For this week’s „ETS Family Interview“ we welcome Yokomo driver Martin Hofer on stage. Martin is racing RC cars since many, many years and he has a very interesting view on RC racing due to his huge amount of experience from the good old days of racing! Check out the interview and enjoy Martin`s view onto our amazing sport!

ETS:
Hi Martin!  We hope you are doing well in these times. How has it been for you?
MH:
Servus!
Up to this point I’m holding up fine I think. I’m in the lucky situation that I can continue working from home, so weekdays at least remain really rather busy.
And you know that people say ‘if you own the place you live it it’ll never be fully finished’? Mine is finished now. Like done done. I’ve even gone through the hassle of changing light switches and sockets and stuff. They are all modern now and colour coordinated to their respective wall.
It appears that with enough spare time and limited (read: none) going out options and RC not happening, I can refocus my perfectionist energy onto almost anything.
So yeah, keeping busy to get through this.
Also: Disney + helps on bad days.

ETS:
So, as we know that there are all sorts of different situations around the world, can you explain how things are for your area?
MH:
Well, here in Bavaria we started to experience first signs of a lock down on Friday the 13^th of March (fun date right?) with night clubs being urged to not open. I know that date by heart because I met friends for a private dinner party that night and then went dancing. And it was at that dinner party when I caught COVID-19.
The next two weeks made this entire weird black mirror episode we live in right now feel a lot more real.
Got through it ok though.
But Bavaria has been shut down ever since with a shelter in place order established and quite some limitations.
You may take a walk with your family / significant other but not any other person whatsoever – I’m single so DUH – cannot. You may also not have visitors – again DUH. Or get closer than 1.5m to anybody else. And since last week you are ordered to wear a face mask in public transport, stores, or whenever a 1,5m perimeter cannot be established. And you are fined 150€ if you are not wearing one.
Having 3 friends over for a little drinks evening in your flat? 5000€ fine.
Sharing a ride with 3 other people? 5000€ fine.
So, it is all really rather serious here. Other parts of Germany decided for less strict rules and are already lifting restrictions again. But with Munich having been the epicentre of the infection in Germany and its proximity to Austrian and Swiss borders there really wasn’t any other good way.

But on a more positive note, I think that the societal deceleration we experience right now has some very fundamental positive effects, not only on my flat 😛 but the public in general.
Before we were caught in an overstimulated upward surge that needed to terminate in one way or another. With this perspective in mind, I think we got let down easy once the economy has recovered.
The only think we need to remember then is the positive things we experience now.
Like having time to actually talk to people. Find new hobbies. Learn new things and be creative.
And Tiger King of course!

ETS:
Thinking now of happier times for us all – you live in Munich, one of the most exciting cities in Europe.  How do you find it living there?
MH:
Paris has the most amazing light, London the highest intercultural diversity and Madrid has ham and Spaniards. In comparison, Munich manages to retain a very small and cozy vibe despite being a large city with the most stock listed companies in Germany. It’s busy but you never quite feel it.
You can experience amazing art, interesting culture and amazing food. Or you go and watch bottle blonde plastic surgery babes hunt their next husband on Maximilianstraße, which is basically a life action interpretation of the best and worst reality TV you’ve ever seen.
Munich is just a very nice city to live in. It’s different to anything else you’ll find in Germany which leads to people either loving or hating it. But I happily call it home.

ETS:
Have you always lived in Munich?
MH:
I grew up in a super small village in a dark part of Bavaria. Internet was scarce, public transport non-existent, and social contacts nearly null due to the lack of other children my age. It was an OK but very protected childhood which resulted in amazing grades and very bad social skills.
So, I left for the next big city to go and study when I was 19 and never turned back.

ETS:
Of course you’re not a full-time RC racer, what is it you do for a job?
MH:
I’m a business process consultant at BMW responsible for the prime vehicle development process. It’s a lot more fun than it reads in the description and my team is amazing. Luckily my boss allows me the freedom to pursue multifaceted side projects that challenge me creatively. It’s fair to say I’m not getting bored. And once I’ve managed to finish the last correction loop of my PhD thesis that is still pending, that’s done as well. So all in all I’m in a happy place.

ETS:
You’ve been involved in RC racing for a long time, in fact pretty much since the start of the ETS.  Back in previous years, you had some amazing results, including an overall ETS championship.  What are your best memories of that time?
MH:
I’ve actually almost done every single ETS race there ever was including the Orion Speed Weekends and stuff that predated it. So many experiences it’s hard to pick which were best. I enjoyed the year I made my mark in modified racing. In 2008 I lost the German National title in Modified to Marc Fischer on a tie break, but I managed to overtake Ronald round the outside and that memory almost makes up for it. Then I had a really good year in 2009 with the then new Yokomo BD5 qualifying 4^th in Apeldoorn and having a few other A-Main appearances. Back then my life only consisted of studying, racing and literally nothing else at all.
5cell Modified will forever be the best racing ever. The cars never handled better afterwards. The power never felt as good. And with me having been an integral part of the GM Racing team, we were always at the forefront of power and runtime which helped a lot.
Thinking about it I feel that this one key aspect is missing from modified racing now. You do not have to manage your resources anymore at all. Back then making 5 minutes was tough as hell. Push too hard and you’ll dump. Don’t push hard enough and you’ll not finish high enough. You could really concentrate on your racing lines and your rhythm because you would not and could not race flat out every single lap.
This also meant that racing was so much more interesting, because like in offroad racing, you could actually make up time by driving more spirited and thereby closing gaps, attacking, spending that little bit more energy for 2 or 3 laps to make it past and then conserving energy to make it to the finish.
With Lipo as we use it now, that’s all gone. And for me, so is the excitement. Racing has become less fun ever since it’s all out all the time.
I proposed the concept of limiting modified drivers to using 165g LCG shorty batteries only. Since the energy density of the cells we use has plateaued, a weight limit puts a easily checkable limit on the energy that is available to the driver. Voltage cut off my not be set to anything lower than 3V (easy to check by the tech if a car dumped) to prevent people from destroying their batteries on purpose.
Introduce that and all of a sudden you will have to manage resources again.
The last 30 seconds of a race will be that much more interesting!
And I’d expect results at big races to be very different again.

Formula E works the same way. Smart racing. A question of resources.

ETS:
Since then, competition of course has got stronger, and whilst it has been a while since your last ETS win, you’ve still had great results including a German National title too.  How do you reflect on the changing RC scene?
MH:
Everyone is so serious now. Practicing weeks ahead of an event. We have reached a level of professionalism that is close to saturation at ETS level racing. It can be perceived that there is no easy and fun way for anyone to enter anymore.
And also, back in the day people would use Stock racing to prepare for Modified and then graduate and move up.
I feel that the young guns don’t want that anymore. There is no aspiration anymore to become a modified hot shot.
And that’s sad.
At the last German Nationals we were there to have fun. The atmosphere was far more relaxed. The track suited me very well. It was the first time I was allowed to use a mid-motor car and it turned out amazing.
Those times I remember that I’ve not lost my talent, or my spark.
Other times however, I’m not sure I enjoy racing on the big stage as much as I used to. It is an experience alright, but a less fun one?
That said, I’d murder to be allowed to enter FWD! Boy that class is epic.

ETS:
And also, throughout that time, you’ve raced in both Stock and Modified (and now back to Stock again) classes.  How do you compare the two?
MH:
Back with Schumacher I stepped down to Stock because it made sense to have me compete there. That’s what the majority of customers is doing. Because it’s manageable. Modified has become hard to watch at times. Go on YouTube and revisit old RC videos. Modified then resembles stock racing now, which says a lot about the technological progress.
That said, ETS Stock is special. Due to the high amount of low end torque of the ETS combo we’ve been using there is less need for proper racing lines anymore. Acceleration for the first 5 meters is almost on par with modified which shows in peoples driving styles. It has become point and shoot so much that I have to use positive expo throttle curves to artificially make my modified driving style hard enough.
I think that we could easily rectify that by using a 12.0 x 5 or even 7.25 mm rotor in the handout motors. That would take away that crazy torque and return to a more natural feeling power curve. It would force people to care about their racing line again and would make for a lot more interesting racing.
Or, just write an artificial power curve in software and make it mandatory at the ETS. Would not require new motors. Can be done easily. Same effect.

And while you are at it, have the top 5 of each year are automatically banned from re-entering Stock for the following 3 years.
Go modified! Mix up those ranking list and end careerist stock racers.

ETS:
One of the biggest changes is the whole advent of Social Media.  I think it’s fair to say you’ve made a lot of people smile a lot with some of your brilliant blogs – combining racing facts with jokes and humour too.  How do you see this part of RC racing?
MH:
I think the role of team drivers / supported drivers has changed dramatically. For companies it used to make sense to support hot shots in local clubs in order to promote the brand among the locals said driver was racing with. Because back then club racing was the only form of social media platform people had access too.
Team drivers were therefore more like a trusted friend.

But now everyone can be a star online. And everyone has an outlet for their voice. The issue with that is, how do customers pick the voice they trust and why.
Team drivers need to realise that they have to become micro influencers in our small RC world. Xray is doing a good job in pushing their drivers to do social media properly, but in doing so personality and relatability sometimes gets left behind.

And if you as a team driver don’t manage to elevate yourself or your voice to the level of micro influencer, you fall into one of two categories:          Product prostitute, or contracted customer.

The difference being loyalty, or lack thereof.

I believe that there are some people in our industry that really understood that shift in customer interaction. MonacoRC for example did an amazing job at reporting from the ETS in Germany, because they covered what was happening on and off the track! Go use the internet to help people experience all of what makes those races great!

Now more than ever we find that physical distance does not mean you cannot be mentally present and I hope this will elevate RC coverage from here on out.

