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!

It is time for another “ETS Family Interview” and today we speak to the very well-known Xray factory driver Alexander Hagberg (30) from Sweden! Alexander is one of the most successful touring car racers and we can call him “The Master of 1:12 Scale” of the last years. Let´s read what we found out about the life of Alexander Hagberg!

ETS:
Hi Alex and welcome to our series of “ETS Family Interviews”. We are all facing hard and special times at the moment with the Covid-19 virus affecting the life of almost everybody. How is the situation for you and your family at the moment in the UK, we hope that you are all doing fine?
Alex:
I am doing fine, and so is my family. I am “working from home”, which is a bit hard to do as a professional RC racer. But I’m keeping myself busy with social media, producing content for my YouTube channel, and responding to customer’s questions. I’ve also started running VRC PRO to keep my reaction and concentration levels up to par! My wife is working for the NHS here in the UK. She is working in the ICU unit at the hospital, which is now exclusively for COVID-19 affected patients. Needless to say, she’s having a very tough time right now, and I have my biggest respect for the work that she’s doing. At the moment, we are all doing fine, but we are taking it day by day, as nobody can know exactly what the future holds, or when the curve will start to flatten.

ETS:
We all know you because of your very successful RC racing career. But in 2017 you got married with Joana and now you have a 15 month old son Francisco. As you are still winning big races, the family life seems not to “slow you down” at all! How do you organize your family life in combination with the many races you are doing all around the world?
Alex:
Just like with everything in life, it’s about finding the right balance. When I’m at home, I try to make use of my time, to be able to spend as much time as possible with my family. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to be away as much as I am, but we are making it work. I feel really lucky to have the life that I have – I wouldn’t exchange it for anything!

ETS:
Let us travel into the past to learn about where your RC journey started. You grew up in Sweden so tell us how old you have been when you got your first transmitter in your hands. Was it just a toy or did you start racing directly in one of the Swedish RC clubs?
Alex:
I started with RC because of my dad basically. He was racing Formula 3 and rally in the 1970’s, so I always had a natural interest in cars.
I started driving a Kyosho PureTen which I borrowed from my cousin. I just raced it up and down the street in front of my house! Eventually we got introduced to the local carpet track, by a salesperson at our local hobbyshop. I was 10 years old at the time. We raced locally and travelled around in Sweden for the first few years. The class at the time was touring car on carpet.

ETS:
Can you remember the first time you attended an RC race? If so, which class did you race, which car did you use and which result you finally achieved?
Alex: Even though touring car was my very first class, ironically enough, I drove an Associated RC10B3 2WD off-road car in my first ever race. It was off-road on carpet, using foam tires! I finished 5^th. I believe but there were less than 10 entrants in the class, since touring car was already taking over from off-road.

ETS:
Did you have a good friend or a family member who helped you in the early stages of RC racing when you were young and not a sponsored driver?
Alex:
Except for my dad, who worked on my cars until I was about 15 years old, another important person for me in my early years was Andreas Myrberg. He was the top Swedish and XRAY driver when I grew up, and he was a big mentor and friend for me. And still is, to this day. Thanks to Andreas, I ended up racing for XRAY in the first place!

ETS:
Sweden is a really big country and the distances can be huge. Did you have a lot of tracks and races in Sweden or did you have to drive hours and hours to get your car down on a nice track for practice?
Alex:
When I first started racing, there was a local carpet track in the city where I lived, Uppsala. But eventually, that track got closed down, and we had to start driving further to practice and race. I spent countless hours in a city called Eskilstuna, in the middle of Sweden. They had a big permanent indoor carpet track for many years, and I just loved it there. A lot of my practice and racing until 2009 took place there.

ETS:
How was the feeling for you to race at your first international events before you became the well-known Alexander Hagberg of today?
Alex:
When I first started racing outside of Sweden, back in 2004/2005, I definitely had a hard time to keep up with the best drivers. It took a couple of years to get used to the pace of the international racing scene. I am thankful for my father who happily brought me to those events to gain experience though. In 2004, I raced at the DHI Cup, LRP Masters as well as the European Championships. One must have in mind that there were A LOT less international events on the calendar than it is today. So those three events which I just mentioned were the main events of the season in Europe. My first decent international result was at the LRP Masters in 2005, where I qualified in the B-main, together with some strong names.
I made my first international A-main at DHI Cup in 2007. I just made it, in the 10^th spot. I remember I was extremely satisfied, almost in disbelief. Any racer that’s achieved some kind of success will understand the feeling that goes through your mind at a moment like that. From then on, my results started to become better and better, as I grew more confident, and also got faster for the years that followed.

