Every so often in off-road racing a new development pops up that could potentially transform the structure of either a certain racing class, or the RC hobby as a whole for ever. The recent release of Losi's Mini 8ight platform is one of those moments. The pint sized version of the world class pedigree 8ight series of off-road race cars has really shook up the UK micro racing scene, and as this new addition to the already high quality Team Losi stable finds its feet, we caught up with its newest pilot. Mark Stiles recently drove the Mini 8ight to a round 2 Micro National win at Telford Hot Trax. Mark's hotly anticipated return to 1/16th off-road after a short hiatus has really fired the release of the Mini 8ight into the winners circle straight from the off. Mark is truly awe inspiring behind the sticks, and his deeply successful career in both 1/12th on-road racing and his professional involvement in Formula 1 full scale racing has created a solid all round RC racing star. We recently spoke with Mark about his wonderful racing career, and of course slipped in a few questions about Losi's new micro carpet ripper...Mark Stiles...its your time my friend :)
ORRC - Can you remember the first time you ever saw an RC vehicle? Explain the situation?
Mark - I was at school (age 13) and saw a poster advertising a lunchtime and after school model car club. They used to hold a short race meeting for Mardave cars on a Friday lunchtime. I've always been into motor sport and am a competitive person, so I decided to go along and watch; it cost me 10p to get in! From the moment I saw the cars I decided that I had to get involved; luckily it was only a month until my birthday. I guess that 10p ended up costing me a lot more in the long run!
ORRC - When and where did you first race an off-road buggy? What buggy was it?
Mark - During the summer of 2008 I decided to have a go at some 1/8th rally cross because at the time there were a lot of issues surrounding batteries in the electric on road classes. I obtained a Hot Bodies D8 through my then sponsor, Mirage, and took it over to the track at Ware in Hertfordshire for a club meeting. It didn't go particularly well to begin with; someone had put a load of jumps in the way and suddenly the tracks I was driving on had become 3 dimensional! I really was like a fish out of water; I think I broke a shock tower in the final after getting a jump very wrong!
ORRC - When you race micro scale off-road, do you find your vast experience with 1/12th on-road racing is a benefit, even with such different circumstances?
Mark - Absolutely, yes. 1/12th scale requires you to be a very precise and consistent driver and these skills transfer to any other RC class. I won the first micro national I competed in from 2nd on the grid for no other reason than the fact I managed to drive a 5 minute final with no mistakes. At the time I started racing micro, foam tyres were still allowed as well so I obviously had a lot of experience to draw upon in using those too.
ORRC - Have you ever worked really late or even straight through the night in preparation for a big race meeting due to other life commitments keeping you busy?
Mark - This happens more often than you might think! I live away from home for work during the week and often have late finishes, so it's difficult to work on and prepare my car(s) for forthcoming events. It happens more often for 1/12th scale than for micro, as in general 1/12th scale requires more detailed and meticulous preparation. I've spent many Friday nights up until the early hours and nearly burnt my house down at 2am once; it involved a bearing, a tin of brake cleaner, an oily rag and a lighter! I think the underlying problem is that you're never really 100% prepared; there's always other things you can do, but there just aren't enough hours in a day.
ORRC - When your buggy lands from a big jump, are you a believer that its best for the health of the gearbox and diffs to land off the throttle, or do you gun it regardless so as not to lose any pace?
Mark - This is where I lose out to more experienced off road drivers. If you watch the very best drivers in 4WD off road classes, most of them are straight on the gas a moment before the car meets the ground. This usually results in a more stable landing as it gives the car more forward momentum. As an on road driver I struggle with this, as my natural reaction is to let go of everything when the car leaves the ground. It's difficult; I know what I should be doing, but it's something else entirely to train your thumbs to do it every time without a second thought.
ORRC - When a micro track has mixed surfaces, is it sometimes difficult to select the correct tyres for all round performance? What's your 'rule of thumb' for mixed surfaces?
Mark - To be honest I use the same tyre, wheel and insert combination for any mixed surface track. I always run Schumacher
ORRC - Do you ever have to swap motors during a meeting? Perhaps going a few turns 'cooler' or 'hotter' depending on the circumstances during practice?
Mark - Once I've found a motor and setup for it that I'm happy with, it's quite rare for me to change it from meeting to meeting or race to race. I'd much rather have a slightly overpowered car that I can control using my throttle thumb; there's nothing worse than wanting for more power as it tends to make you over drive the car. I think this skill is another one I picked up racing 1/12th scale as you spend a lot of time on partial throttle and only really use full gas on the main straight.
ORRC - What's your feelings on penalties imposed by race referees? Have you ever incurred a penalty that you thought unjust at a big meeting?
Mark - As someone who does quite a lot of refereeing, I know exactly how difficult it can be. In many cases you have to make an unbiased, split second decision whilst under pressure. There are no instant replays or time outs, so there's no time to think really. I've never been handed a penalty that I felt was unjust, although there have been a few instances where I felt as though the referee could have done a better job. There have been a couple of instances where other drivers have cost me national wins or European A final positions, when both the driver involved and the referee could have done more to help the situation. That's racing though; it happens to everyone at one time or another. I would never argue with a decision that a referee has made as I've been subject to confrontation as a referee myself and it's not very nice.
ORRC - Your recent return to the micro national scene has shaken up the top positions during the series so far, who do consider your stiffest competition and why?
Mark - Well I think it would be difficult not to mention Phil Sleigh here; now that he's up to speed with the micro class and has a good car underneath him he's performing exceptionally well. Phil is an out and out off road driver who combines excellent technical ability with very consistent and fast driving. When he gets everything together he's very difficult to beat; he's been unstoppable on a number of occasions since I first raced against him. Craig Harris is another guy who's vastly experienced and is always there or there abouts.
