Reflections on RC with Glenn Breugem: This is the second reflections interview for Shadow Racing – RC, again with a driver no longer racing. Sad, but I believe it pertinent to gain an insight from another knowledgeable outsiders view of the RC sport. Glenn Breugem is known to many in the RC fraternity for his racing exploits at a state and national level. He is an interesting character with many traits, predominantly as being a fast RC racer. Starting in the electric classes then moving onto nitro classes he has somewhat recently backed away from the sport. However he has hinted at a return???... Hello Glenn. Thanks for taking the time to give us your thoughts and answering my questions….. Glenn: My pleasure Jase, always happy to answer a few questions. Since stepping away from RC racing do you keep up to date with the goings on in the RC racing scene? If so, what has grabbed your attention? Glenn: Of course, once a racer always a racer! I’ve been following a bit of the EP goings on here in SA. Also IC Off-road Worlds and some of the issues raised before the event by JQ and others (Fuel control/supply etc.). What positives have you personally gained or seen from RC over your many years of involvement? Conversely what negatives? Glenn: RC racing has been great for me personally, the competition and friendships that you build up over the years. My closest friends are all pretty much RC racers present or past (Matt Griffin, Mick Campion, Simon Camilleri, Jeff Hamon etc.) so that’s definitely the biggest positive. I guess the biggest/only negative now is the costs seem to be spiralling a bit especially considering the next gen kids have so many choices for sport/hobbies. I recall a comment you made about the time and detail spent on car preparation and tuning for competitive racing. How did that aspect of racing change over time for you? Glenn: As mentioned in the intro I started out racing EP back in the 90’s and quickly learnt that in order to be consistently competitive you needed to prep. There isn’t much point being the fastest guy if you can’t finish. Fast forward to my time racing 1/8th IC on-road and I went through the steepest learning curve yet. I spent many, many, hours preparing cars, tweaking small things, using scales to corner weight the cars, shimming arms, CVDs, spools. Then spending time on the setup station making sure the car was the identical measurement left to right. I know IC Off-road takes some work, but I found I’d spend close to double the time on the On-road car for a fraction of the track time! It was insane the amount of work that went into getting the car right as there were so many small things that had a huge impact on car performance. As you have raced a number of cars and classes over a long period of time, how have you seen the change in manufacturer’s products? Describe the change in quality, handling and tuning etc. or anything else you have noticed. Glenn: The products now are top quality, from all the major players. Gone are the days of kits needing a file (in some cases a Dremel) included in the kit. This of course has changed the way the cars survive, they are more durable than ever and you can get repeatable performance. The cars now, for the average punter are great, generally with a large sweet spot and unlike the early days of EP the setup options sure have decreased making it less of a guessing game. It seems to me that the heyday of strong competition in this sport has passed. Numbers have declined recently at the club level and at large events. Have you noticed a change in competition levels throughout your career? Did the skill level improve but in less numbers or do you see it differently? Glenn: Coming back into RC in 2004 was a shock, going from the hugely competitive EP off-road scene in the late 90’s to state titles that struggled to get a C Final in stock was a surprise so I guess the competition was a little thinly spread. I think the sport (IC off-road) still has the strong top level competition but the field is definitely not as deep as it was once was. IC off-road from my perspective has probably the deepest still with Matt G, Kyle McBride, Andrew Foord, Craig Laughton, Aaron Stringer etc. still competitive. That competition breeds fast driver’s, it’s incredibly difficult to keep progressing without that competition. I think these guys plus Jeff Hamon, Jessie Davis, Peter and Stephen Jovanovic in IC on-road are world class competitors on their day. I am just proud that I got to race/battle with all of them. I think that the top level is better now than ever (Kyle McBride is multiple time worlds finalist after all!). I would like to see RC grow to a mainstream level and possibly lift it to another level as a motorsport. Do you feel similarly, that it can be more than a hobby? Do you have any thoughts on how to boost involvement in RC? Glenn: I think there is potential there, but I think in order to grow, we need to make it more attractive to newcomers. It needs to be cheaper (which I am not sure how to do) and we need to make it easier to follow for people not already involved. We also need exposure which is hard. I am sure Jarrod Currie, Mark Norman, Ian Smedman and others remember the work involved in tying major events (EP Nats in this case both 1990 and 1995) to the Adelaide International Motor Show. This is still probably the biggest single event RC has been tied to here in SA. To lighten the questioning, what are some of your fondest South Australian and Australian events you have raced in and why? Glenn: 1995 SA Titles at Mitchell Park which was my first state title win (4wd stock). I was just an excited kid (14) and it was just great racing. Later on, making the A final and finishing 4th at the 2010 IC On-road Nationals at Littlehampton in my first major on-road event. My first IC off-road State title win in Tassie in 2012 and of course my final on-road event, the 2012 IC On-road Nats in Brendale QLD where I got a podium after a difficult week. Along similar lines, what are some of your favoured cars and classes you have raced and why? Glenn: My favourite class is definitely 1/8th IC off-road . I really enjoyed my time racing it. My Mugen Seiki MBX6/7s have been fantastic. I also rate my 2012 Nationals MRX5 on-road car. That car helped me end my on-road career with a sense of achievement. Who in RC, current or not, has positively impacted on your RC racing? Glenn: Early in my career most definitely Simon Camilleri. An absolute gentleman racer, incredibly fast (Still my pick as the best driver I’ve witnessed). His car prep was second to none and always had time for other racers. I watched Simon and raced with him in 1/10th EP and had some amazing battles in 2wd modified back in the early days. I see people outside of RC just as important as those within RC with regard to expansion and growth. Outside of RC were there people that showed support for your racing outside of your family? Glenn: I was quite lucky, I had a number of friends that came and supported me, attending race meets all over the country even though at times they found it hard to follow. Since you are not racing RC I know you have an interest in hill climb events. Care to expand and explain what these are? Glenn: Hill Climb events are generally held on private road courses, single car time trial runs to the top. It’s very much grass roots racing with all manner of cars racing from high tech AWD Turbo Charged Tarmac Rally cars (EVOs/WRX STIs) to home built F1 inspired high down-force, light weight race cars. I’ve been lured in by my brother in law. I’ve been racing my WRX road car since July and have really enjoyed it. A number of people would like to know. When will you pick up the controls and race again? Glenn: Ha ha yeah. I am wondering the same thing myself, I won’t say never! I was intending on racing the 2014 Vics but work and a gearbox issue with my WRX have prevented that from happening. Do you have any final thoughts about the RC scenes past, present or future? Glenn: I’m hopeful that we can arrest this current slide in club level numbers, I think that there is some great potential out there for growth we just need to find a way to access the general public which we all know is the hardest part. And just a quick thank you again to all of my past and present sponsors – Mugen Seiki, MMI, Neo +, RCHZ, Sanwa, Novarossi, AKA, Ryper Hobbies, Contact RC, Trackside RC and RC Race Supplies. Thanks again Glenn for being a part of this short written interview. This is another example of you showing support for Shadow Racing – RC. Glenn could be described as the first supporter of Shadow Racing –RC due to his encouragement over the years ago.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 04:54:10 +0000
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