ETS:
Which was the first company who offered you kind of a sponsor deal and how did that feel?
Alex:
XRAY was my first chassis sponsor. I raced for the Swedish XRAY distributor, Minicars, already since December of 2003. But I got offered a direct sponsorship from XRAY in 2005. And as you know, I’m still with the same company today. I am extremely grateful to the Hudy family for everything they’ve done for me over the years.

ETS:
At one time you got the chance to race RC cars as a fulltime job and as a factory driver for Xray!
Was it easy for you to decide that this was exactly what you wanted or did you use some kind of a “pro and contra” list to make your final decision?
Alex:
I had the opportunity to become a paid driver (professional) in 2011, as XRAY offered me a renewal of my contract, with a salary. But I had to choose – if I wanted to study at university, or commit all my time into RC. My original plan was to become a journalist, as I always liked writing. I had already started my first term at the university when I got the offer from XRAY. To become a pro was a dream coming true for me, so I can’t say that it was an easy choice, but I don’t regret my decision until now!

ETS:
Now, some years later you get paid for racing and you are travelling the world to race 1:12 scale and touring car at the highest level! Do you always feel some pressure when you fly to Asia, Australia or the US for a race that you MUST win or do you stay calm and more relaxed to achieve the best results for you and your sponsors?
Alex:
Of course, there is always pressure to do well, not only from my sponsors, but from myself as well. When you are a professional driver, you will always have the eyes on you, no matter where you race. Doesn’t matter if it’s a club race, or a world championship, everyone expects you to win. So there is always pressure to perform, regardless of the size of the race. Ironically enough, smaller events are often the most challenging, as there is always a “local hero” who wants to beat you!

ETS:
You have won a lot of major touring car races in your career, including a European championship, some ETS wins, the Snowbirds in Florida and the TITC in Thailand.  But when we look over to 1:12 scale racing your list of wins is even more impressive with a world championship title and 7 European titles. What is it that makes you kind of a real “benchmark” in 1:12 scale racing?
Alex:
Honestly it’s probably about my passion for the class, as well as the time and focus that I spend on it. Every year, I dedicate at lot of time both on and off the track to try and win the European Championships in 1/12, and it’s paid off many times! I also feel that my driving style is perhaps better suited for 1/12.

ETS:
You have been the top Xray driver for many years, and then Bruno came onto the team and won a lot of races. Do you think, having Bruno as your team mate, made you even better and working harder than before or is it just good for Xray to have two top guns who are able to win big races at any time?
Alex:
Most definitely, when Bruno came into the team back in 2015, it was a big motivation for me to try and improve, and to get even faster. Bruno quickly became the man to beat at every given race, so to have him on the team as a fellow racer, but also as a good friend off the track, has meant a lot for my racing career!

ETS:
At races you always seem to be very focused in the pits and you are very well known for your perfect built cars. Is that attention to detail something that comes along with your character or was there somebody teaching you all these little secrets about wrenching in the past?
Alex:
I always worked very hard on my race preparation, both leading up to an event, as well as during. I feel that I want to give myself the best possible chance to do well when I’m up there racing, so I want my equipment to be in immaculate condition, and my setup to be as perfect as possible. I picked up the knowledge from my teammates, from reading and watching online, as well as endless hours of “self-learning”. I don’t have a background in engineering like many racers do, but I still feel that I have a lot of knowledge and experience which is useful for RC car racing.

ETS:
You don`t have a personal mechanic at the races. Do you just feel better when you make changes and maintenance work by yourself or what is the reason you are doing all the preparation by yourself?
Alex:
For the majority of the events, I work on my own car, yes. If I would have a mechanic, it would be more for the sake of saving some time in between runs, and to rest my mind. I believe that I have all the knowledge that I need to prepare my own car. But it can be extremely valuable for a driver to have a mechanic or a friend help giving feedback from watching the car on the track. For this, I have our team manager Martin Hudy, who always helps out and consults me on setup changes, and how to progress on race day.

