Remote-control cars: Fun and thrills at a price
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.