ETS:
You’re not someone who is afraid to voice their opinions – so tell us, what are the best and worst things about RC racing right now (well, not right now, as there isn’t any racing, but you know what we mean!)
MH:
Right now – worst: no racing
Right now – best: for the first time in years the skin on my hands is amazing.

Overall – worst:

I think the ETS indoor tires would be better with thinner inserts.
I do respect that automating the gluing process with an insert that provides a sufficient air gap is a lot harder due to carcass distortion. However, I believe that it can be done and would improve indoor racing massively. If people are traction rolling, there is no need for anyone to try to do anything “clever” with tyres, because too much grip is always better than not enough.

The ETS outdoor tire should also come in a 32 shore variant, because most of the outdoor races last year (maybe because of the pathetic weather we had?) showed the 36 to be too hard for some racing conditions. And with the ETS influencing almost all levels of racing, it would benefit smaller racing series as well.

I already spoke about why modified needs limited energy and why stock needs a different power band.

Overall – best:

Racing has become very approachable. You don’t need to be a team driver anymore to have access to competitive material. You simply walk into a store (well not now you don’t) or buy the stuff Ronald, Bruno and Marc are using online.
It might be different with the gas-racing guys, but that’s not my forte.

There is less rivalry amongst teams than is used to be. It seems we as racers realised that we are only few, and not going extinct is a lot more important than team grudges. But I wrote an entire blog article about RC racers being an endangered species if you want to read more about why. (https://hofaaa.wordpress.com/2020/02/21/endangered-species/)

ETS:
You’ve been one of the lucky people who has got to travel the world with RC racing – what was the most enjoyable race you can remember and would love to re-live again?
MH:
The single most enjoyable race?
My first world championships in Bangkok, Thailand in 2008 I think. I was so young, so chubby, and so excited because it was the first time, I travelled intercontinental all on my own. I was with Yokomo back then and we had so much fun at the race.
Also, the RCS track was epic.
But I put a lot of effort into making every race an enjoyable experience and mostly succeed.

ETS:
Looking ahead to getting back to racing – you tend to be someone who does the majority of their practice through race events rather than private test sessions.  We guess you are looking forward to getting back to a track soon?  Do you have any plans of venues nearby you will try to visit first?
MH:
Since I live in downtown Munich, there is no track anywhere nearby I could practice on unfortunately. Therefore, all my track time comes exclusively from races I attend. But as soon as we are allowed to I’ll go back to my old home track in Mettenheim and do some practice laps.
I also hope for some more events from things like the RC Kleinkram racing series, because the classes and the club racing atmosphere are giving me life!
But times are uncertain right now, so let’s just wait and see.

ETS:
And thinking of bigger races, it seems it will take longer before we might be able to re-start those again, but do you have any thoughts on how the ‘big race’ RC scene is right now?  The ETS was really the first series that created that ‘big race’ atmosphere and you’ve been part of it for many years, so you must have some interesting thoughts!
MH:
I believe that similar to our society in general the big racing series have also reached a point of overstimulation. They can feel too big, too serious and not always as much fun as they used to be. And since they are so big and all mightily important, club racing and smaller racing series are dying because if you need to allocate your resources, may it be time or money, or usually both, you rather spend it on 4 big races than 10 small ones, because ‘only the big races matter’. I don’t have a cure for that at hand, but I think restarting gives organisers the opportunity to reboot and rethink their event concepts. Finding the right balance between size and importance, and fun, is difficult though. I haven’t figured it out yet!
Maybe the overall deceleration of life we experience right now will have positive effects in the years to come.
I would love club racing to experience a comeback.

So, let’s make club racing great again!

ETS:
We’ll finish off with some quicker questions.  What’s been your favourite RC car you’ve built?
MH:
The Yokomo BD-3 prototype we used in 2008. It was based on a regular BD-Masami Special but nearly every single part was alternated, or hand made. Because of its fragile nature it felt very special and unique. Almost like a pet you really love because of its weird quirks.

ETS:
What RC track is on your ‘bucket list’ that you’ve not yet visited?
MH:
Kakegawa, the old indoor tarmac Yatabe Arena that sadly isn’t anymore and Lostallo.

ETS:
Who do you most look up to as an RC driver?
MH:
There are two, but can you guess?

Back when I started racing there was one driver that stood head and shoulders above everyone else, not because he was the fastest (which he was), but because he never took racing all that serious.

And then there was another driver I admired because of his absolute professionalism and dedication to the hobby.

Two very different characters that really inspired me.

The first is Alexander Stocker, who back in his Xray heydays used a flip flop coloured body with underfloor lighting and chrome wheels to still win the race but having fun doing so.
The second is Chris Grainger for whom I have nothing but respect both from an engineers’ point of view, but also from a teammates’ perspective.

And I am in the lucky situation to call my childhood heroes friends now which is one of the wonderful sides of our hobby.

ETS:
And finally – if you could change one thing from your own RC history, what would it be?
MH:
Not having that stupid bowl hair cut when I won my ETS Stock Title. That was not a cute look …

ETS:
Thank you for the time – now we give you a chance to thank anyone else you haven’t done so far!
MH:
It’s been a blast!

And thanks to anyone who actually managed to read the entire interview which turned out to be a lot longer than I thought it would.

Lots of Love
Martin & Jack

Today`s guest in our series of „ETS Family Interviews“ is Loic Jasmin from France.  Loic is racing at almost every ETS and we asked him about his RC racing program and his private life in the northern region of France!

ETS:
Hello Loic, and a warm welcome to our series of “ETS Family Interviews”. When you followed some of our interviews until today, you might know the first question: How are you and your family doing and how is the situation in your hometown Longwy at the moment?
Loic:
First of all, thanks a lot for having me and continuing your super nice series of interviews, really appreciated to be a part of it ! Everything is going well for us here, life is finally returning to a normal situation the last few days, slowly but safely. We still have to take care and respect the restrictions, that I completely understand, but it’s nice to finally be allowed to visit my family and friends and to do things outside the house, others than only cleaning it or taking care of the garden…

ETS:
What is your job and how is it affected by Covid-19? Are you able to work in your company or from home office right now? 
Loic:
I am working as an engineer-adviser in a Luxemburgish office specialized in renewable energies and all the technical stuffs (heating system, sanitation, electricity, lifts, etc…) you need in a new building. Basically, I am drawing plans together with the architects and then planning the stuffs lists. Then, I am visiting the building when the companies are working in to check and control if they did wrong, but I’m not this guy that everybody don’t like because he’s always complaining about!
Luckily I was able to work at 100% from home the first 5 weeks, almost nothing changed in terms of amount of work, only the fashion style was quite different (if you see what I mean…) But since May, I am working half a week at the company office and I have to say it’s finally quite enjoyable to go there sometimes!

ETS:
We know that your older brother Mika is also racing RC cars. Is he the person who brought you close to the hobby or was it you who got him hooked up in RC? At what age you started with your first RC car?
Loic:
Mika is definitely THE person who brought me in this hobby back in 2001, 19 years ago, as he started first ! At that time I was not passionated by RC-cars actually so I did not race at first and I just followed him at some club’s races, watching and helping him a bit, for almost one year. Once he let me try his own car and then everything started: I got my first RC car the next Xmas and I was already almost 15 years old, which is quite late compared to many others. I can’t thank him enough for what he did at the very beginning for sure but mostly after the loss of our dad back in 2008. Since then, he always has eyes on my results, always sending me a text during a race, always supporting me. He’s sometimes garish but I feel lucky to have a brother who is so much involved and passionate by this hobby and he is mainly the reason why I’m still playing toys at 33.

ETS:
Do you remember your first car and the feeling of driving around with it?
Loic:
My very first car was a TAMIYA TB-01 with a Ford Focus bodyshell and M2 grip tires. The first time I drove it was already in Longwy, Cosec. At that time, we raced directly on the ground of the hall without any carpet. Traction was very low and it was more about drifting but I loved this car, so much fun. I still have it at home!

ETS:
How long after you started driving RC cars you hit a racetrack for the first time? Did you become a member of your actual club MRC Longwy at a very young age or later during your RC career?
Loic:
I straightly drove on a racetrack at my very first race, and I becamea member of the MRC Longwy club at the same time. I’ve always been a member of this club since day one (and hopefully it stays like this forever) and since my brother has taken the official chiefship, I really started to be involved at 200%. This club means a lot to me as this is kind of a “Family Affair” as we know each other for many years and that’s one of the secrets of our success I guess!

ETS:
At one day you might have noticed that you maybe have “a little bit more skills” than some others!  What was your first memorable race result which you now think gave you kind of a boost for your future in RC?
Loic:
Maybe when I won my very first RC race with 2 laps in front of the top-driver of the club. For sure, it was a boost, not only for me but also for my dad who was not totally convinced by the RC-cars as he was more a real 1:1 motorsports lover and this decided him to invest more time and money for me in this hobby. I can also remember my first A-main at the Euros in France in 2007. This gave me a huge boost for my future as well!

ETS:
When we look at your list of titles and great results today, we can see the amount of eight French TC National Championships and one in the 1:12 scale class. In which year did you win your first one? Can you remember where it was and who stood beside you onto the podium?
Loic:
I got my first French TC National title back in 2009. I don’t remember who finished 2^nd and 3^rd, sorry!

ETS:
How are the French nationals held? Is there a series of races which get added together or do you have to qualify during the year for one deciding main event? How would you rate the competition in 1:10 scale electric onroad in france?
Loic:
The French Nationals are a series of 5 races all around the country, with 4 out 5 counting at the end for the overall ranking. It’s a 2-3 days event at every race, so this makes the season long, exciting and exhausting but really fun at the end! The competition is really good actually, with many experienced and talented drivers – most of them getting already many strongs results at the ETS, ENS or EFRA races – like Lucas Urbain, Cyril N’Diaye, Antoine Brunet, Alexandre Laurent, Alexandre Duchet, Remi Callens, Thomas Vigneron, etc… Races are always close and interesting, and the atmosphere is super nice as we know each other for a while.

