Vintage AE Ad -- 1979 RC12E "Go Racing With The Team"

[xanadu]

To add to Dirtdiver's post, what kind of driver were you? What I'm saying is, when I raced I would spend hours making every single part on my car the best it could be. I would rebuild a shock 3 times to make it perfect. My best friend, on the other hand, would just drive untill his car broke, fix it and drive some more. He never worked on it untill it needed it. In the end we were about equal, but we argued all of the time! So did you spend late nights under the street light "driving", or did you spend those nights "perfecting" your car and coming up with new ideas? Thank you.

[WC1982]

I never thought about saving any of my cars until that first Worlds in 1982. Up until then I had won Nationals but after each race I would rebuild the car and use it again at the next. After winning the Worlds I was asked by a couple of magazines to send the car to them for an article and photo shoot, which I was happy to do. By the time I got it back I had already built other cars so I decided (thankfully) to retire it completely intact. For the next Worlds in Denmark in 1984 I TQ'd stock and had a fast car in both classes, so I decided to keep the tradition of saving my Worlds cars.

I constantly updated my cars with the newest development parts for racing, so they never really wore out, just evolved into the next generation of cars. I'm not really sure what I did with some of my cars, like when the 12L came out I must have had a lot of 12i cars and parts laying around.

Kent-
After winning the World Championship or National Championship races was it common for the racer to keep their car or did it go on display with the trophy at AE? Also how often did your race cars last before being retired or worn out?

Thank-you

dirtdiver

[WC1982]

I always took time to build a nice car and keep it in good shape. Same with painting and stickering. It gave me an advantage to know that I put a lot of time into preparation. But some guys were really fast with cars that looked like they had never been cleaned up. It can work either way.

And yes, I would work on my cars until late at night. We had a dedicated r/c race shop called "The Factory" where everyone hung out and worked on their cars. That was a great time. In my early years I remember driving cars late at night in my local super market parking lot, just couldn't get enough! Amazingly, we even drove our cars inside the airport terminal when going on trips.

To add to Dirtdiver's post, what kind of driver were you? What I'm saying is, when I raced I would spend hours making every single part on my car the best it could be. I would rebuild a shock 3 times to make it perfect. My best friend, on the other hand, would just drive untill his car broke, fix it and drive some more. He never worked on it untill it needed it. In the end we were about equal, but we argued all of the time! So did you spend late nights under the street light "driving", or did you spend those nights "perfecting" your car and coming up with new ideas? Thank you.

[SteveK]

Kent, did you and Cliff Lett ever settle your feud about which was best, oval or road?

[WC1982]

Kent, did you and Cliff Lett ever settle your feud about which was best, oval or road?

Nope, that was never resolved.

I used to jab Cliff about his off-road roots by calling him the "BuggyMaster". But then he started racing on-road and oval and it didn't take him long to get good at both. He didn't race a lot of 1/12th scale because he was so busy with off-road. I seem to remember him racing more 1/10 on-road than 1/12. Ultimately I think he liked oval better than on-road. We had some great battles at the big oval races over the years.

I still call him the BuggyMaster

[WC1982]

the hpi owner you're talking about, is that him in the background with the white shirt and brown pants?

Nope, red shorts with no shirt. I confirmed that it is Tatsuro. He had just come to America to go to school, I think he was 18 at the time.

[uzzi]

What an empire he has created since those days

[drbelleville]

Welcome Kent, that is so awesome that you are in this forum!

To all looking for the TOJ body, we have a member in here from houston who has the mold and is working on the bodies.

[drbelleville]

Kent,

I was wondering about more detailed shots of your chassis, and maybe some explanations as to what you may have modified or run, just to show some of the tips and tricks from back then. Also to offer some the chance to create / replicate their own versions, as I am sure many would love to have their own Kent Clausen replica chassis. Steve Husting has published a book on the two Masami Worlds cars (Off-road), which just show some detailed shots for those that were always interested to have a better look at a pros car.