ORRC - What's your favourite design element on your new team drive buggy, the Losi Mini 8ight?
Mark - As far as individual features go, I really like the motor mount. The vertical screws make removing the motor and adjusting the mesh really easy. Inaccessible motor screws were one of the things I hated about the LRP Shark I ran previously, so it's nice to have a better solution now. I like the overall look of the car though; it's a miniature version of the 1/8th scale buggy from the shape of the wishbones right up to the body shell and rear wing. I know this has been used as a major marketing tool for the car and I think it's really cool!
ORRC - Which manufacturer who doesn't currently create a micro off-road 1/16th buggy would you like to see release one?
Mark - Durango have been making waves in the larger scale off road classes in recent years and their cars have some neat features and interesting design concepts. It would be good to see something from them in the micro class. I did help them spec a micro buggy a couple of years ago, but unfortunately it never got any further than a CAD model. Micro racing is a very small market worldwide with limited sales volumes, so I think that any manufacturer looking to embark upon this kind of project would be wise to follow what Losi have done in producing a car for the RTR market that is also suitable for competition use.
ORRC - Is a clean steady driver quicker in the long run than a 'gun it and go' driver? What's your technique with off-road?
Mark - In the long term I think so, yes. There are lots of drivers out there who are fantastically quick but struggle to back up their pace with good consistency. 'Gun it and go' merchants are good at getting a flawed car round at a reasonable pace and can drive around handling deficiencies more easily, but it's rare for them to triumph over the course of a championship against someone who isn't quite as quick, but clean and consistent with a well sorted car. I'm having to modify my technique and approach a little in micro off road now. A few years ago it was possible to just be clean and consistent in order to win, but now the competition level is higher and you need the raw pace as well. Of course the very best drivers have consistency AND pace, but it's rare to encounter someone with the complete package.
ORRC - What's your favourite track feature during micro racing? Explain why?
Mark - The flat bits, for obvious reasons! :p To be honest I like big table tops and jumps with significant air time. In general they are easy to negotiate, but it's often possible to find time if you can judge the take-off and master the landing perfectly. I'm not a fan of the small ripples and bumpy sections you sometimes get because they upset the flow of the track layout, are generally inconsistent to drive and bunch the cars up a lot.
ORRC - Can you explain if you have a 'base line' set-up for your buggy that you start with and tune all elements to each track you visit from that set-up?
Mark - With any class I've ever raced, I've always tried to find a setup that will work as a baseline pretty much anywhere. It's important for me to have a car that I know will be predictable and easy to drive that I can throw on the track at the start of a meeting. From there I tend to work on finer details and minor setup changes, but I've never been a fan of radical setup modifications because the tracks change so much from run to run. I prefer to let the track come to me rather than chase the setup all the time.
ORRC - Describe your driving style in terms of a music genre? If you had a driving theme tune, what would it be? ;)
Mark - When the car is good, I'm driving well and I'm leading a race, everything feels totally controlled but fast at the same time. I get into a kind of metronomic rhythm as the laps reel off, a bit like an Ibiza trance/chillout song. We refer to it as being 'in the zone'. I like 'Barber's Adagio For Strings' by William Orbit - it's a fast paced song but is strangely relaxing and almost hypnotic.
ORRC - The racing scene is full of wonderful characters, who is your greatest inspiration in off-road RC and why?
Mark - I admire lots of people in the RC world, but I don't think there is anyone from it who inspires me as such. I admire David Spashett for all that he achieved in 1/12th scale, and it's been a pleasure to get to know him and now race against him following all the success he's had. I haven't been massively involved with off road until recently though, so there's nobody from those classes that I look up to in the same way really.
My greatest motivation comes from my younger brother, Greg. Unfortunately he was killed in a car accident in 2009. He was a keen and talented motocross rider, so I carry his old race number (168) on all my RC race cars. It's in his memory that I am driven to compete and succeed in all that I do in life; he's not able to prove himself anymore, so I'm determined to do the best I can for myself and others while I'm still here.
ORRC - When you arrive at an important meeting, what's the one thing you focus on before racing starts?
Mark - It's easy to get overcome by the event and put too much pressure on yourself sometimes. This can result in nerves getting the better of me and I end up under performing. So I try and relax as much as I can and turn my attention to other things first thing in the morning. One thing I will do however is set myself a target of where I think I should finish or what I want to achieve. Having something to work towards like this helps me to focus and become more productive. Something that I always make an effort to do at the start of a meeting is have a quick walk around the pits and say hi to everyone I know. For me, racing is as much of a social activity as a competitive one. I've met some of my best friends through participating in model car racing and it's always good to chat to people if you haven't seen them for a while.
Mark Stiles is undoubtedly a truly amazing racer with a wonderful ability to adapt his racing across several driving styles and scales. His new off-road drive with Team Losi will definitely not just expose the Mini 8ight as a groundbreaking platform, but will allow Mark a real strong opportunity to win at the highest level of micro off-road racing.
Keep an eye on the next few rounds of the BRCA UK Micro Scale Nationals, as I am sure we will see the off-road micro star that is Mark Stiles jostling for top spot whilst pushing the Losi Mini 8ight into the very fabric of off-road history. We wish Mark the very best of luck both with his off-road racing schedule and of course over in the 12th scale scene.
To get your hands on the world changing Losi Mini 8ight visit www.horizonhobby.co.uk
To view the full range of Team Losi Racing Products visit www.losi.com
To follow Mark Stiles and the rest of the micro National racers results visit our friends at www.uk-microrc.co.uk
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