ETS:
Your national title in 1:12 scale was a single event accident, or did you race 1:12 scale more often in the past?
Loic:
I raced 1:12 scale for 3 seasons I guess, 8-10 years ago. I even made the 2012 Worlds in Heemstede. It was fun but I did not had time to focus more as touring car racing is taking already all my free time!

ETS:
In 2012 you qualified for the A-Main at the IFMAR worlds in Heemstede/Netherlands where you finished 6^th overall. The field of drivers was second to none and the competition was extreme as it was a world championship race. Tell us a little bit about your memories from these worlds?
Loic:
That is one of my best RC memories for sure! I was already racing for Yokomo at that time and they sent me the BD7-prototype a few days before the event. I did not have enough time at home to get the car 100% ready, so I spent the one-day break in between trying to finish the car, the bodyshell, setting up the car and the new speedo from LRP as well, with the help of my friend and mechanics for this race, Kevin. When the first practice started, of course many things on the car were wrong and so was the setup. The first and a half day were not the best, until I copied Dominik Fleishmann’s car setup. After that, the car was flying! I did not change anything on the car for the rest of the event, even not rebuilding shocks. Q1 came and I scored a P6. So good! At the end, I qualified P8 thanks to the Q6-story with the rain, where I had to wait for 1-2 hours for the final decision to maintain Q6. I also remember the drivers’ presentation where the A-main drivers were called one by one, taking official pictures in front of the rostrum and finally have a walk around the track: I really felt like a rock star for a few minutes! That was really fun and I will always remember.

ETS:
Then, in 2018 you finally showed up in the A-Main again at the IFMAR worlds in South Africa. The facility there looked great and the racing was good as well. What would you say, how far has RC racing changed in development of the cars, electronics, tires and other stuff compared to 2012 when you raced your first worlds A-Main?
Loic:
The 2018 Worlds was held in one of the best facility I ever went. Everything was crazy good organized and it’s really a shame that many drivers/sponsors did not want to send their drivers there! Compared to 2012, for sure many things changed and improved a lot, sometimes in a good way and sometimes in a bad way in my opinion; even if in 2012 it was still not as hardcore as nowadays. Every things became easier and more accessible at some point for the new /“standard” drivers now but on the same way, it’s also becoming really picky as every details is counting and everybody is looking for the tiny details that makes you win thousands and can make the difference on the track.

ETS:
Beside the IFMAR worlds, which is the highest rated “single event race” for sure, the ETS has established itself as the world’s most important racing series for 1:10 scale electric touring cars.
As you are racing in the series since many years now, what in your opinion makes the ETS so special for so many people?
Loic:
In my opinion, the ETS series is so special for many because on one side, you can see the best drivers in the worlds racing against each other SIX TIME a year! Sometimes, when you are not too bad, you can also racing against them or if you f*** up, you can still be at least in the same ranking list! On the other side, on the same event and racing on the same track, you have also many “hobby” drivers who can fight for the win in the multiple classes that ETS is proposing, so everybody can find the best class for himself to enjoy the race at its best. Rules are quite simple and always related with the current situation. The atmosphere is also clearly one of the best, with Scotty making the show whatever main is running, and all the drivers feeling like they are winning big! It’s always hard to find the good balance between “hard competition” and “hobby” on a same event and the ETS series is clearly doing well.

ETS:
After a successful 2 years stint with Awesomatix you returned to your previous chassis sponsor Yokomo in 2020. On the electronic side you are a part of the LRP factory team since a very long time now. Can you tell us a little bit about working with the LRP team?  What do you think is the biggest benefit from staying with a sponsor or a product line for a long period of time?
Loic:
I have the chance to get the support from LRP and Jürgen Lautenbach for almost a decade now. Working with him is always rewarding as he is one the best in his job and his knowledge is incredible. We are talking quite often about the settings and improvements we can do. He always takes care of his drivers during an event (or even a practice session), watching our runs, asking how the electronics is feeling and giving his advices and his point of view about the changes. Then I’m trying to give him the best feedbacks to keep moving forward. We improved a lot the last few months and this is the results of our LRP teamwork.
For sure, staying with a sponsor for a long time gives many benefits. To me, the biggest is the confidence in all the ways, making things easier and respectful for both sides. You cannot win alone and the confidence you give and you get from a sponsor is one the most important key to success.

ETS:
Your club, the MRC Longwy, is organizing the Longwy Winter Series and the very famous GP3F race which is one of the first big indoor races in January each year. Is the GP3F your favorite event because it`s held in your hometown or is it more stressful for you than other races because of the work you have to put in setting up the event?
Loic:
Of course, it’s my favorite event! (Not objective). I really like to race at home in front of my family and friends. This gives me more confidence and makes me more relaxed. While it’s always a bit stressful before the event, as I have to help the guys to prep and set up everything for the event itself and at the same time preparing my RC stuff for the race, I’m always enjoying the race itself as a driver. I have the chance to be able to focus on my race and taking care of (almost!) nothing during the event like a normal driver as Mika and the guys are doing an outstanding job. But after A3, I have to help them again!

ETS:
Which driver you like watching the most  when he is driving on the track? Did you had an “RC hero” when you were young?
Loic:
I cannot name only one driver, as there is nothing sexy and exciting when a driver is driving alone. I would prefer to mention more than one, with Ronald, Marc and Bruno. These 3 guys showed us some memorable races! I was already too old to get an RC hero!

ETS:
Do you prefer carpet or asphalt racing?
Loic:
Definitely asphalt racing! Carpet is way too stressful…

ETS:
What is the best RC track you have ever driven on?
Loic:
I would say RCS Bangkok at the 2008 Worlds. Shame it does not exist anymore, but it’s still my best track on VRC!

ETS:
Do you have other hobbies outside the RC racing scene?
Loic:
I like doing sports : I’m playing a lot of Badminton, 2-3 times a week and also running, 1-2 times a week as well, depending on the motivation!

I also like gaming when I have free time, like during the lockdown for example. When I was younger, I was used to play a looot.

ETS:
Do you follow other sports or support any kind of team around the world?
Loic:
I’m a fan of motorsports racing in general, Formula 1 and MotoGP especially as these are the most publicized but I can watch whatever having an engine and making some laps around a track with a chronometer. Basically, I like competition!
I also like Football (Paris-Saint-Germain) and Tennis (Roger Federer) as well!

ETS:
Your friend Lucas Urbain told us, that he doesn`t like cheese which is kind of unusual for French people! What about you? How does your perfect meal look like?
Loic:
Just look at us and compare both : You can easily see which one is liking cheese!
Even if I’m French, Italians food is the best, and especially the pasta from my mum!

ETS:
When we finally can return to the racetracks, what are your goals in RC racing for the future?
Loic:
My goals are just to be back in the A-main as much as possible, with the 202(0)1 Worlds being the most important of course! Competition is tough nowadays with top7 always locked by the same drivers usually, so places are quite limited but I will do my best for sure!

ETS:
What would you recommend to younger people when they just started RC or when they want to try it out?
Loic:
They need first to enjoy it and take the time to improve step-by-step. For the youngest, they need to work well at school to convince their parents to buy all the stuffs and to travel and race.

ETS:
Thank you for your time and for being a part of the ETS family for such a long time Loic! We wish you all the best and we look forward to see you soon on the track!
Loic:
Thanks for the nice interview and also thanks to all of the ETS series’ crew for the job they are doing since a while, giving us the possibility to enjoy our hobby at its best and race all around Europe with friends. Take care, and I am looking forward to play cars very soon! Danke Ciao!

This week the guest in our series of “ETS Family Interviews” is Awesomatix team manager and one of the best Stock Touring Car racers of the last years – Mad Max Mächler! Find out when RC Car became more than a hobby and he finally ended up in leading the Awesomatix team.

ETS:
Hi Max, welcome to our series of interviews!  Firstly, we will just start by asking how you are doing in these strange and often difficult times?
Mad Max:
First of all, thanks for the interview! Currently I am doing well, and hope everyone of our RC Racers community is too. The whole situation isn’t easy for anyone, but we need to take it and do the best we can.
As my very little hometown is in middle of “nothing” with a lot of nature around, the limitations don’t feel so bad like in bigger cities.

ETS:
Obviously, as most people know, your job is really as the main Awesomatix representative in Europe and the official Team Manager for all your drivers.  Would you be able to explain what (in more normal times!) your day-to-day work consists of?
Mad Max:
I’m in a very lucky situation to have had the chance to transform my hobby into my actual job in 2018.
My main job is working at RC-KleinKram (RC-Shop) where I am doing mainly customer service and taking care about Awesomatix related tasks. In cooperation between Awesomatix and RC-KleinKram as official German Distributor my job includes the Awesomatix representative and Team Manager role.
As I am in very close contact with Oleg (The genius behind Awesomatix!) and all my team drivers, I bundle all the important information for both sides and allocate them. Taking care of the team drivers needs and requests, as well as organize for example the pit area at bigger races for the team and also racers who wish to pit with us, is just another task of many.
Furthermore is development and testing and important part of my job to further improve the products.
Because we all know: “stagnation means regression”

ETS:
And then, what is happening for you with work now, with the lack of racing around the world?
Mad Max:
In the current situation my tasks just moved more to the customer service area. In these times we receive a lot of requests about parts and products, as people have time to dig out the RC stuff from the past or want to buy something new to enjoy the lockdown time at home.
Beside this we still work on future project as well as on the finalization of the Awesomatix A12 1/12^th scale car.
 

ETS:
How are you personally finding things now with no racing?  What are you doing in your “free time”?
Mad Max:
Feeling pretty OK currently, as I had the feeling of an “racing overload” towards the end of 2019 and beginning of 2020. The break will help to gain back power and motivation for racing.
I my free time I work on a very special project which I have in mind for quite long time.
The plan is to “go live” with this project in 2020! I can’t tell more about it by now, beside that it’s clearly RC related.

