As I move forwards with my interview project, bringing you all the very best in exclusive news and thoughts from some of the UK's top racers, I have to say that this one is a little closer to my heart than I first realised. The reason for this is that Tom Yardy is a fellow Black Country racer and RC fan. Based in the West Midlands, Tom's fast paced and interesting racing career was recently catapulted to world wide recognition with the heavy part that he played in the design and development of CML's C4.1 Centro buggy conversion. With Tom hailing from 'my neck of the woods', I was really excited to speak with him and he did not let us down!! Not only was I excited to hear about his brilliant work on the track, but also regarding his massively successful development commitments away from the astro. Tom and ORRC have a good old rattle over a bag of pork scratchings ;)
ORRC - What is your earliest recollection of driving an RC car?
Tom - The first time I drove an RC car of any kind was Christmas of 1993, I was 6 and was brought a Tyco Hi-Jacker by my mum & dad. It used to have a "turbo" button on the transmitter which turned it from looking like a saloon car to 4x4 - a mate of mine down the street had the same present for the same Xmas and we spent much of the rest of the Xmas holiday blasting them up and down the street, I suppose that was my first RC race!
ORRC - Did you always want to drive off-road, or have you ever done on road racing?
Tom - Off-road was where I started and it's where my passion and interest is - I have done a little on-road racing at club level and some slightly bigger events but never a national or anything serious. I fully respect the guys who do well at on-road but it just isn't the class for me.
ORRC - What's your favourite buggy of all time?
Tom - In terms of quality, there's no doubt that the Associated B4 changed the face of the 2wd class when it was released and I drove one from 2004 onwards, achieving most of my best 2wd results. But the car that had the biggest influence on my racing life was the Schumacher Fireblade - I know some racers still wake up in a cold sweat when they think about that car but I feel as though I really did my "top guy" apprenticeship with that car. It was never the easiest vehicle to drive and that put a lot of focus on your driving. I made my first national A final with the 'blade in 2003 finishing 2nd at Tiverton and it was the start of my development as a competitive driver on the national circuit. It meant that when I switched to the B4 a year later my ability to drive a 2wd car had gone up a level and the B4 let me put that to use. Naturally my 4wd skills came on from that too, so I definitely owe that car a lot.
ORRC - When you stand on the rostrum before a big race, do you focus on the entire track for your first lap, or making the first corner a good one?
Tom - During a main/final, my approach is usually dictated by where I am on the grid. If I'm top 3, there's a lot to protect early on - you can't win the race on lap 1, but you certainly can lose it. My main priority is reacting well to the start tone but after that, a clean first lap is the top priority, get a clean first lap under your belt and settle into it. If I'm back 3, then I think your first corner is more important, you haven't got time to settle in, you need to attack, so the priority is staying out of trouble on the first corner where 9 times out of 10, cars will come together in front and you need to be alert to pick up the pieces.
ORRC - How often do you practice? Or do you use club meetings to test set ups etc?
Tom - I only race max. once a week now. When I first started I was racing 3 times a week, Wednesday night, Thursday night and Sunday morning. For the first 3 years of racing that was me, but it was never outside of club level. I'm just a weekend racer now and have been for a number of years. In terms of practice, I don't find any benefit from practicing away from a race - at a race you never have the rostrum and track to yourself, you never have the feeling of no pressure and it's unlikely that a mistake will mean nothing. Plus you rarely have an accurate lap time recording. Club racing is great if you have a club and the time to go. I have on occasion gone to tracks privately and tested parts/set ups on behalf of sponsors but never to just help my thumbs.
ORRC - During a high pressure race, do you ever adjust settings on your transmitter in the heat of battle?
Tom - I'd love to say I had the brain capacity to do so, but no I haven't.
ORRC - If you enter both classes (2wd & 4wd) in a meeting, which class do you consider you strongest? Both in terms of your ability, and your buggy?
Tom - If I'm doing both classes at a single day event, I would expect to be stronger in 4wd purely because if you've experienced driving the track with your 2wd, putting your 4wd will naturally feel "easier" in comparison. But if it's 2wd one day, 4wd on the other, I'm usually of the feeling that both days can go equally well... or badly!
ORRC - When you marshall a race, do you ever worry that you will fumble a major tangle for a fellow racer?
Tom - I think a lot of my friends from racing will have just leaned in a little bit closer to the monitor to see how I answer this! I have had my fair share of marshall mishaps over the years - I fell through a table, squashed a fellow racers car at the Oswestry national this year when I fell over... but the only time I feel really nervous is marshalling an A final at national or international level. If I end up marshalling it I'm disappointed to not be racing in it, but I wanna make damn sure I don't affect the result from ground level!
ORRC - What's your most treasured win during your career and why?
Tom - In terms of an event, my first national win in 4wd at Talywain '09 is definitely the one. The day just went really smoothly, on what was a really challenging track. First meeting for Yokomo/CML, team manager was present, and I tqed and converted it to a win. It meant a lot to my family and to me as I'd come close so often and even if I don't win another, at least I can say for that one day on that one track, I was the best in the country. Individual race though, I really took a lot of satisfaction from winning leg 1 of the A final at the Southport 2wd national this year - Neil Cragg was TQ and I started 2nd, at about 2 minutes in he made a mistake and I took up the lead. Neil as we know is immensely fast in qualifying but when he's all over your gearbox in a head to head race that's when he's at the peak of his powers. I kept my head and held him off and took the win and was really happy with that. Neil was, as always gracious afterwards but duly came back and won the next 2 legs to take the meeting. No shame in coming 2nd to a former WC though eh?