ETS:
As we mentioned before, you have won a lot of titles already. When you have to pick one of them as the most important, which one would it be and why?
Alex:
Of all my titles, the most special one for me is of course my 1/10 Nitro World Championship in Bangkok, Thailand. The feeling of crossing the finish line after the 60 minute final was one of the best I ever felt in my life. Its every racers dream to win a title like this, and I feel extremely fortunate to be able to call myself world champion.

ETS:
On the other side, in every racers career there are some sad moments when you lose a race you wanted to win so much! Do you remember a defeat which took you some time to get over in the past?
Alex:
Absolutely. I lost the 2016 Touring Car Euros by less than 0.1s on the tie-break. I also lost the 2018 TITC on the finish line, after a controversial move by a competitor. Both these losses were tough to get over. But as they say, “when the going gets tough”. Every loss also teaches you something.

ETS:
What, from your point of view, makes the ETS the most successful on-road racing series for so many years?
Alex:
ETS is successful not only because of the high level of competition, with all the top European drivers, but mainly because of its function as a social event. People travel to the ETS to meet their friends, and to hang out at these great race venues all around Europe. As a bonus, they get to race cars, and to spend time on the passion which they all share. ETS is not only about the racing, and this is one of main reasons in my opinion.

ETS:
You are producing some videos with tech tips and about products on your YouTube channel and for MonacoRC since quite some time. It seems that your videos are very popular out there and everybody wants to learn from your knowledge! Do you enjoy this part of your job as well?
Alex:
I certainly like to spend time doing that kind of content to social media. I try to be active online on a daily basis to help out customers, and to reply to questions, no matter if you are an XRAY driver or not. The RC community as a whole, benefits from this. Hence why I find it extremely important, but also enjoyable.

ETS:
Back to the track: You are leading a race and somebody is very close behind you. Most drivers get even more nervous when they are under huge pressure. Do you have a special trick to stay cool like special blocking techniques or do you just try to think that you are driving all alone by yourself?
Alex:
With the amount of experience that I have, I have to say that you get more and more used to handling the pressure at races over the years. I remember getting a lot more nervous in my youth. But you need to use the adrenaline and turn it into something positive, not negative. It shouldn’t come to the point where you start getting the “shakes”. But it should help you to stay focused.

ETS:
What is your favorite racetrack for 1:10 scale electric touring cars and why?
Alex:
I enjoy racing at the HUDY Arena Outdoor track. It’s super smooth, has perfect curbing, a nice and flowing layout, as well as a high average speed. It has everything that you can ask for from a track!

ETS:
Do you prefer indoor or outdoor racing?
Alex:
I started racing on carpet, and this is still the most “natural” surface for me, and hence, it’s my favourite.

ETS:
Who was your personal RC hero in your childhood and from which guy you learned the most?
Alex:
Andreas Myrberg was the person that I looked up to, for the reasons that I mentioned in one of my earlier replies. I learned a lot from him!

ETS:
Do you have other hobbies beside RC racing? How is your “perfect day off” looking at home?
Alex:
I don’t have any other hobbies. But I do love cooking (vegan food) at home. When I travel, I mostly eat out. So I do enjoy to cook my own food when I’m at home. And of course, to try and spend as much time with my family as possible.

ETS:
You lived in Sweden, Portugal and the UK until now. Which is your favorite food from each of those countries?
Alex:
Each of those countries has food which I like. But I have to say, the Mediterranean diet was always a favourite. I like the seasoning and the freshness of the Portuguese kitchen. But on the other hand, I do enjoy a nice vegetarian meatball dish from IKEA, as well as a “full English” breakfast!

ETS:
Have you ever thought about the time after your active career as an RC racer? Do you have any other profession or made some plans how your future can look alike?
Alex:
I want to work with RC for many more years if I can, as it’s my great passion. When my professional career as a driver eventually will come to an end, I hope that I can look into other options in the RC industry, to keep working with what I love.