ETS:
Let’s go back to happier times and think about racing in better times.  How did you get started in R/C?  What are your earliest memories of racing?
Mad Max:
It’s all my father’s fault (laughing).
I was like 4 years old when my father bought himself a Tamiya TA-02 BMW 318i STW kit which we raced on a parking lot. I was fascinated and wanted to have my own! In the same year, Santa Claus was very pleasant and brought me a Tamiya Fighter Buggy. After some time, we checked for clubs and tracks around us. We found the indoor asphalt track with included hobby shop called “MTC Schäfer”. We joined the club and practiced and raced there for several years. Today this hobby shop is transformed to an own RC brand and called “SHEPHERD”.

ETS:
We’ve seen from pictures you posted on Facebook over time that you did a lot of racing in the HPI Challenge in Germany.  How are your memories of that time and those racing events?
Mad Max:
Basically the whole racing thing started for me in the LRP-HPI Challenge back in the days.
My first race with around 5-6 years was in the HPI MINI RS4 class at MTC Schäfer track in Sandhausen.
I collected a lot of experience in this racing series by attending for several years in different classes.
Great memories, especially to the biggest events of that time, called the “Touring Car Masters” in Eppelheim.
See guys who travel from Japan or USA to Germany to race with RC Cars was super impressive for me, and I had always the wish to do same. Travel around the world and race rc cars!

ETS:
So that leads on to the next obvious step – how did you then end up driving an Awesomatix, and working for them?
Mad Max:
In 2012 my current club had still an own indoor track where Freddy Südhoff visited us often for practice and testing.
At this time, I used another car brand and was close to quit the hobby. But Freddy convinced me to try the Russian car and give racing another chance. I switched to Awesomatix in 2012, right before the ETS in Mulheim-Kaerlich (Season 6, Rnd.1). My first ever run with this car was the free practice on Friday morning. The car was like a bullet from lap one, just super impressive. At the end I finished 5^th overall in the ProStock class and made my first ever A-Main at the ETS!!!
After this race, I sent an email to Awesomatix, to say thank you for the masterpiece of an rc car which helped me to claim an ETS A-Main and keep me in the hobby. After this I had regularly conversations with Oleg and we became very good friends also outside RC. From 2011 till 2014, Freddy was the Team Manager of Awesomatix (till he switched to HB). At the end of 2014, Oleg visited me in Germany for a test week at my local track.
There he asked me if I feel ready to be the future Team Manager of his Brand. This all moved along till today and got more serious year by year.

ETS:
For you, thinking of all your time in racing, what changes are the most obvious to you?  Maybe with all the improvements in technology, is there anything that perhaps isn’t so good now?
Mad Max:
Most significant improvements IMO: 2,4ghz Transmitters, Brushless Motors, LiPo Batteries, pre-glued tire sets.
Also the RPM limit for handout stock classes is a great thing! But I see some negative points of racing which don’t relate to “technology”. I know some will disagree with it, or don’t like what I say, but I don’t fear to speak out loud my own opinion. I see a problem that bigger events need too much “days off”. In the past we had 3-day events. Nowadays they are often 4 days which means including traveling ~5 days. But the average of racers is limited with holidays at work. It’s a huge difference for the most, if they need to spend 2-3 days of holiday or only one! Another point is the weather fact. Nobody can influence on the weather, that’s obvious (well China and Russia are somehow good at this). I would love to see if more races and events would work on “rain race rules”.
If you look to the cost of a “wet car” and compare it with the costs to travel to races its kind of minor. Waterproofed electronics do exist and work very well. For sure we need to take care of the safety aspect for the participants and all the staff, but I think there can be creative solutions to make it work.

ETS:
Going back to your work with Awesomatix, you must be very proud of where the brand has got to now – one of the premier and most popular brands, and one of the most successful too – not bad for what is a very small company compared to the other competitors?
Mad Max:
Yes, I think we did a good job as Team and Brand in the past time. I am hyper proud of the progress and how things went! Awesomatix is still a very unique and small brand, which I think is also part of the success. We can decide and change things faster in case its needed.

ETS:
And your own racing successes have been very impressive recently – what do you look at your own best result or race event?
Mad Max:
Most exciting was the EC win in 2018 and the TITC win in 2019. To win an official EFRA title was always a dream, and it was an incredible feeling to achieve this goal. The TITC race in Bangkok was my first outing in Asia region, which I really enjoyed. Totally new culture, also the race organization and racing style was somehow different.
When I flew over, my goal was to make the A-main. To win this race in the end was a big surprise which I realised first the day after. Had such a great time there with Ryan Maker and Salton Dong who helped me so much at this race!

ETS:
As well as the success of the Awesomatix brand, and your own racing results, you’ve also recently spent more time as a mechanic for your leading Modified class drivers too.  How did that come about?  How did you learn the key skills to be a great mechanic as well as a driver?
Mad Max:
The mechanic thing is something I am used to. I worked long time as 1:1 car mechanic where I wrenched on really expensive and fast cars and highest precision and reliability was key! In RC I had also a very good and strict teacher who showed me a lot of tricks and how a perfect car should be (Marcel Geiger aka. MacGeiger).
The key to be fast on the track is a perfectly built car. This is the needed basis to work further on the setup.
As I am keen to build “perfect” cars, Oleg asked me if I can take care of some cars before events.

ETS:
And do you enjoy that side of the sport?  If you had to choose between winning a race yourself and building the car for another driver to win, which would you take?
Mad Max:
I really enjoy both sides for 100%. Kind of impossible to make a decision on this.
In the end I would choose what’s the best for my Team!

ETS:
In the six months or so before the virus pandemic closed so much down, you seemed to do more racing than ever – even traveling to China for a race there.  Do you think you found the ‘maximum’ it was possible for you to ever do in your racing calendar?
Mad Max:
2019 was a pretty cool year with more traveling than ever! I learned a lot, made many new friends, and experienced many different cultures. Overall, I spent over 120 days on tracks and events for testing and racing.
This was for sure on the upper limit! I had the plan to slow down a bit in 2020, but now the COVID-19 stuff slowed it down even further.

ETS:
And of course, in amongst that, was all the work on Awesomatix’s new 1:12^th scale car.  How did that project start off, and are you happy with the progress that was made?
Mad Max:
Kinda funny story. At the EFRA TC EC in Trencin 2019, Oleg sent me and Freddy a message to make our entry for the 1/12 World Championships. We were surprised, as we didn’t talk about 1/12 before. But Oleg told us he will finish a prototype for the WC and we should attend with it. We received the car 2 weeks before and spent 2 days testing before we headed to the UK. The car already worked fantastic at the first outing, and we improved the performance during the race.
So far, we are very happy with the A12 project.

ETS:
I guess that the shutdown of racing really came at a bad time for the 1:12^th project?  Do you have any ideas on what the next steps for the project will be now?
Mad Max:
Yeah kind of bad timing, but it gives us some time to further refine the A12 with the collected data from the WC and EC attendance. We collected a bunch of useful data which Oleg transform now into improved drawings and design. The release of the A12 is still planned for 2020.

ETS:
Looking ahead then to getting back to racing, which we all hope can happen soon on one level or another, what are you most looking forward to?
Mad Max:
Definitely the company with my team and friends! And for sure testing and racing myself. Nothing frees up the mind more than the 5min (or the very long 8min in 1/12^th scale) on the rostrum!

ETS:
And finally, has this enforced break from racing made you think of any races or events that you really miss, or maybe didn’t make it to yet, and now know you absolutely need to visit soon?
Mad Max:
There are still events on my “bucket list” which I couldn’t attend so far. Some were planned for 2020…
On top of this list is a trip to Japan to visit the Yatabe Arena for a race, as well as meet some of my Japanese friends.

ETS:
Thank you for your time – just to close, is there any last thanks or anyone you didn’t mention you should do??
Mad Max:
Big thanks to my Father who always support me, as well as Marcel Geiger, Oleg Babich, Freddy Südhoff, Salton Dong and Stefan Klein. Without you many things wouldn’t be as they are!
Shout out to all my sponsors for all their trust and support they put into Mad Max!

This week our media team talked to Freddy „The Green Machine“ Südhoff. He is one of the fastest non-professional onroad racers in the world and we tried to find out what Freddy is doing when he is not racing his Awesomatix touring car!

ETS:
Hi Freddy, great to have you here in our series of “ETS Family Interviews”. As we asked all drivers in the previous interviews, we also want to know how you and your family are doing at the moment in this very special life situation. Is everything fine at home?
Freddy:
Thanks for having me here and Hi to all readers! Yeah, everyone is doing fine so far. We try to get used of wearing a mask during shopping and stay as good as possible in quarantine. But that’s how it is. In the end this pandemic will help us all to stay even closer together, thankful for how good our daily life is/ was before and that we can only survive if we all act in concert.

ETS:
Most of the people out there think that RC racing is your job – but that is not the truth. Tell us a little about your real day job and how it is affected in any way at the moment due to the Covid-19 virus?
Freddy:
Right, the past 7 years I was used to be a service technician for industrial diode laser systems which means I travelled through the whole world to install and repair these lasers. The lasers are used for material processing such as plastic welding, soldering, hardening etc. most likely for the automotive industry. It was a great opportunity to get a “view behind the scene” of the big names in the industry. Lasers are used nearly everywhere nowadays. But since mid of 2019 I changed my internal position in the company and work now as a technical trainer/ instructor so all service technicians can benefit from my experience. The amount of travelling before was immense, together with RC I had kind of 40-50 flights a year! Now everything has calmed down and I most likely work only from our headquarter in Mainz, Germany. Currently I am working from home office till at least end of May. But his may change depending on government and company decisions.