Also I was wondering how well you and Tony Neisinger had gotten along, and if you keep in touch with him?

Thank you for your time.

[WC1982]

I will be posting some photos of my car soon. In the meantime I posted an article with photos and very detailed text in another thread, here's the link:

http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=12126

Tony and I got along OK but he was kind of quiet. He was exceptionally gifted with driving skill. He could set up his car with so much steering that nobody else could drive it, but he could drive it and get around sharp corners faster than the guys who set their cars up more neutral. With 3 on-road IFMAR World titles he has to be rated as one of the top drivers in 1/12th scale history.

One of the best races I ever watched was the battle between Tony and Masami at the 1992 IFMAR Worlds in Detroit. They went around the track within a few feet of each other for lap after lap, cutting perfect lines. Masami ended up taking first in 2 out of the 3 A finals, but lost the race to Tony due to the way the races were scored then. The overall result was based on time rather than position, Tony's second place finish was a faster time than one of Masami's first place times. IFMAR changed the rule after that race

I haven't seen Tony in a few years, but I think he still competes sometimes at local SoCal club races.

[drbelleville]

Kent,

Thank you for the info and stories of Tony. I remember when you had left Associated Electrics and went to HPI, and out came a Roadstar 10G Streamliner (although I never knew if it was based on an oval chassis?) At the time I was racing Pro-10 in Germany and was fortunate enough to get my hands on a 10GW (which although a bit hefty, was very stable for my driving). Before then I had a RC10L with many HPI parts on it, such as the aero rear pod lower plate, and the front brace to tie the two steering blocks together, and HPI Wheels.

I was wondering and I had inquired through customer support at HPI, is there a list of vintage HPI parts offered for the 12L & 10L cars?

Lastely, I do not know if this had been asked, do you still or have the plans on running 1/12 once more either for fun or otherwise?

Thank you for your time.

[Dirtdiver]

Kent-
Tony Neisinger use to have a 12th scale car with a Van Halen logo on it. I believe the paint scheme also copied Eddie Van Halen's guitar. Do you know if there is a story behind the VH car? Or if Tony was friends with them?

Thank-you

dirtdiver

[LoneStarHobbies]

Kent, it's cool to see you here on the forum. Back in the day when I was a kid, I raced all of Frank Killam's carpet races (and other tracks as well) in So Cal and got to see you, Tony, Randy Hunter, Killam, etc dice it out on the track and it was awesome to see. I still keep in touch with Frank and we still talk about those days. I've got some pics of you from those races. I'll post 'em later tonight.

Dean

[LoneStarHobbies]

Dirtdiver,

When I was a kid Tony was a club member at our local track. He is a huge Van Halen fan. Back in the day, his daily driver was a Toyota Supra with "Van Hln" license plates and he would come rolling up to the track cranking the Van Halen tunes. All of his bodies were black / gold with the VH logo. I may have some old pics. If I find any of Tony's cars I'll post 'em.

Dean

[WC1982]

My Streamliner speed run car used the HPI front and rear end, held together with a custom graphite chassis that I cut myself.

We no longer have any of the HPI option parts for the 10L, but I can scan one of the old catalogs if you want to see the parts and part numbers.

I don't have any plans to race, my eyesight and reaction time make me drive like a very ordinary club racer these days.

Kent,

Thank you for the info and stories of Tony. I remember when you had left Associated Electrics and went to HPI, and out came a Roadstar 10G Streamliner (although I never knew if it was based on an oval chassis?) At the time I was racing Pro-10 in Germany and was fortunate enough to get my hands on a 10GW (which although a bit hefty, was very stable for my driving). Before then I had a RC10L with many HPI parts on it, such as the aero rear pod lower plate, and the front brace to tie the two steering blocks together, and HPI Wheels.

I was wondering and I had inquired through customer support at HPI, is there a list of vintage HPI parts offered for the 12L & 10L cars?

Lastely, I do not know if this had been asked, do you still or have the plans on running 1/12 once more either for fun or otherwise?

Thank you for your time.