ETS:
You have a lot of fans all around the world following you on social media and on the racetracks as well. What do you tell people when they ask you how to get better and faster RC racers?
Alex:
Practice, practice and more practice. And don’t be afraid to ask the top drivers for advice! It’s the best way to learn.

ETS:
Alex, we would like to thank you for your time and answering all our questions. The whole RC community is happy to have such a great ambassador like you are to promote our great sport!
We hope to see you racing for many, many years and we wish you best of luck for the upcoming races. If you like just give a shout out to all people who support you and to your sponsors as well!
Alex:
Thank you for featuring me on your series of interviews! I want to thank my main sponsor XRAY for all their support, as well as every other sponsor that puts trust in my racing program. I want to thank all my family, friends and fans around the world for all their support and friendship!

For this week`s “ETS-Family Interview” we talked to the one and only Marc Rheinard.
Marc is a fan favorite wherever he is racing and he won multiple championships and titles throughout his whole RC-Racing career. Let`s hear what Marc told us about his life, his RC-Racing career and his plans for the future.

ETS:
Hi Marc, nice to have you here for our “ETS-Family Interview” series. How are you doing in these days where the Coronavirus knocked out almost everything we are used to do normally?
Marc:
Puuuhhh, what can I say, it totally sucks to be at home all the time and not be able to do what I love the most, racing RC Cars! But we have to take the situation the way it is right now, being healthy is the most important thing but I hope that we can hit the track as soon as possible again !

ETS:
Your actual life situation changed after the split with Infinity in the End of 2019. You are now using an Awesomatix car and you are more involved in your brother`s company Tonisport. What are your responsibilities there right now and was it difficult for you to get into that rhythm?
Marc:
It`s different now but I really like the way it is. I’m helping at Tonisport every day, doing all kind of stuff to see all different things to run a company. It´s good for me as this was my plan anyway after my RC career to be with my brother Toni at Tonisport to stay in the RC Industry!
Thanks to my brother and the Tonisport team to take me a part of it earlier than expected!

ETS:
You found a really good pace with your new Awesomatix car very quickly. What is the most noticeable difference from this car to the cars you used before? Is it more easy to drive or what is the secret behind the huge overall success of the Awesomatix platform in your opinion?
Marc:
I didn’t drive too much since my change at the beginning of the year but the car is just brilliant.
The Awesomatix was the car I was always looking up to and I always wanted to race this car one day.
Now I have the chance and I really love the handling of the car, it is so consistent and the car works all the time. I´ve never had a run were I said, Jesus, the car feels bad… it`s always good to drive.
I´m sure the car and myself have a lot more potential than I showed at the last ETS in Daun, so I’m super motivated to go for the next races!

ETS:
When we look back on your racing career, the first thing we all remember is your fantastic win at the ISTC IFMAR worlds in Florida in 2004. Back in these days it was a real big deal as you won against the stars of that era with Masami and Hara and it was the first ever electric worlds title for a German driver! Was it more difficult to win a worlds back then or would you rate the competition nowadays higher?
Marc:
I think back in the day and now, both times were hard to win a worlds. More difficult back then was for sure to have good motors and batteries as the runtime was always a key factor. But competition wise it is the same, always good drivers who fight for the win. Electronic wise it is for sure easier since we have brushless motors and LiPo batteries and the power and runtime is not an issue anymore.

ETS:
The whole technology in RC changed tremendously since 2004. Today the 13.5 Stock Class is almost at the same speed as we had in modified in the early 2000s. Normally all the spec classes should be something for beginners or guys who don`t take racing too serious. Do you think the cars became too fast or do you like the ongoing development which pushes everything up to new limits? 
Marc:
True, the difference between stock and modified especially indoors is not big anymore. To me it should be a bit slower, ETS 13.5T seems good, but the open brushless classes are just pointless as they can also run modified then!