ETS:
As we know, you lived in Mainz (Germany) for a couple of years and you bought your own house last year. Have you already moved to the new location? How does it feel to become a house owner at least?
Freddy:
Yes, my girlfriend and I moved around 6weeks ago into our own house, around 15-20min away from Mainz. Not the best time as it was the Covid-19 break out time but together with our closest friends we managed the movement to get done within a weekend. “Luckily” we are all in quarantine so immediately after work we can work on the house, in the garden etc. For sure there are no boring days for the next time! If you finish work on one side of the house/ garden you can start again on the other side.

ETS:
You are racing at the ETS and almost any other major events since many, many years now. When and how did you get started in the RC hobby?
Freddy:
If I remember correct, I started racing around 1999/ 2000. My dad came home from work and told my mum and me we need to come to his car and help him carrying out something from the car trunk (my mum had no idea!). Of course, as a 10year old boy, I was totally excited when I saw the small RC Car and all the equipment. It was a Kyosho TF2 kit, equipped with Aluminium chassis AND gear diff! Seems like nothing changed the last 20 years J The car had two super nice bodys with it. A Mercedes AMG DTM and an Audi TT DTM. Luckily, the beautiful track of MCC Rheda-Wiedenbrück e.V. was only 5min away located from my home. We went there for some “training” and after a super short time I did not want to give the radio out of my hands anymore. So my dad lost his new RC Car and I entered the RC world from that day on!

ETS:
Who was the most important person in your beginning stages of RC? How long did it take you to reach the level which allowed you to qualify for A-Main finals at the bigger races?
Freddy:
I would say it is not fair to mention only one person here. Of course, my parents, as they helped me on the financial side. But also, the club members were very helpful, and I felt integrated immediately. Specially the first chairman of the club at that time, Franz Göllner, who unfortunately passed away some years ago, but also Bernd Wellerdiek (Raceberry owner!) or Christoph and Olaf Thiele and many more. In the early beginning my dad built me a small trailer for my bicycle so I could carry all my equipment by myself. It was not an easy ride to the track as we still used automobile batteries to power up our chargers etc 😀 I was nearly every day at the track, especially during school holidays, drove 4-6 batteries and went home again. At the weekends I tried to race against Christoph Thiele and lost heavily. But he was so kind to help me growing at the track. When I used a Mabuchi 540 brushed motor, he used a 12T brushed and chased me down the track as long as I made a mistake and so on. I really still have great memories to that time and am sure to benefit till today from it! To be consistently in A Mains I would say it took me 6-8 years. The material was more important than today, and it took long until I received the support I needed. I would like to mention here the “Young Diamonds”, not many may remember. But it was group of young German drivers: Christopher Krapp, Yannic Prümper, Felix Bischoff and me. We got support from Orion and Tamiya (if I remember correctly) and if you see were those drivers lined up today, I would say it was a good call from those companies to help us!

ETS:
Now you are one of the fastest electric touring car drivers on the planet and you are in contention for the a-main and the top spots at almost every race you show up. In 2019 you won your first ETS race in Madrid after being very close for many times. What went right at this ETS in Madrid to finally get the job done?
Freddy:
I will never ever forget this weekend anymore! When we (Max and I) checked the weather forecast before the event, the motivation was not the highest. A lot rain was expected and cold, windy weather. But from little pre practice at home, we did know that our car worked excellent under tricky conditions. At that time, we were still the only company with a mid motor concept. From the very first practice run the pace was good and with the help of Max, who takes care of my cars as I am very limited in preparation time due to my normal job, I felt more confident from run to run. And once you are in flow, almost nothing can stop you and from mental power I felt superb. It is still very emotional, and I still get goosebumps when I see the video from A-Main 2. When a dream came true and you are able to win one of the biggest events in the world. As I said to redrc after the race, the competition is nowadays so high and you cannot win on your own, you win as a team. So many things need to come together.

ETS:
As we mentioned before, you are not a full time RC racer. Do you think you could be even faster when you would act as a professional driver, or is it better for you to have a normal job and take some steps away from the RC life during the week?
Freddy:
Very interesting question. For me, mental power is one key for success. Doesn’t matter which kind of sport, but when your mind is not clear, you cannot perform on a high level. So practice will help to get stronger mentally but also more routine in driving. The less you think the faster you are! Also, talent is key to success. If you let Ronald, Marc or Bruno drive with a shoe box, they still will perform on a high level, because they have pure talent and can drive with whatever has a radio!
But I kind of enjoy knowing that after the race, doesn’t matter if I made the A-Main, podium or even win, I can go on Monday morning to work and continue with my “normal” life. As a professional, you have a higher pressure as your sponsors pay your monthly bills and you really need them. On the other side you have to spend many weekends away from home as it is your job, so the private life changes as well. People most likely think they have an easy life, but once your hobby is your job, it won’t be that easy anymore.
I enjoy being semi-professional and still can decide if I want to go racing on the weekend or not.

ETS:
You are a very important part of the successful Awesomatix team which is fully packed with top drivers like Marc, Lucas, Max and many others right now. But you can remember the beginning of Awesomatix as well because you raced with one of their first platforms back then. How would you describe the way of Awesomatix from a newcomer company up to the top of the industry?
Freddy:
It was a tough way. Imagine a single Russian person, engineer, coming from a totally different job has a dream to create his own RC Car without having huge financial support in the background. That’s how Awesomatix was born! Oleg Babich, the man behind Awesomatix. Today one of the best in business if not the best designer. I think we received a lot of laughs in the beginning, especially with the art of shocks, shaft car, floating gear boxes etc. But already in the early beginning, small details made the difference. If Oleg sees that most brands go the same way, he has the ambition to still go his own, different, way. Copy paste is something you cannot find on Oleg’s keyboard. Being part of this development feels great. I stay 100% behind Oleg’s philosophy and I think this philosophy is what the customer likes the most. Going a different way with a big amount of creativity and engineering innovations is key to success. But also, customer support is something what Oleg and the team cares about. We listen to every racer’s feedback and Max as a team manager is almost 24/7 available not only for the team, also for customer support. 

ETS:
As we look on different classes right now, let`s talk about 1:12 scale racing. You attended the last euros in the Netherlands (4^th place) and the worlds in Great Britain as well. Have you ever raced in this class before or was it a start from zero for you? Will you continue to race in this class?
Freddy:
I raced 10 years ago the last 1/12 scale race. The class is huge fun, 8min. precise driving with those little cars is amazing and not as easy as it looks like. Last summer, Max and I got a message from Oleg that we should make our entry for the 1/12 worlds in January ’20. We replied like: “hey, ähm okay, but we do not have a car?!”. Oleg said: “Don’t worry, make your entry”. By the end of 2019, I think it was a race at the Hudy arena, Oleg were present as well and showed me the first drawings. I was stoked. I still don’t know from where he gets this inspiration, but it is amazing. As Max and I at least want to practice one or two days in advance of a World Championship, we tried to push the final development steps and production. So, here we are, 6 weeks in advance of the WC. Driving 10 years ago the last time a 12 scale car (I felt lucky as Max never ever touched a 12 scale car before). So, we went for some practice without any expectations for the Worlds and arrived in Milton Keynes. The event was full success for us. You wonder why, even we did not make the main in Modified? Because racing at the worlds is the highest level you can get. All companies send their best drivers. Without having any big knowledge, we got Max on Podium in Stock and I in the B-Main in modified. But even more important, we collected a high amount of data for further development. The EC in Holland went already a lot better for us so we are on the right way with the car. Of course I plan to continue to race 1/12. Our car isn’t released yet and I am looking forward to it, continuing developing the car and myself in this class.

ETS:
You have raced on a huge number of different tracks during your RC racing career. Which one do you like the most and is your “best RC racetrack”?
Freddy:
I would like to mention 3 different tracks: Apeldoorn, Welkom Arena SA and Luxembourg. All of them are special. Apeldoorn is like a real racetrack. Great curbs, infield with grass. The club takes care on every detail. The Welkom Arena in SA from Antonia is the craziest indoor arena I have ever seen. He put so much effort into this Arena and it’s a shame the number of drivers during the WC there was so low…And Luxembourg? I guess no explanation needed.

ETS:
Who is the best RC driver of all time and who is the driver you like to watch the most?
Freddy:
I don’t want to name only one driver. There are plenty I watched as a kid and with some of them I still have the pleasure to race and sometimes beat them! Back in the days like Baker, Spashett, Hara, Surikarn, Hirosaka or nowadays Völker, Rheinard, Coelho, Hagberg just to name a few. But independent of who is behind the radio, watching races is always fun. Doesn’t matter if A or Z main, seeing drivers racing there pants off without crashing, door to door is what makes our hobby so nice to see. I am sometimes more nervous watching friends racing then racing by myself!

ETS:
The area in which you are living is well known for good German wine. Do you like wine or would you choose a beer instead?
Freddy:
Whatever I answer now will cause discussions privately, so I say 50% / 50%.
As one of my closest friends is owner of a winery, I get a very detailed view into the process of wine growing. I often spend my free time there and help wherever I can such as driving tractor, helping in the vineyard, etc.
Drinking different wine or different beer sorts is a great experience. Everyone’s taste is different so there are always nice discussions who prefer what, what’s the flavor etc.

ETS:
A couple of years ago you made your private pilot license. Where does your love for aviation came from and how does it feel to fly a plane all by yourself?
Freddy:
Already as a kid I was very interested in planes and helicopter. I was amazed how they can “fly”. When I moved to Mainz I found out they have a small airfield where you are able to make the noncommercial pilot license. Immediately after the first seconds in the small plane I did know I want to make this license. So I started to collect some money and finally my dream came true! Flying is a nice adventure and I like to say: A mile on a highway brings you one mile away. But a mile on a runway brings you everywhere. Unfortunately, due to my racing and job schedule, I did not fly for a long time. But I hope to return as soon as possible!

