Remote-control cars: Fun and thrills at a price

By Aloysius Unditu

JAKARTA (JP): Robby, a Jakarta entrepreneur who runs his own business was seen sitting on a wooden chair inside the five-meter wide Speedy Body Shop on the ground floor of Hayam Wuruk Plaza in downtown Jakarta Wednesday.

Robby is not the owner of the store, nor even a technician, but a remote-control car racer who regularly goes there to exchange stories with the owner Alex.

Speedy Body Shop, established in 1985, sells remote-control cars, remote controls and accessories.

There are many shops like this in Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya and Semarang which sell remote-control cars and attract people who have fallen in love with such small-scale racing over the last two decades.

"It is a good-fun hobby. When other people are depressed by the rupiah depreciation against the American dollar, we can enjoy ourselves by racing the remote-control cars," Robby said.

Most remote-control car racers agree that there are two types of circuits: offroad and onroad.

In Jakarta, offroad circuits are located in Bumi Karang Indah in Lebak Bulus, and behind Hotel Abadi, on Jl. Setia Budi in Bandung in West Java.

Onroad circuits are in Goro Kelapa Gading in North Jakarta, Sentul, West Java and Pondok Cabe in South Jakarta.

It is no surprise to see people like Robby, Alex or Surjadi flocking into Goro Kelapa Gading, for example, to participate in the remote-control car racing at weekends.

"All circuits are open everyday but most people go to them at weekends,' said Alex.

Today Alex, along with friends who have long been in love with remote-control cars, will join other racers from Bandung and Semarang in a competition at Goro Kelapa Gading.

Despite the thrill, there is a considerable price to be paid to experience the fun of the hobby.

Robby, for example, who has been in the game for only two years, has spent around Rp 50 million (US$11,000) buying remote- control cars. Surjadi said he had spent around Rp 30 million over the past two years.

"We do not feel guilty about spending that much money because we can have fun," Surjadi said.

The remote-control car craze becomes even more expensive when the racers go overseas to compete in international competitions.

Ali Agus Salim, dubbed the pioneer of remote-control car racing in Indonesia, has traveled around the world competing in his favorite sport.

"Money is not the problem. When we talk about our hobby we will do whatever it takes for it," he said.

Remote-control car racing is neither easy nor cheap to get into.

Alex, the owner of Speedy Body Shop said the price of a car ranges from Rp 1.5 million to Rp 3.5 million, not including the remote control.

People often spend up to another Rp 5 million modifying their cars.

"If someone has more than five cars, you can just imagine how much money he will have had to spend on them," Alex said.

There are many collectors who have more than 20 cars of different types.

Some people in the remote-control car racing circle said that Ali Agus Salim was the first Indonesian to take the sport seriously here, in the late 1970s.

And Ali Agus Salim said that he had even built onroad and offroad circuits on his own property in Pondok Cabe, in Tangerang.

"Remote-control car racing offers more fun and thrills than the real thing," he said.

Ali said he first fell in love with remote-control cars when he first saw a race in Geneva, Switzerland in the mid-1970s.

"I fell in love with remote-control cars at first sight and never looked back," he said. Motivated by the sophisticated technology of the cars, he introduced them in Indonesia.

In Indonesia, there is an umbrella for enthusiasts, the Indonesian Association of Remote-Controlled Cars.

"It provides endless fun and joy. You can enjoy the sport till you die," he said.

It seems hard to believe, but that's the reality. But don't forget, no money, no fun.