ORRC - What's your favourite method of removing worn buggy tyres from wheels to replace the rubber?
Tom - The method I personally favour, is to go "Dad... can you get these knackered tyres off these rims so I can reuse them please... ta!" he uses acetone I understand... I don't know, I'm either out or watching TV when he's doing that.
ORRC - Have you ever made a tiny mistake and completely lost your rhythm during a major race? Explain when if yes?
Tom - Yeah definitely, I doubt there's a racer that hasn't. It's happened a few times, at the top level a mistake is so costly that it's difficult to just block it out - you end up pushing harder and harder trying to make the time back and inevitably more mistakes happen which can make it look like you're having a melt down, but adrenaline can be a bitch sometimes.
ORRC - Describe your racing style if it were an animal? And why?
Tom - LOL... great question. I'm going to say, a Gorilla. The reason being, that my driving style is quite uneventful , simple but efficient - I rarely let the car get too out of shape, don't lock the wheels too much, don't flick the wheels over jumps - it's just precise and controlled and I'm told, nice to watch. If you watch gorillas in their day to day habitat or at the zoo, when they're going about their own business they're calm, they're relaxed, they move smoothly with a sort of graceful confidence. If I'm in a tough battle with another racer or if I'm in need of a good run to achieve what I want, I can get aggressive, give everything if needs be and fight my corner - watch how gorillas react if another animal goes near their young or tries to pilfer their banana... you get my drift. ;)
ORRC - ' A' Final pressure must be very hard to handle at times, do you have a secret method of 'staying super cool' in these situations?
Tom - I just try and stay as calm as possible away from the rostrum. I have a lot of good friends around me at racing and many of the competitors in the A are all good friends - we all have a laugh and a joke at the foot of the steps or in the pits. I try and enjoy just being at the event, don't put the pressure on until the tone goes. If you are in a good state of mind off track, then you'll be more compliant to the pressure when it hits. I'll let you into one secret though, I do have a habit of reciting song lyrics in my head whilst racing some times... I only think of them when it's going well though but it certainly keeps me calm.
ORRC - Who is the one racer that you still look up to these days? Do you have a racing mentor?
Tom - I've got a couple of answers for this. There are a lot of racers in RC that I really admire, but UK only, when I first started doing nationals, Neil Cragg was already a regular winner and as a youngster myself to see him doing so well against guys much his senior was really inspirational. I'm glad to say that Neil's now a team mate and good friend of mine but I still love watching him drive a car. BUT, one of my best friends at racing is Scott Whyman and I have to confess that I genuinely do admire him as a racer. Not his results or anything like that, but his attitude towards racing - he does it for the right reasons, always has a laugh and never gets angry or frustrated no matter how badly his day goes. I'm pretty certain that if I had his mind set, it would benefit my driving. Thanks for being a good influence over the years big fella!
ORRC - Explain the role you recently played in the development of CML's Centro C4.1 conversion kit?
Tom - I'm really proud to say that I was involved in the Centro project right from the beginning. At the end of the 2010 season I was pretty deflated with 2wd, the pace of the class was moving on due to mid motor cars' reaction to LiPo batteries - the B4 isn't and never will be a bad car but on the UK tracks it certainly wasn't quick enough any more. (Lee Martin has gone through the same feelings this season I'm sure with his rear motored Tamiya but his results have been admirable).
I decided to take my concerns for me and the rest of the team to CML and between myself, Craig Drescher and Jason Varley we began to consider what options were available. I suggested talking to Jonathan Clark of Atomic Carbon as I recalled his conversion he had previously produced for the B4 called the S2. He very kindly lent me his S2 and myself and my dad put in a lot of time in the evenings and weekends privately testing it - from the moment I drove it I knew it was something we should pursue. So between me, my dad, Jonathan and CML we began refining the design, tweaking little elements here and there, some changes to materials on the chassis etc. and as a group we created the C4.1. Centro was actually a name me and my dad came up with, so it's really cool that CML have kept it. A few months later, Neil Cragg and Paul Bradby got cars and for the 3 of us to finish 1-2-3 in the national series in our debut season was a great reward for everyones hard work. I'd like to publicly thank Jonathan, Craig, CML and of course my dad for making the Centro project happen.
Tom has made a very solid impression on the off-road racing community during his career. His amazing ability on the track has now begun to contribute to all our enjoyment by having his experienced hand directly involved in buggy development with massive brands such as Associated and CML. Tom has raced at the very highest level for many years and counts the following achievemnets as part of his expanding trophy cabinet:
13 x Mid West Regional Champion
Multiple time junior national champion
Just under 80 national A final appearances
4 x National series podium finisher
4wd National round winner & TQ
5 x EFRA European championship A finalist - best finish, 6th in both classes (2008)
2011 British winter open TQ, 2wd
One thing is certain about Tom Yardy, his rise to off-road fame has gained him a lot of fans and supporters across the scene, and we are sure that his contributions to the forward movement of our domestic production industry will see him figuring in even higher areas within the sport in 2012. Good luck goes to Tom and we love the fact that a Black Country guy is really shaking up off-road in such a positive way :)
To learn more about the C4.1 Centro conversion kits visit http://www.cmldistribution.co.uk/
To see the full product range from Associated visit www.teamassociated.com
Part worn tyres Oswestry
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