ETS:
When you are not working or racing RC, how do you spend your days off at home?
Freddy:
As I said before, I often help in the winery of a friend. It’s actually very nice to calm down after a busy day at work. Being in the vineyard or sitting on the tractor in the field is always nice. In the evening, after the work we often sit together, enjoy a cool beer or glass of wine (or two) and do some barbecue. As we just bought a house at the countryside of Mainz, we also like to do some nice evening walks and just enjoy the nature. There is plenty to discover!

ETS:
Freddy, it was a pleasure to talk to you and we are looking forward to see you racing with the best in the business for many more years. Thank you for being a part of the “ETS Family” and now it`s your turn to finish off our nice interview!
Freddy:
Thanks for having me here. I hope we are able to return to racing soon. Even big events may not be held soon, make sure to support your local tracks in the near future. They need our racing fees and we all want to make sure they survive these hard times! We lost already a few tracks during the last years.
Stay safe and see you hopefully out there, soon!

This time in our ETS Family Interview, we speak to the multi-time ETS champ, Ronald Volker.  He’s been part of ETS for many, many years already and still competing at the top for the wins – and is the most recent ETS winner after victory in Daun in February.

ETS:
Hi Ronald, welcome to our interview.  I guess we should start with the first question that everyone asks each other at the moment – how are you doing in these strange times, and how is your family keeping?
Ronald:
My family and myself we are alright, a new situation to everybody and we are all waiting to go back to a more „normal“ life again. Hopefully everybody is staying healthy and not too many will suffer from economic problems.

ETS:
People might know you got married pretty recently, and your wife is a cabin crew on Lufthansa – how is it for her right now, we guess she’s not doing much flying?
Ronald:
She isn’t scheduled on a flight in April but they are having more restrictions on duty now unlike in March, with wearing a face mask and having passengers not sit next to each other anymore. It was more critical in March for her or others as proper social distancing wasn’t possible and the whole situation unclear.

ETS:
And with pretty much no racing anywhere in the world right now, what are you doing to keep yourself busy and occupied?
Ronald:
I cleaned up a lot and got my cars ready for the outdoor season waiting to hit the track again.
Lately I find myself enjoying VRC again after not playing it for many years especially in Multiplayer sessions with my (team-)mates it’s more fun than I expected. Holding and using the radio is something I did miss lately.

ETS:
So, you like in Mainz, Germany, which is just outside Frankfurt.  Is that where you’ve always lived?  And I guess it must be pretty convenient for you to live so close to a major airport, since you spend so much of your time traveling to races normally?
Ronald:
I grew up just north of Frankfurt in a smaller city, but that airport was never far away for me which is a very nice benefit in terms of traveling I cant deny.

ETS:
Let’s go back a few years, how did you get started in R/C racing?  What can you remember from the early days of your racing life?  Did you have any ‘hero’ you looked up to then?
Ronald:
My father was doing a bit of RC and slot car racing in the 80´s so eventually I was hooked up early and I already participated at an Offroad race running a Yokomo dogfighter car in 1989 for the first time aged 4.
So theres a big thanks to my father/parents who let me do what I loved since I was young.
We had different kind of national and international RC magazines and obviously Masami was the one who was shown in all of them and of course I admired that.

ETS:
And then, I guess most people really noticed you in 2008 at the Worlds in Thailand where you finished runner-up.  Can you think back to that race and what do you remember from those times of racing on an international level?
Ronald:
Looking back to that race, my mother passed away some weeks before that event after a long disease so the focus wasn’t fully on the WC, but with Reto from LRP and Hara-tun from Hot Bodies I had great support there and came pretty close to the Top with „just driving“. It was a fantastic track and facility with many familiar faces being around already back then.
Beside of this, racing was always filled with tough competition even the cars were slower so that didn’t change.

ETS:
And, shortly after that, you moved over to Yokomo, which has been your home ever since.  Did you always (or even ever!) think that you’d be a full-time RC driver?
Ronald:
Of course it was a dream when I was young but never really thought it was possible until I did join Yokomo in 2009. Eventually becoming a Yokomo factory driver replacing Masami Hirosaka as he retired months before felt simply amazing. Even before that time LRP with Jürgen Lautenbach hooked me up with great support on and off the track from 2006 on which had big influence as I wasn’t too far off retiring from RC as my own budget was kind of limited.

ETS:
Actually, what were you doing before you became a full-time driver?
Ronald:
I went to university studying Social Sciences with the focus I had on market research which eventually was kind of my plan to do. I wasn’t 100% sure if it was the right move back then as this is quite a commitment but there are no regrets whatsoever and I still do enjoy what Im doing.

ETS:
So, back to Yokomo.  Your ‘job’ with them has changed over the years.  Can you explain what your role with the company has been over time – we know until only a few years ago you had Yukijiro Umino as your mechanic and pit man who did a lot of the work on the cars for you!
Ronald:
When I joined Yokomo I must admit I didn’t bring much knowledge with me. I wasn’t too interested in a serious car preparation or setups when I grew up, I was only interested in driving and enjoying being on the driverstand. LRP and especially Reto König already helped me immense to achieve great results while using Hot Bodies at that time which was a huge step for me.
With Umino, he was on another level in car preparation and together with him and his dedicated support we were able to have many successful years like ETS Series Championships and the World Champion title in 2016 which I will never ever forget.
Over those years, I picked up a lot of knowledge, got more experienced and learned a lot from many people also off the track, as nowadays everything is more professional so any details can make a difference.

ETS:
And recently, Yokomo has been through some big changes, with new owners taking control.  What is your role now, and do you enjoy those responsibilities you now have?
Ronald: When Yukijiro Umino and Robert Itoh (who supported us at Yokomo over many years) left Yokomo, I took partly care of the Touring Car Onroad Team and eventually became their International Onroad Team Manager now. When Mr Tom Yokobori retired, who I cant thank enough for giving me to opportunity to become who I am now, the responsibility increased with having more communication and decisions to make while the whole RC industry obviously is having difficulties not only because of the Virus. We need more young kids to enjoy the hobby without leaving soon again but its a difficult task as social media, smartphone and other technologies taking over. Not meant too negative, its just what it is now.

ETS:
As we said, you used to work with Umino, but since he left Yokomo, you had a short time with Hayato Matsuzaki as your mechanic, but now you are by yourself.  How important is it to work with the rest of the team, and do you enjoy having them around you at the races?
Ronald:
Hayato can be a genius and is a great, funny guy, already during the time I worked with him, I did prepare a lot by myself for testing and racing and now I basically do the work on my cars myself with the knowledge collected over many many years.  It makes it easier to work in and with the team when your teammates are also your friends so I cant ask for more as we are having a great vibe there.

ETS:
We’ve seen some drivers racing in more classes, often as their sponsors ask them to help them out in different markets.  But you’ve remained almost totally focussed on Touring Cars.  Have you thought about other classes, and maybe is there any other class you’d really like to get involved in?
Ronald:
I did participate on EOS races, 12th Scale and IC 1/10 events in the past. Its always fun to do RC no matter which class, partly I was successful too (at EOS only with limited jumps as I stopped doing Offroad for like 15 years).
Of course all those classes are still interesting, I follow them all but for the moment there isn’t a serious plan or commitment to do more or any other class rather than Touring Car.

ETS:
With the big break in all the races, do you think that’s come at a tough time for you?  It seemed like you had a lot of momentum through the winter time, winning almost everything you did since about November last year.  When we get back underway with racing, how do you think the break will have affected you, and the other drivers you compete against?
Ronald:
I dont expect that there will be a big change or drop in performance by any of us. Indoor vs Outdoor requires different preparations and setups so I was curious about that but we are all in the same boat waiting and hopefully we are all healthy out of it as soon as possible at least for practice sessions.

ETS:
Some more wider questions now.  What was your favourite RC race you either saw, or were in?
Ronald:
Watching the 60min 2016 1/8 Offroad Worlds final in Las Vegas standing there around the track and just being there was an amazing feeling. Not sure why I picked this but it came first to my mind. About a race being in, the 2016 World Championship in Beijing was the best RC feeling I ever had with all the emotions and joy to become World Champion as this is was of course a lifelong dream.

ETS:
Are there any of your race results you look back on and feel that was “the one that got away”? (I don’t know if this translates into German!  It basically means a race where you feel you messed up, know you should have won or got a better result, or something like that!)
Ronald:
There are always races where it doesn’t go your way because of this or that or you misjudged situations on the track or picked wrong setup ideas, those happened and can always happen but I wouldn’t pick just one.

ETS:
What’s your favourite RC track?
Ronald: Luxembourg, especially since it got a new surface last year. I do like tracks with elevations changes and that track got it all.
The sadly gone Tamiya Raceway USA I would name too as simple as that layout was, it was perfect to race on.

ETS:
In the last section now, a few questions again outside of RC… what do you normally do away from the racetrack or on your days off?
Ronald:
One of my hobbies is playing Badminton almost every week, which I miss beside of RC too.

ETS:
What’s your favourite food?
Ronald: Italian food is the best!

ETS:
Do you follow any other sports or sports teams?
Ronald:
I do follow many many sports whenever I can, not only football or F1.
I’m a Borussia Dortmund fan by the way.

ETS:
Do you have any heros outside of RC, maybe from full-size racing or other sports?
Ronald:
There are lot of heroes or idols out there in the Sports World where you admire what they are doing or what they have done, like Roger Federer in Tennis, Schumacher and Senna in F1 or Jürgen Klopp as a football coach.

ETS:
And finally, we know that one of the best things about ETS, and in fact all racing, is the friends you have at the track.  How much are you looking forward to getting back to a track, not just to race but to see all them again?
Ronald:
A big part of RC are the friends. You simply don’t go alone to a track, you always want to hangout with friends while enjoying the best „hobby“ out there.

ETS:
Thank you very much for your time!  We’ll give you a chance now to thank anyone else or give any other shout-outs you like, and look forward to getting back to the track with you soon!
Ronald:
Pleasure. Big thank you to my past and current sponsors and supporters, my wife, family and all the enthusiastic RC people around to see back on track!