ETS:
When you grew up and started RC Racing, your father Uwe had an amazing facility with the “Motodrom Andernach” and set a real benchmark at this time. Did those indoor and outdoor tracks helped you a lot to become that amazing driver that you are today or would you say that you got better and better a long time after the Motodrom finally closed the doors? Let us also know what you remember the most when you think about the golden days at the old “Motodrom Andernach”?
Marc:
For sure this was a big advantage in my career, as I could drive every day. After school I went many times to the track, just to drive without thinking about setups….! So I really learned to drive all kind of cars, even if they didn’t go straight or felt broken. I really love these days back then with the Tamiya cup we drove since 1994, this really helped a lot. Starting with slow cars and then step by step switching to faster categories.

ETS:
You race a lot of touring car which is your main class (3 times world champion) but you have also won 2 worlds and 2 euros in 1:12 scale and you became European champion in 4WD buggy in 2009 for example. Was it difficult at some point to switch between these classes or to race a 1:12 scale worlds against the best drivers of this class without having a lot of practice before? 
Marc:
Offroad is always different as I’m not used to the jumps!
When I won the euros I had a brilliant car with the Tamiya belt car and it was 90% astro, so I could drive it like a TC car with jumps. I just had to learn the jumps which worked good for me on this track.
1:12 is always fun for me to drive, I love how these cars handle and I drove it already early back in the days. Yes, I’m not driving too much 1:12, basically just the WC the last years but I know how these cars handle and I love to race it, maybe that’s why, I can still be fast without practice?!
But TC is still my favorite class!

ETS:
Are you kind of nervous before you start a qualifying heat or a final or do you always believe in yourself and your driving skills, knowing that you can always be in the mix to win something?
Marc:
If someone says, he’s not nervous before Q1 and A1, he is lying.
It always looks like I’m relaxed,… but I’m nervous going into the race as Q1 is important to get a good start into the event and the same with A1.  The pressure is always there, even if you feel confident you are always nervous in some ways.

ETS:
Your own brand MR33 seems to do very well right now. The range of products constantly grows and the products just look fantastic. How proud you are about this and isn`t it cool to see your own logo on a complete line of products?
Marc:
Yes, it`s nice to see people using my shirts as well as my products in the pits. But the guy behind all this is more my brother Toni and Tonisport. I will try to help more and more now but he builds up my brand and that’s what I am really thankful for!

ETS:
Marc, you will turn 34 this year in November! What do you think how long can a racer stay on top of the game and do you already have some plans in your pocket for the time after your competitive career or do you just enjoy every day as intense as possible doing what you love the most?
Marc:
I´m not thinking to stop in the next years, I have still many goals and I’m sure that the speed is still there to go for many more years! As Ronald is older than me, I won’t stop before he does. I am sure our great rivalry will continue for some more years!
After my career, I plan to be even more involved at Tonisport, I want to stay in the RC industry as this is my passion and I can’t think of a life without RC!

ETS:
Which driver you will call your hardest all time rival on the track and which is the hardest driver to overtake in a 5 minute race?
Marc:
Like I mentioned in the question before, Ronald is the guy nowadays I love to race the most! We respect each other on and off the track, we have similar driving styles and we know how to race!
To pass him is a miracle, I had to notice that again at the last ETS in Daun. I was faster in the beginning than him but he protected his line in style, there was no way to make a clean pass.
Clean racing is what I love.
All time rivals are Atsushi Hara and Ronald Völker!

ETS:
On your Instagram account it is easy to see that you support the football team of Werder Bremen. What makes this club so special for you and who is your favorite ever football player?
Marc:
Not the best timing to ask this question. I love this club since I’m a small kid, no idea how this started as Bremen is 4 hours away from home and there are many good clubs closer to my hometown.
I love the stadium, the whole team, the atmosphere….maybe not the position in the league right now but I hope we will find our way back up!
Favorite player: there is only one person, CRISTIANO RONALDO!!! CR7!

ETS:
Which other hobbies or activities do you like the most when you are not wrenching on  your car or traveling around the globe to race RC cars?
Marc:
I love to play tennis, it`s the best sport and I’m playing tennis since I’m 6 years old and I still love it.

