The first for me was a good old Tamiya Boomerang in '87.#
Raced it for two years,sold it for £15 at a car boot sale to some kid who was thrilled to bits when I told him it was an ex-racer that had some wins to it's credit.
He went away pestering his folks silly to buy it for him and they came back about half an hour later and stumped up the cash.
I'd already bought and built it's replacement,the fabulous Optima Mid Custom.All the locals at the club I raced at back in '89 were green when it whistled around the track during pre-season testing.
I remember one lad,he'd be around 14,who'd beaten me in most races,had a fully hopped-up Hotshot,Technigold motor and all the trimmings.
The Optima whipped his Hotshot's ass good style and I'd still not fully got the hang of it.
He threw a right hissy fit to his old man and virtually threw and booted the poor old Hotshot against every wall he could find
.
First race of the new season,what's he turn up with?,yep a brand new shiny Optima Mid Custom SE with all the Option House bits as standard.
He really was a spoilt little sh!t.
I sold the Optima in 2001.I'd retired it(and myself) from racing in 1990 and just drove it for fun for 5 years and then put it away up the loft for 6 years.
A couple of months ago,the son(he's now 24!!)buys hisself a Yoko drifter to play with.He gave me a couple of goes with it and before you know it I'm hooked again.
A few weeks ago he comes home from work with a very,very thrashed,bashed 97% complete ancient Mardave Meteor and gives it to me.
I've still got my period Futaba radio gear,a couple of Parma Cyclone 27T motors and my old Novak speedo.
The rest as they say,is history.
Miggers