This week our interview guest is from France, his name: Lucas Urbain!
Lucas is well known at every circuit he races and he is not only a very friendly person, his racing skills and his setup knowledge are also very impressive.  Let`s read some interesting facts about Lucas Urbain you probably didn`t know before!

ETS:
Hi Lucas, we are happy to have you here as our interview guest today. As we face difficult times at the moment, we hope that you and your family are fine. How is life going at the moment in your home country?
Lucas:
Thank you very much for having me, truly a pleasure. To be honest, my lifestyle hasn’t been affected much by what is going on at the moment since I still go to work (I work for the national train network so obviously that has to keep going) and whether you call that cocooning, social distancing or just being an introvert I’ve always been fine staying home by myself. I do have more sympathy however for the people who need to be out and around other people, I bet they have no clue how this works and they must go through tough times. We each have our own role play in this, so hopefully if we stick to it we will be back to normal soon enough.

ETS:
You live and work in the northern part of France! As maybe not everybody knows, you are not a full time RC racer. How does the normal day job of Lucas Urbain look like?
Lucas:
As mentioned earlier, I indeed work for the national train network and my job involves working shifts and weekends. It has its pros and cons, on the one hand I’d rather spend my weekends racing so that’s pretty much how all my holidays are spent and not much are left for vacation. On the other hand that leaves me a lot of free time during the week to either be wrenching or going to the track where I can often get the whole facility for myself.

ETS:
As you are part of the ETS for many, many years now, how wo you combine your regular job with racing when it comes to vacations and off-days? Is it always easy for you or sometimes tricky as well?
Lucas:
It somehow works out most of the time. I only had to skip very few big races due to work commitment in the past. That being said, and since I have a limited amount of free weekends each year, I tend to purposely skip smaller races which often include nationals. That is not ideal as far as representing my sponsors at local/smaller events and also prevented me to be a true contender for the national title. In this context I have to set priorities unfortunately.

ETS:
You are a part of the MRC Longwy in France. The club is well known for the Longwy Winter Series and the great GP3F. Longwy is located very close to the borders of Germany, Luxemburg and Belgium and the Winter series is always very successfull with a great amount of entries. What, in your opinion, is the secret behind the success of the races in Longwy?
Lucas:
The #1 reason I believe is pure luck. We are sitting at a crossroads between the countries you mentioned, and the area around our location is likely to have the highest density of drivers in the world therefore we were bound to be successful on the numbers alone. Another reason I would say is we (the club) are racers ourselves so we know how to fulfill the expectations of our attendees. That is obviously reflected on the people we attract, as it is generally high level/hardcore racers that come to our races. And finally, we’ve consistently been doing it for almost 20 years, we have experience and we know what it takes to make it the way it is.

ETS:
Where and why did you start RC racing? Can you remember your first car, club, race, win and stuff like that?
Lucas:
I started back in 2000 in the very same club I am in today. I really wanted an RC car for Christmas after I saw a club race in my hometown, so my parents bought me a Tamiya TA-03F from our local hobbyshop. I entered my first club race early 2001 and kept racing ever since, I am currently in my longest racing hiatus in the past 20 years…

ETS:
When you think back to the “good old days of RC”, is there something that you miss today or do you more like the ongoing development and the technology that we have right now?
Lucas:
I honestly miss the sound of brushed modified motors. Sadly, there is not many good videos online of the mid 2000 where it got pretty crazy towards the end of brushed motors. At the same time, I am glad this is over… Brushless, LiPos, 2.4 GHz, gear diffs, things are a lot easier these days to the point where it is sometimes too easy and possibly and bit less rewarding, but I guess it is for the greater good.

ETS:
You had a good time with VBC before you switched to the Awesomatix team some time ago. Since you are using the Russian car, you have made more A-Mains at the ETS that before. Is it just the quality of the car that makes it easier to achieve these results or was there some kind of “new motivation” coming along with the change as well?
Lucas:
I think my role at Awesomatix is very different to what I was doing at VBC. My goal at VBC was to be involved in building a racing brand from its early stages. As such I had no real expectation at first and we improved step by step. I was never really in the spotlight, so it was extra special when we did well and not a big deal when we were off pace. In the end it was a fantastic learning experience and it made me a more mature driver. Joining Awesomatix has a totally different set of expectations, not that Max and Oleg put me under any pressure, but we know we do have one of the top 3 fastest car (if not the fastest) therefore I’m expected to deliver. Motivation was always there but these days I have the tools to consistently be towards the front. What my time at VBC taught me is that I should not take that for granted and keep working to maintain that good form.

ETS:
Do you practice a lot to feel confident or are you one of those drivers who are only using races as their kind of practice?
Lucas:
Practice is definitely key to success. Drivers who just show up to races and still do well would do even better if they practiced.
Practice takes time and effort though, just doing laps won’t cut it. You need to go to the track with a plan, have discipline and accept that you will not see any benefit in the short term.
As far as confidence goes, sure practice helps you feel good about an upcoming race, but overconfidence is not a good thing either. One can never have everything covered, always expect the unexpected. I could go on forever on the topic of practice, race prep and mindset though!

ETS:
When you are at a big race like an ETS for example, can you describe what makes it so special for you? What are the most special moments for you during these long weekends?
Lucas:
Aside from being a great social experiment in itself, what really drives me during high level racing weekend is the level of competition. I like to go by a famous French phrase that says something along the line of “to overcome without danger we triumph without glory” (A vaincre sans péril on triomphe sans gloire) meaning doing well against fierce competition is a lot more meaningful. Bruno did put it perspective very well in his interview when he mentioned his win against Ronald in South Africa. Despite being a low attendance world, it still felt special to him because he had to dig extra deep while being on the back foot to turn it into a win. Currently, ETS is where the competition is, and aside from the nice dinners with friends at night, to me this is what feels special about it.

ETS:
If you had to choose between winning an ETS, or making the A-main at the next worlds, what would be your choice?
Lucas:
Winning an ETS is definitely harder than “just” making the A at the worlds. But more generally, as a driver you know when you do better than normal and it could very well be that given the circumstances, just making the A, sometimes, feels better than a podium finish.

ETS:
In 2019 you raced in the US at the famous “Reedy Race of Champions”. Tell us about your impressions from that race and how it finally ended for you in the invitational class?
Lucas:
We had terrible weather half the time and I was very jet lagged the whole time. With that said, I still had a very good experience. Heads up racing is very different to what I am used to though, and it is mentally a very tough game. I am not doing particularly well during the finals these days so for that reason alone I am glad I did OK and finished 7^th.

ETS:
Would you like to see a race like that going on in Europe as well on a nice and racy asphalt track?
Lucas:
As a spectator yes. Again, as mentioned before, as a driver the format is very tough, luck is often involved, and you do not always feel as if you are in charge of what’s going on. But it has to be said that it produces fantastic racing.

ETS:
There was one GP3F where you used a very old Losi touring car in a qualifying run and you were able to make the A-main with that car and that run. How can it happen that such an old platform can show such a good pace in today`s racing scene?
Lucas:
To this day I am still not entirely sure why this car was a commercial failure, it certainly was not perfect but it sure was pretty damn fast on the good days. I indeed used a modified version of one of my leftover Losi car at a GP3F and sort of did alright with it, good times!

ETS:
In the past (especially in the last 2 years) the body shell market was kind of crazy with a lot of new bodies coming out almost every month. Do you like the look and the handling of the bodies at the moment or do you wish to be back in the good old “Speed6 and LTC” days?
Lucas:
I might have an unpopular opinion here as I do really like the looks of most of the newer bodies (I said “most” right !?). Given the speed of current TC class, I like the fact that they look like spaceships and I like that manufacturers are starting to embrace it. The good old days were the early 2000s when Stratus and Vectras were the real deal. Back then we did have decent scale replicas of real touring cars. What we had in between was more problematic in my opinion because manufacturers started to bend some lines to gain an advantage while still claiming they were replicas. Sure, we had stability and for a while it was very easy to choose a body, but they were not the prettiest in my view either.

ETS:
What is the race result with the highest value for yourself  and what is the race you will never forget because it was a thriller?
Lucas:
Difficult to say to be honest, but I have very fond memories of 2009-2010 when I broke into the scene during my Losi days by TQing Q5 at the 2009 Euros. ETS Luxembourg 2014 with VBC is still my best ETS result to this day when I finished 4th, also a good memory. But I think the best is yet to come as I think I am still making steady progress.

ETS:
Do you have some special goals you want to reach as long as you will race RC cars?
Lucas:
Yes, short term, if ETS Luxembourg is still a thing by the time we get to it, I really want to give myself the best chance at winning it. In my current form and with my local advantage it may work out in my favor. Long term, still doing RC for as long as I have the will to do it would be nice.

ETS:
There is always a Turtle beside your name on your shirt and on the car, where does that come from and what it`s all about?
Lucas:
Haha ! Well, my car is always mostly green and as a former traction roll specialist I was often the little green car on its roof, looking like a turtle having a rough day…

ETS:
What is the best track you ever raced on? As this is hard to say, you can name two or three if you like!
Lucas:
Apeldoorn – Luxembourg – RC Addict, in no particular order.

ETS:
Somebody told us, that you don`t like cheese. You are from France and you don`t like cheese – really hard to believe! Which of the traditional French food you like the most?
Lucas:
I know right ?! Almost blasphemous considering where I am from ! Jokes aside, every time I travel to the south west of France, near Bordeaux, I have a very good time food-wise, highly recommend!

ETS:
Do you follow any other sports or do you have any other hobbies beside RC?
Lucas:
I do a bit of R/C flying, just to toy around outside of the (too?) serious world of racing. I used to follow a lot of motorsport (WRC, F1, MotoGP) but I lack the time to really get fully into it these days. I also follow a bit of e-sport as I really like the energy and the way it is broadcasted, I believe they do a lot of things right that we could get inspiration from.