ETS:
You have visited so many places during your career, which one do you like the most and which racetrack you would prefer as the coolest you ever ran on? Is there a place on earth that you can imagine to live instead of Andernach/Germany ?
Marc:
The best track I’ve driven on is the 2008 WC IFMAR track in Bangkok at RCS. A real shame that this track is not there anymore.
I want to live in Germany forever but to have a nice apartment on the best island, MALLORCA, would be a dream! (not only because of the german party area, the island is just beautiful and I love to be in the sun and on the beach!)

ETS:
Can you tell us the secret behind your SEVEN outstanding Reedy Race of Champions titles please?
Marc:
I think this question should be answered by other people who watch the reedy race.
All I can say is that I love to do heads up racing, to fight for every position is what I love.
People who watch me at the Reedy Race say, that I’m patient and not too aggressive, I take my time to find the best spot to make an attack… Maybe that is one of the secrets!

ETS:
When a rookie will ask you: “Which class should I run, what should I do to improve, how can I get sponsored”…How would your answer look like?
Marc:
Start with slow cars, and try to improve you skills. It`s not about a fast car, its more to learn how these cars handle. I would tell them, how I started RC and how long it took to get sponsored.
I started with Tamiya cup FWD and Mini class and these days help you the most to become a good driver! I got sponsored after good results, it was more difficult back in these days to get sponsored than now. Just drive, drive, drive and enjoy the hobby!

ETS:
As we are coming to the end of our nice little interview, is there something you would like to see changing in the RC Industry for the future?
Marc:
In this moment, I would just love to race again and I hope that our industry is strong enough to survive this crisis. I would be happy if we can continue the way it was before.
The only thing I want to see more are YOUNG KIDS coming to our hobby instead of sitting at home and play some stuff on a screen!

ETS:
Thank you for your time Marc, we hope to see you racing for many more years and we will see us at the racetrack as soon as possible. If you like you can give a shout out to your sponsors and most important people on your way to the top of our sports now!
Marc:
There are sooooo many people I need to thank but the most important back in the days and now is my family!
Sure all my sponsors who support me since a long time but the family and friends are the ones who make all this possible!
I hope to see you as soon as possible on track again!

For this week`s“ETS-Family Interview” we talked to one of the best in the business – defending ETS champion Bruno Coelho from Portugal. Bruno had a big impact to the racing scene at the 2014 touring car worlds in Florida and since these days he became one of the fastest racers on the planet!

ETS:
Hello Bruno and welcome to our series of interviews where we would like to know a little more from you then we already do! First of all, how are you and your family doing during these days where the whole world seems to slow down a lot? Is everything OK and how do you spent your time now without any RC racing!
Bruno:
Hello guys! Indeed, we are all living very scary times where unfortunately many people have been already affected. As many countries, Portugal is also in self-quarantine. Most people have been almost locked at home for a while now and as a consequence our RC world is completely stopped. Luckily so far me and all my family are healthy, and I hope it remains like this.

ETS:
Which part of Portugal is your home? Do you live in a bigger city or more on the countryside of Portugal?
Bruno:
I live about 15 minutes away from the center of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, in a small village, which is perfect combination of peace and quiet so close to a busy and fun city.

ETS:
When you remember your start into the RC Hobby, which car do you remember the most and on which track (or RC-Club) did you race with it? 
Bruno:
My biggest memory it is still my first experience with RC. I started in a parking lot close to my house. One day I was passing there, and many people were driving RC cars and my dad stopped by to watch with me. He immediately realized I was super excited with it, so one month later on my 8^th birthday he decided to give me my first RC car, a Thunder Tiger 1/10 Touring Nitro.

ETS:
We remember that your father was with you at your first ETS races and he was also your mechanic! Did he travel with you all the time when you were younger, or did you go to races with other friends or club members too?
Bruno:
My dad used to be my mechanic and sponsor for all classes and we always traveled together (either the 2 of us or with the rest of the family).  I never did a race without him before I started to be professional driver.

ETS:
Did you win and dominate a lot of races in Portugal before you became a “Pro Driver” or would you rate yourself just as a motivated driver with some talent who just found that kind of “switch” in the right moment to became really fast and good!
Bruno:
Yes, I won a lot of races in Portugal and I was sure I had the talent and the hard work to back it up. The challenge was always having the little struck of luck that a kid that live in a country that is not the center of the RC world need. Being from Portugal, with my dad as sponsor and a bit distant from the big RC centers like Italy and Germany meant that all my chances were placed in only 1 race a year, either the World or European Championship dependent on which one was in Europe.

