ORRC - How did you first get into RC?
Cris - I got into RC cars around Christmas 2004 after a friend of mine bought himself a nitro HPI RS4 from Halfords. For a few weeks I watched him racing it up and down the local Tesco car park before buying myself a used 1/8th rallycross buggy off of eBay (thinking it looked lush and would probably go well around the car park!). It didnt take me long to realise that I had been ripped off; the engine was so loose and the internals all worn out that it was pointless doing anything other than sticking it in the bin and with that I went to my local model shop and bought a brand new Hobao Hyper 7.
By February 2005 I had seen pictures of the Associated RC18T 1/18th 4WD truck and was immediately in love with what I saw. I ordered one and started playing with it everywhere I could think to go in my real car; car parks, golf courses, skate parks, the local woods. By the end of February I had started the UK-MicroRC forum which is still to this day the UK's ONLY dedicated micro RC forum having gotten fed up of all the various forums out there that didnt allow me to talk micro to like minded people!
In the meantime my local model shop introduced me to the local touring car race club and after going to watch a few races I asked if I would be able to enter my little RC18T in the slowest touring car heat. My first race ever I finished 3rd in the C-final and I was HOOKED. There were some very good TC national racers at the club in Gloucester and every month I would hear tales of them racing their nationals meetings, picking up trophies and racing all over the country. As a young and impressionable 20-something nearly 7 years later micro scale RC is still my primary class.
ORRC - Where was the first track you ever raced on and what year was it?
Cris - My first indoor track was at the Gloucester club's old venue around February 2005. My first outdoor track I ever raced at was the Swindon Nitro's venue with my Hyper 7. I loved racing at that club!
ORRC - When you build off-road chassis do you have a favourite part of a build that you really enjoy?
Cris - Generally I enjoy building diffs and shocks. I have a very obsessive nature at times and I think that building diffs allows me free reign of my obsessive trait to take as long as I need to build (in my eyes) the perfect diff. Having raced 1/10th TC and 1/12th circuit as well many years ago I picked up many good tips from some very talented drivers that have stayed with me.
Cris - Way to many times to count! Im forever thinking about racing, my car, the micro section, my last race meeting, setup ideas...most of which I forget by the time I get home to my hauler bag though!
ORRC - If you had the chance to create your own body shell design, what would you call it and what design features would you look to create?
Cris - I would call it CLINT, it would be a cab-forward shell that would epitomise the love child of the JConcepts Punisher and the F-117 stealth bomber :)
Cris - I don't think my "role" itself will develop at all really, the role of chairman is pretty much predetermined, however the section itself is growing at a huge rate especially in 2011 and within afew years I wouldn't be at all surprised if we didn't see 2 day nationals being the norm with 2WD and 4WD on separate days.
ORRC - Having moved from 10th to 16th off-road, what are the attractions of the smaller scale race vehicles for you?
Cris - One of the main reasons I prefer micro to 1/10th offroad is the cost. The 1/10th offroad scene is full of some of the most hilarious people I have ever met! but financially I could never commit to 1/10th as a primary class. A set of tyres in micro-world will cost around £25 with wheels and will probably last for an entire national series, if you happen to drive like an animal you might find you need 2 sets of tyres for an entire 6 round national series (plus club meetings) but that is it. Also our electrics are so much cheaper too; a LiPo will often set you back around £15, a high end ESC with motor will probably cost around £60 and servos can be anything from £10 to £45. Micro racing is super cheap and loads of fun :)
ORRC - Do you ever find that your racing gets better during a series? Or are you finding yourself fairly consistent across a given collection of meetings?
Cris - Id like to think that I am quite consistant, whether thats consistantly good or consistantly bad is yet to be decided! The problem I am finding at the moment is that on the day of a national meeting I am "Cris - racer" but also "Cris - chairman" and therefore I have to spread myself across many areas and I find that my results are suffering at the moment.
ORRC - When you service your buggy, what's the first thing you check for wear?
Cris - Diffs and plastics! Diffs to see how gritty they feel before I decide whether to rebuild them, and plastics to make sure there are no cracks or bent/broken pieces I havent noticed at the track.
ORRC - On the track do you drive faster when your up front, or when you are pushing through traffic further back in the pack? What's your tactics in these situations?
Cris - I definately push harder when I am chasing someone down. When I am in front I tend to back off slightly to ensure I maintain position; usually this backfires and I will end up getting caught! When I am behind I see to have more of a "do or die" approach and find I am able to push harder without worrying about current positions.
ORRC - If you could build your dream race track ( would it have pink carpet?) ;) explain how it would look, the surfaces and obstacles you would design?
Cris - Pink carpet would definately have to happen somewhere on my track! Ive been lucky over the last 6 years to have met some of the best track builders in the micro RC fraternity, and have also raced on some amazing 1/10th tracks too! (oOple race @ RHR, 2010 Players @ Worksop) so I would be able to call from alot of prior inspiration. The track at my UK Micro Challenge 3 event from 2007(ish) was designed by myself and I was very proud of that. I think my ultimate track would start with a polished gym floor style flooring (EPOR/Dudley) as I love the feeling of drift with a hint of decent grip once the line cleans up, it would have some form of "double-double" that would allow you to pick up some real controlled speed, and probably a nice table-top crossover that then swung the track 270deg around so that you immediately drove though the gap after landing the jump.
I dont think I would go for a wall-ride though, I have only raced on 2 good wall rides in my life (Hereford/WORM) and too many disappointing ones that I have gone off them now).
ORRC - Your amazing ability as a race referee and commentator doesn't go unnoticed, is this something you would consider doing on a larger scale?
Cris - MC'ing maybe but not reffing. I do enjoy MC'ing and take all my inspiration from Kris Kennedy (MC legend) who has MC'd a few of my micro events previously, however reffing is a different kettle of fish as you are looking at the etiquette and driving standards and potentially punishing your friends and fellow racers. I don't for one moment enjoy handing out penalties as a ref or as a chairman but its part of the job description I am afraid!
ORRC - What are you aspirations and goals for your coming year in RC?
Cris - To get some decent results in 2012 and concentrate more on my racing than anything else. I am very lucky to be sponsored by some amazing companies and I need to give them a reason to continue to support me in 2012 and the coming years!
ORRC - What's your favourite way of celebrating after a really good win?
Its been a while ;)
Cris - When I won the 2007 championship lots of people were congratulating me as it was the first ever micro section chamiponship title. To me thats quite special and the trophy still take pride and place in my hous :)
When you meet Cris Oxley it becomes immediately obvious why this guy is so good at juggling and managing his split responsibilities and enjoyments within RC. He oozes fun, welcoming, and charasmatic character. He will stop and talk to anybody who wants to gain his attention, no matter how busy he is. But most of all Cris exudes a passion for his sport that if we could bottle it, it would become the elixiar of competative motorsports. We wish Cris the very best luck with his future career plans and if you ever get chance to steal a few words with this guy then grab that opportunity, he is a real legend in the micro race community.
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