ETS:
When we look at the RC hobby, it is noticeable that there are some really big events with a huge amount of entries, but on the other side the regional races have become very small sometimes.
What can the clubs and racing series do (in your opinion) to get more racers  (and more newcomers) to the races?
Lucas:
I consider myself very lucky to live in an area where RC is fairly healthy, with many tracks and races at a reasonable driving distance on a weekly basis. Having said that, our club as well is failing at bringing new blood in the hobby. In the world of instant gratification we live in, it has never been more difficult to convince someone that our hobby is worth it. So to be honest, I do not have a clear answer on that issue at the moment.

ETS:
Lucas, it was a pleasure to have you in our interview series. We really look forward to see you at the racetrack very soon. Now it is your time to end our nice interview session!
Lucas:
Thank you very much for having me involved in it, much appreciated! Absolutely cannot wait to get back to the track!

This time in our ETS Family Interview, we speak to a popular character in the pits, Christopher Krapp.  One of the best “non-full-time” racers in the Touring Car scene, let’s find out more about the German driver and how he can combine RC and his real job!

ETS:
Hi Chrissi, and thanks for taking the time for this interview.  As we’ve asked all the drivers so far, it’s strange time for the world right now, so how are you doing and is the family staying well?
Christoper:
Hello ETS family. Yes, it is a very strange and more importantly unpredictable time and a new situation for everyone around the globe. My family and me personally are very well right now and I hope this will stay the same for the coming days and months.
Let’s stay all positive to be able to get back to our normal life as soon as possible.

ETS:
Some people might not know that you’re not a full time RC driver – so at the moment do you still have your normal job to go to?  What is it like not having RC races on the schedule to break up the ‘day job’ at the moment?
Christoper:
That’s true, I am and I was never a real full time RC driver. The past two years I went back to university to improve my grade for my job commitments and in that time I had a lot of time for my RC-stuff, so it was kind of full time in that time. But last summer I finished my qualifications and went back to a regular job.
People are sometimes surprised when I tell them I am not a full time driver but that’s how it is. It is very strange not being able to race right now as it is normally my compensation from my “normal life”.

ETS:
What do you do for your normal job then?
Christoper:
I am working for a company called “Nordluft”. We are a manufacturer for ventilation and heating systems. My job is to manage new projects and orders. Starting from figuring out what requirements the customers want and then calculate the system power and dimensions. Then try to produce the units and system as efficient as possible.

ETS:
So, without racing, how do you keep yourself busy right now?
Christoper:
I have a wonderful girlfriend and we try to do as much as we can to keep ourselves busy. We have an apartment and a small garden and try to figure out new projects to work on.
Also I try to maintain my RC-stuff in that time now. I think everybody knows how messy a hobby room can get when there are a lot races and meetings. So enough time to prepare and keep everything organised.

ETS:
Where in Germany do you live?  Do you like that area?
Christoper:
I live in the northwest area in Germany. I live in a rather smaller town called “Lohne”. I like my area as we have everything that you need and we have a strong environment in our area. I have 30min to Bremen and 1,5 hours to Hamburg. Not too far away if you want to go to a bigger city.
RC wise it is not the capital of RC, saying it conservative J But I am used since the beginning to travel or drive far distances.

ETS:
One thing all racers seem to love is seeing each other’s RC space at their home.  Have you got a separate room for your RC stuff?
Christoper:
I and my dad share a RC-room in my parents’ house. I moved out of my parents’ house 3 years ago. But I live only 10mins away now, so as soon as I need to do proper wrenching I drive there and do my preparations.

ETS:
You’ve actually been involved in racing for quite a number of years now – how did it all get started for you?
Christoper:
Yes, I do RC since I am 6 years old. As many others, my dad was already involved in RC and he brought me to some RC tracks and I was directly infected. I started in the Tamiya Euro Cup and raced there for a long time and switched then directly into the modified class in the early 2000s.

ETS:
As you went through the earlier years of racing, were there any racers that you looked up to at the time?  And if those guys are still competing now, what is it like to race against them?
Christoper:
I must say that Marc Rheinard and Atsushi Hara were my idols in that time. It was the time were I switched into the modified class and they both dominated nearly every race. For sure I wanted to be as successful as they were. By the way: I think because of Marc the Germans are so strong right now in the Touring car sector. Many young guys looked up to him in that time and pushed themselves to get better and better, so thanks for that Marc 😉
Sure I am very proud to race with such guys now and even beat them. But I am more proud to call Marc and most of the others guys my friends now.

ETS:
As we said, you’re not full time in RC – have you ever had the chance to try to be, and chosen to focus on your full time career?
Christoper:
I had a couple serious offers and chances to do it full time but I preferred the way it is now as a semi-professional.

ETS:
You’ve raced for a number of the big teams in your main racing, and actually all Japanese brands – Kyosho, Tamiya and now Yokomo.  Has it been your plan to stay with Japanese companies?!  What has it been like working with these famous name brands?
Christoper:
It was not on purpose that all my teams I raced for are from Japan. But I am very honored to say that I worked with probably the most iconic brands in the industry. I am very proud of that and don’t want to miss any experience. Every decade with these sponsors had ups and downs for sure. The time with Kyosho and Tamiya has been pretty identical as they are both pretty big companies and it always took time to develop new stuff as there is a respective structure in the companies. As Yokomo is more focussed on the racing itself, it is more flexible to change or even bring out new stuff, which is nice.

ETS:
How would you describe things for you now with your Yokomo team?  You have Ronald Volker as your ‘team leader’, who is scoring some great results right now.  But you’re often showing really close to him in pace – do you work together well?
Christoper:
I must say that I am more than happy with our team. I joined Yokomo on 1^st January 2017 and we had great success since then. This wouldn’t be possible with a great team behind me where I can call nearly everybody as my friend. I think as a racer it is probably the most important part to have a good team “behind you” and everybody supports everyone and believes in you. I also want to name and thank Bernd Wellerdiek (Raceberry guy) for always supporting me and stay by my side since the early stages!
Ronald is very important for us. For me he is the most courageous driver. He practises a lot and we are nearly every day in contact to discuss all things. As I am not able to practise a lot due to my job commitments, I can profit a lot from the Team and especially Ronald’s experiences. I think we both together are a strong force but surely I want to get the best possible result for me personally and I showed that already.

ETS:
What race result are you most pleased with if you think back on all your racing?  Is there any race that really stays in your mind?
Christoper:
There are actually many races which I am very proud of, starting with my Tamiya WC title in 2007 or my ETS win in Gran Canaria 2012.
But two races are standing out a little. First is the German TC modified nationals in Burgdorf, 2004. It was the first time I got in the A-Main with an age of 12.
Second is actually every Reedy Race held at the Tamiya track in Los Angeles.
But more important, I want to make even better memories in the next years.

ETS:
What has been the most fun or exciting event you can remember being too?  Maybe something you’d like to go back and experience again?
Christoper:
Some old ETS events had been really funny with crazy moments. I remember the ETS in Gran Canaria or Riccione where we went partying. Nowadays it is a bit more serious but I wish we could have that crazy stuff again and enjoy the off track moments even more.

ETS:
What’s your favourite event you’ve been to, and what’s your favourite RC track?
Christoper:
Favourite event: Reedy Race at Tamiya track
Favourite Track: Tamiya track and Apeldoorn

ETS:
Do you ever get to go to ‘club’ races now?  What local tracks do you visit?
Christoper:
I actually never go to club races anymore as I don’t have that much time for it. I used to race at our local track in the past but it got shut down some years ago. When I practise, I am driving to Hamburg or go to the West of Germany/Andernach.

ETS:
With most racing stopped around the world now, are you enjoying the break, or wanting to get back on the track soon?
Christoper:
Definitely want to go back racing, especially now when it gets warmer outside.

ETS:
With your friends outside of RC, how do you explain to them what you do?  Do they think it’s strange, or have you got anyone else into racing?
Christoper:
I’ve got no close friends racing. But it’s always funny to explain what I’m doing and it nearly always end’s up with showing a youtube video about it because they can’t believe it and they are always surprised how fast these things are. I think there is a lot potential in our advertising in general because the hobby is so good for especially our young generation, they just have to notice the hobby better.

ETS:
And when you like to relax, what do you do?  Have you got a favourite restaurant you go to?
Christoper:
I like to enjoy life with going out having some drinks with friends or hanging out somewhere, taking holidays, visiting and explore interesting countries and places, being active by making sport or just being lazy and watching a good film.
I don’t have a typical favourite restaurant. I like testing out different restaurants.

ETS:
And how about other sports – are there others that you play yourself, or others that you like to watch?
Christoper:
I used to play a lot table tennis and tennis. But not that much anymore since I had a disc prolapse two years ago. Since then I also go swimming, ride my bike a lot and go to the gym. I like to watch every sport basically on TV.

ETS:
We know from Instagram you’re a football fan – what’s your favourite football team and your favourite player?
Christoper:
100% Borussia Dortmund as a Team and Marco Reus as a player.

ETS:
How do you see the future of RC, and in particular the ETS series?  We obviously all hope we can get back to the ETS events soon, but what about longer future – what might you want to change if you were in charge?!
Christoper:
I see the future of RC bright. As I am an optimist I see the bright side of the hobby as it is such a versatile and beautiful hobby. The main problem I see is that the younger generation doesn’t even notice about our hobby. So my wish would be to bring the sport to a bigger audience.
Concerning the ETS I think they made the right changes with implementing more easy and simple classes like the FWD class. I personally wish they go back to 4 asphalt races and to countries like Spain or Italy.

ETS:
Thank you very much for your time!  To finish off, we always give you a chance to say thanks to anyone else you want to – so it’s over to you to end things!  See you at the track soon hopefully!!
Christoper:
Thank you very much and I can’t wait to see all you guys back at the track!