ETS:
What was your regular job at home in Portugal before you became a professional RC Racer?
Bruno:
I was a contract manager for transport trucks. Basically, I was working for a truck company that was renting their trucks to a private people. My job was verifying the trucks, checking if everything was in a good condition according to the contract, planning the services, tire changes, and sometimes if there was something broken on a truck I needed to find out if it was defect or just bad use from the driver.

ETS:
Was there a special race or a specific season of racing where you noticed that you are really good or maybe good enough to do this as a real job for a living or did that just happen by accident?
Bruno:
When I was 14, I won the Junior WC 1/8 On road nitro in Argentina, finishing 12th overall and won the Junior European Championship (15th overall) in Sweden where I was dominating the semi-final where I started 4th and after 3 minutes I was leading by a good gap and I did the best lap of the race, unfortunately my unexperienced cost me a big mistake in the middle of the semi as I crashed. My dreaming came very big that year to be a professional driver. But through the years no company wanted to invest on me. They said that Portugal was a small country so there was no point to sponsor or either to pay the travels as it was too expensive to travel all the time to the big races in the center of Europe. So, I started to lose that dream until I was 21 when finally, my dream came true.

ETS:
Since you race at all the big racing series like ETS, EOS, ENS and also the worlds and euros it seemed that you were able to win big races just from the beginning. What was the biggest difference and challenge for you when you attended more of these big international races? Was it more the racing itself or everything around these events with all the preparation and the traveling which you had to get used to?
Bruno:
Through the years that I was not professional we had limited amount of money for races. Which means that you are limited on the amount of testing and of course limited on the resources like number of engines available or types of tires. So for me the biggest difference is the amount of testing and preparation I can now do and also the fast pace of traveling from place to place to attend all races I need to do.

ETS:
Is it sometimes funny or difficult to explain people who are not involved in RC Racing what your “Job” is and that you get paid for racing with toy cars?
Bruno:
Haha, yes it´s kind of difficult and sometimes embarrassing when someone asks you what’s your profession and they end up not having an idea that RC even exist. Sometimes it’s funny because even when they don’t understand they kind of congratulate you for how far you go, but sometimes it’s really frustrating when that person goes like “really you get paid for that?”.

ETS:
You are now racing at the highest level since 6 years and you have a lot of different sponsors. That must be like a dream come true to get paid to do what you love the most. Which are the real ups and downs doing RC racing as a fulltime job?
Bruno:
For sure my life changed a lot since I´m professional driver, I´m also very sure that is a dream of every RC driver to become professional as we all started this because we love it. The “ups” are the races, new friends, visiting many countries in the worlds, different cultures, new foods, that´s for sure a very positive side. The “down” side is the time that you stay away from your family, girlfriend, best friends and Portugal which is a country that I really love to live.

ETS:
During a regular racing season you race in many different classes from electric touring cars to 1:10 scale offroad and all the nitro cars. A lot of people might know how difficult it is for you to switch between all these classes from week to week? Do you still try to practice a lot for all these classes or do you just use the big amount of races to get your driving on point?
Bruno:
Yes, sometimes it is difficult but I normally get used to it very fast. Honestly, I don´t practice that much. When I´m in Portugal I try to spend most time with my family, girlfriend and friends. When I have some time left, yes, I do some RC but only for fun not really to practice for some specific race. Before the big races I normally practice 2 or 3 days together with the XRAY team in some track.

ETS:
You are using XRAY cars for your complete racing program as you are their top factory driver. Do you think it is a huge benefit to have all cars “out of one hand” in case of support and setup knowledge?
Bruno:
For sure is a big benefit as XRAY shares their knowledge in all different classes. For example sometimes we find something that works very good in 1/10 touring electric and we try it in 1/10 off road electric and it works as well so I´m sure that is very positive to have all classes in one brand.

