, thank you for taking some time to sit down here with us. The first question is very simple: You are the new ETS champion of the ToniSport 40+ Masters class. How does it feel to win your first ETS title?
TM – Hello guys, thanks for having me, that is really cool! To be honest, right now I am super happy with my overall win this season. It was not easy and I didn`t expect it but now I am even more motivated for the next races!
ETS – You started to race in the 40+ Masters class at RD3 in Apeldoorn this season. You only needed three races to win the title – that was a really good performance. Did you expect to have a chance for the title after you didn`t race in this class at the first two races at Arena33?
TM – I was not thinking about the overall ranking list – I just went race by race to see what will happen. The level in the 40+ Masters class at the ETS is super good, so I was not sure if I could fight for race wins. But in the end it turned out very fine for me!
ETS – The 40+ Masters class was very competitive this season and a lot of drivers looked strong. Especially Caspar Morgen was constantly fast all season. How was it to race against all these experienced drivers?
TM – To race against all these guys was really tough. A lot of drives are very fast. Especially Caspar Morgen and Ulrich Dinger had been very strong on carpet. I remember the second A-Main in Daun for example. Caspar was all over me and attacked me while always driving fair and clean. I was in full defence mode and got the job done. Races like this are the reason why we all love RC racing so much.
ETS – Toni, you are living on the Canary Islands (Gran Canaria) which most people know as beautiful holiday destinations. Tell us a little bit about RC racing there. How many people are racing RC cars on Gran Canaria for example?
TM – We have a small community of RC racers here on Gran Canaria. But I think we have some very talented drivers here and I hope that some of them will join us at the ETS in the next season!
ETS – When you need RC car stuff, do you always have to order these things from the mainland or is there kind of an RC Shop on the Canary Islands as well?
TM – I know Toni Rheinard from ToniSport since he was a 13-year-old kid. I order most of my stuff from his shop and his service is the best I have ever seen – so thanks for that man! We have a small RC shop here on Gran Canaria, but they don`t sell a lot of high-end RC products. They focus more on the entry lever car kits, which is also very good!
ETS – In the years 2012 and 2013, the ETS had two races on your home ground – on the outdoor track in Telde / Gran Canaria. Is the track still existing?
TM – Yes of course, thr track is still there and provides even better grip now. We will have a lot of races on this track this year again. It is still a very nice track and we always do everything to keep it in good conditions!
ETS – How often do you practice? Is it correct that you are the owner of a carpet indoor track?
TM – My family owns a hall here in Gran Canaria which we are using as a permanent indoor carpet track. There we have our small club, and we are organizing a lot of club races for everybody here!
ETS – You always must fly to the ETS races. Do you enjoy that, or would you like the ETS coming back to Gran Canaria for a race one day?
TM – Flying to the races is something normal for me after all these years. But I would really like to have another ETS race here in the future. It was so cool to see all the drivers coming to my home island. When it will ever happen again in the future, we all would be super motivated to make it an awesome event!
ETS – Thank you very much for this nice interview, Toni. We are very happy to call you a member of the ETS family and we are looking forward to seeing you again in the next season!
TM – Thanks to everybody at the ETS for the nice season. I am super motivated for next season, and I can feel now that I need to race again 😊!
