Hello all,
This third column concerns something more personal, because it’s concerning team drivers and team spirit, and as team manager, I’m personally affected by this subject.
As a small team, Team Magic / HRC team need to manage many drivers of many different skills, different needs and different spirits. This is something I should learn almost every day, because I’m confronted to many inquiries and situations.
Firstly, I must say that managing the team isn’t a real part of my job. I do it by passion, and a bit of necessity as I’m also the car co-designer and developer. So, becoming team manager wasn’t in my plans, and is done as volunteer; but I like it.
The “good” choice:
I would like to have the possibility to choose a world top driver, somebody able to enter a A-final at world championship, ETS series etc… of course in modified category.
But this is currently not something possible, for two reasons:
Firstly, supporting the cost will be a problem for a small company, even if we can consider the sales will increase with results and could probably cover this kind of cost after some months of collaboration with the driver.
Secondly, it’s a problem of brand politic. Team Magic politic is to don’t pay for a driver. Driving a Team Magic car is a technical choice, not an economic opportunity. Maybe it’s something that some people could consider as stupid, but I feel we could also consider it as ethic. Clearly, you can be sure the result we got aren’t due to paid drivers.
So, considering the fact we don’t pay for drivers, I must use other arguments to seduce and convince drivers to race a Team Magic car.
The Jumpers:
What we call the “jumpers” at HRC, are drivers who jump from team to team, as soon as they think they have a better offer from another brand. They are also usually sure we need them because they are so good; and they are also regularly sure they didn’t have the right car the past season. We could easily identify them:
- they contact us each season.
- they provide same sentences again and again… “your car is very nice”, “your company is one of the best”, “I want to win with your car”, “I can do a great promotion for your brand”, “my current car didn’t allow me to reach the results I deserved, but I’m sure to get them with your car”.
- they are sure we need them and are sure they are great value for any brand.
- they ask what we could do for them, before saying what they could do for us.
This kind of drivers, even if some of them are very performing, are not interesting. A driver who leave the brand after only one season isn’t interesting. Their departure is often more negative than their venue was positive.
The sceptics:
The sceptics are drivers who change often the car brand, a minimum once a year, always persuaded the car they have isn’t the good one.
The sceptics have no especially low skills, some are very good drivers; they just are always thinking the “car they don’t have” is better. They always expect to win races, and if not, the problem is the car itself, not the setup, not the preparation or not their skill.
They always live RC racing with doubts, and of course need to switch material to feel better.
I had one very sceptic driver, who joined my team 3 times, and leaved it… 3 times. For sure, there will definitely not be a fourth time. I already had deep discussion with him, especially before his third venue. He agreed the problem is his continual doubts, and he agreed it would be better for his career, or at least his result, to stay in a brand for a while (not especially Team Magic, but any brand), and he also agreed the third chance will be the last one. We can’t spend effort for people who act this way.
Teams need drivers who thrust the brand like the brand thrust them. I believe in my drivers, I need they believe in me and in my car, this is the basis.
Loyalty:
The loyalty is the first quality of a driver. Brands need loyal drivers, to build something strong with them. Reaching high levels, and obtaining good results need time. Time to work the right way, time to learn the car perfectly, time to progress and to know what to do in which situation.
Loyalty is the key of success, in many sports, and many situations. Look at the best RC drivers, and look how loyal toward their sponsors / brands they are.
Masami Hirosaka: so many years with Yokomo, Associated and Reedy.
Mark Rheinard: 22 years with Tamiya !
Ronald Volker: Yokomo, again and again.
Bruno Coelho: 8-years contract with Xray.
And it’s same for many other drivers, like Alexander Hagberg, Lucas Urbain, Viljami Kutvonen, to list only a few of the top of TC drivers; but it’s same in other categories.
Somebody changing brand yearly, isn’t really interesting for a brand. Drivers must to be “the face of the brand”, to become really “performing” in term of promotion of the brand.
Loyalty also provide an image of serious to the drivers, and – with time – it provides them more respect from the other drivers, fans, and all actors of the RC scene.
Loyalty is, in my eyes, something more important than performance only.
Self-esteem and humility:
Self-esteem and humility are important things. After so many years of RC Racing (28 years), I seen so many drivers persuaded they deserve free products, high level contract, and of course top results… it’s sometimes funny and sometimes ridiculous.
Drivers need to stay humble, and to consider their own level with an open spirit and facts. They don’t have to underestimate them, but also not to overestimate their skills; Trying to impress sponsors is for sure the wrong way; it’s always better to provide correct facts and results and to let brands to analyse them.
Team Spirit:
Being a team driver is not simply to be sponsored, but it’s being part of a team, a family.
We support drivers, when they have good results, and also when not. So, drivers need to act same way. We have up and down together; we have success together; we have failure together. If a driver want we fight for him, he must to fight for us.
We are working hard to develop my car. And… yes, I say “my car”, because I’m the co-designer and I validate all the technical choices myself; so, no other guy is responsible of the performance of the TM car. I’m totally dedicated to the car, the drivers, and the team, and I’m not paid for that. It’s my passion, not my job, I do it with heart.
I also choose the drivers myself, apply sponsoring from TM and HRC to them, and undersign the contracts for the two brands.
So, I’m personally affected when drivers leave the team. Some are correct, some not. Some are loyal, some not. Some are fair, some not. I like loyal people and I thanks all the drivers who stay in team for years; even the most modest drivers.
I pay myself the major part of my own travel to races, to support drivers. I give them all I can, I support them, I advise them, I laugh with them, I pray for them, I’m nervous at start for them, I’m disappointed for them, I cry for them.
So, when some drivers choose to leave the team, this affect me. When confidence is broken, this affect me. This is the part I hate in this “job”. And this, especially more than many other team managers because it’s – as I already wrote it – MY CAR, not just “a car”. The matter isn’t “what”, but “how”. The manner is for sure the most important.
No friends in business:
“No friends in business” is a sentence we all heard many times in our life. Maybe it’s true… but for sure the team is not business for me.
So… I must accept some curious and frustrating situations, where I made my best for friends, by adding them to the TM/HRC team, supporting the best I can… and to heard that was “not enough” is something deeply hurting and difficult. This is the hardest side of the “job”… but ok, there are no friends in “business”.
Team Magic / HRC team situation:
As many brands, we have movements in the team, some new drivers joining us, and other leaving us.
By chance, I had and I have some very nice people around me; which I trully appreciate them, even if they are modest drivers with local result. As I wrote, the behaviour and loyalty are the most important, not only the results.
People like Patrick Gassauer and Rob Janssen are in the team since years, and I really like them for that; they do very nice job. I have some other drivers working this way and we build real and good relation with them, years after years.
This is very important for the confidence, and sponsoring is growing step by step this way.
Conclusion:
It’s time to conclude this special column; so, I really want to thanks all the TM drivers for their confidence in me and my car.
We will continue to push hard, race after race, to increase our level.
Have fun at your races,
Lionel Troyon – Team Manager for Team Magic and HRC Racing