It’s time to meet the person who many on the EFRA board refer to as the “hardest working man in RC!” EFRA’s General Secretary, the guy who keeps all the wheels turning, it’s Willy Wuyts!
EFRA: Hi there Willy 👋🏻 How are you?
Willy: Hi! always a pleasure to see you!
EFRA: Can you tell us in no more than 5 words the job you do for EFRA…?
Willy: Administration, correspondence, counsellor, night owl😉
EFRA: Got it… So what’s the longer version?
Willy: Do you have a moment? 😉 Mainly it is administration, like publishing documents, gathering all info needed for the AGM, Liaise with IFMAR, stay informed on what is going on in all the classes, but the list goes on…to put it simply, I deal with all matters that affect the day to day running of EFRAs general business, together with the EFRA board.
EFRA: Wow, that sounds super busy! So what is your favourite class of RC racing?
Willy: My heart lays with the nitro on road class, and according to many the most fun to race: the former 235mm class. At a certain point the 200 mm cars pushed that class out of business, but although I can appreciate the technology, those cars are so complicated to maintain and set up, not really inviting to start with, and we can see that class declining unfortunately.
EFRA: Hmm, yes true. Are you any good at racing?
Willy: My racing days are over, but I did manage to run in a few finals at the European Championships, in the 235mm class, but I have to be honest, at that time there was no longer a large driver field. But driving the car at the finals in Lostallo, is something I still have great memories about.
EFRA: Lostallo! Yes that would have been a special moment! So what is your proudest moment in RC?
Willy: With some friends at our local club, the organisation of Fun and Race days, with many different race formats and other forms of entertaining. The public also could test their skills and drive some laps. In short, the event was that fun, it gave root to the Serpent Nitro Tours all over the world.
EFRA: Cool! Sounds like a great way to involve people who know nothing about RC… However, what can you tell us about you that we don’t already know?
Willy: Something I love: Food… Absolute no. 1 is Thai. Something I hate: Injustice… Something funny: On my way to a European championship for EFRA, I arrived at the wrong airport in the morning. Stairing at the departure flights on the board, the mistake sank in… Luckily In Belgium everything is relatively close, so I still managed to drive to the other airport just in time. Funny? Or just plain stupid? Oh well…😂
EFRA: Haha! What is your favourite sport outside of RC?
Willy: Formula 1 and Formula E. The previews, qualifications, I set up multiple screens to watch and shout at.
EFRA: What was the last music you heard?
Willy: I was involved in the music business for many years, I can appreciate many music styles, but checking my last played song it was the remastered video from “While my guitar gently weeps” with Prince, Tom Petty and others.
EFRA: Sweet🤘 So, what else do you do to relax?
Willy: I can switch off with a good book or a sci-fi movie.
EFRA: What advice would you give someone wanting to compete in an EFRA Euros for the first time?
Willy: Just do it. Attending an EC will definitely be a milestone in your racing carrier. Meet your heroes and learn from them.
EFRA: …And who knows, you might end up working for EFRA! How did you become involved in EFRA
Willy: Now that is a strange story. I was asked at an EFRA AGM I went to for FBA, if I would be willing to take the secretary function. I said: Are you crazy??? So I was “lured in” to talk to the resigning secretary of what to expect from that position…. “Oh well he said, it is not that hard, only a few weekends of the year it will be a bit busy to prepare for the AGM.” So I agreed, I would help EFRA out…
Those “few weekends of the year” soon proved to be the understatement of the century, but I have found many new friends, and I am still onboard 14 years later.
EFRA: What is the number 1 thing you would like to see in RC in Europe in the future?
Willy: We have to be realistic, it is crucial to drag new blood from behind the game computers into the exciting world of our sport, and showing to the world that RC racing is a real motorsport, scaled down, not just toy cars, is one way we try to do it.
Great to talk as always Willy! Thank you for all the work you do alongside the EFRA board to keep RC Motorsport Europe moving in the right direction 😊