ETS:
Your mechanic Francesco Martini travels with you to a lot of races and it seems that you work together very good as a team. Some top drivers work with a mechanic, some prefer to work on their cars by themselves! How important is it for you to have somebody around yourself in the pits who you can talk to in case of setup, track conditions, the next round of qualifying, strategy and all these things?
Bruno: 
I think that is very important to have one person on your side to help you not only on the set-up matter but many times also to have a look on the track and discuss about how the car is working, lines, etc. It´s also important that the person on your side is able to be open mind and bring their own vision to a discussion so that more sides are covered.
With Francesco I´m sure that he is not only my mechanic but also a huge friend that helped me when I became a professional racer. He was such a big support when me and my father started in the first years as professional. We didn’t know much about 1/10 touring electric class, it was very new for us, and it was such an advantage to have Francesco sharing his many years of experience from the get go. Eventually Francesco decided to stop driving and started to follow all my electric touring car races. This was a decision that for sure I will be thankful for the rest of my live to him.

ETS:
Bruno, until now you have won many ETS titles, you became a three times world champion (2x4WD Buggy, 1xISTC Touring Car) and you won a 1:8 buggy euros and many more titles. Is there one special title for you who stands over all the others and if so, just let us know why and how it felt to win it!
Bruno: 
All of them were special for me. But I can say that the 1/10 TC World Championship in South Africa and the 1/8 off road nitro European Championship in Portugal had maybe a better “taste”.
The Worlds in South Africa because on the Warm up we had such a big advantage to the other drivers and at the Worlds everything was not running as we expected and in the finals we found out the mistake and we were able to turn the second grid place to a victory, passing two times Ronald Volker that we all know to pass him in one final is already a big “world championship”.
The euros in Portugal because it was at my country, having so many people pushing me, giving me confidence, supporting me and giving me so much reasons to never give up and “fight for the win we  all believe in you”! It´s a great feeling during the final passing the straight line and listen during 45 minutes in the middle of all engines and all your focus a crowd of people screaming your name, making noise. This is something that gives you an extra power and it will be in my memory forever and for sure something that I would like to feel again!

ETS:
When you are not at the racetrack, do you have some other hobbies or things you like to do when you are at home with your girlfriend or your family?
Bruno: 
When I´m not at racing I used to spend a lot of time with my girlfriend and friends. I also have some other hobbies like driving my sport car on a race track, CrossFit, play computer and some other things.

ETS:
Which is your favorite Food and Drink?
Bruno:
I´m a meat lover so everything with meat I really like. I would say maybe a good all you can eat Brazilian Barbecue, about drink nonalcoholic drink I would say Sprite and alcoholic drink Vodka Black with lemon.

ETS:
Do you support a special football club and who is your favorite player?
Bruno: 
In Portugal my club is Sporting Lisbon. My favorite player is for sure Cristiano Ronaldo and I think I no need to say why!!!!! HEHE

ETS:
Is there something you are NOT good at and you absolutely don`t like to do?
Bruno:
Interviews! No, I´m joking, haha. I´m not good at cutting bodies. I hate it.

ETS:
Which of your racing classes do you enjoy racing the most?
Bruno:
I really like 1/8 on road nitro. It´s my favorite class. The fastest and I always have fun driving it.

ETS:
Who was your personal “Star of RC Racing” when you were young?
Bruno:
When I was young for sure Lamberto Collari as I was driving only on road nitro and in that time he was unbeatable.

ETS:
Difficult question: Which RC Track you like the most (Onroad, and Offroad)?
Bruno:
On road it´s very difficult to say, I would say RC Addict in Thailand as a layout, race itself and Hudy Arena as by far the best facilities in the world.
Off road I would say the 1/8 off road Worlds in Australia 2 years ago, I don´t remember the name of the track but I really liked that track.

ETS:
Bruno, thank you for your time and all the information you gave us. We are really looking forward to see you race for many more years with us and we wish you and your whole family all the best.
Please give a final shout out to all of your sponsors and the people you want to say “thank you” to!
Bruno:
I would like to say thanks to my family, special thanks to my father that never give up on me, girlfriend, friends, sponsors that always do everything to make the best result as possible. I´m really sorry about what is happening now around the world but I´m sure that this will pass and we will all get back to the track, doing what we love to do with the people that we enjoy and have fun to be with.