Conny Svensson has been a long-time Large Scale Off Road racer and was recently voted in to be the Chairman of the newly created Large Scale Off Road Section. EFRA sat down with him to learn more about him and his thoughts on Large Scale Off Road racing and where he’d like to see this section in particular go in the future!
EFRA: Hi there, how are you?
Conny: I’m doing fine, a lot of exciting things happening. Thanks for asking!
EFRA: Can you tell us in no more than 5 words the job you do for EFRA…?
Conny: Chairman for Large Scale Off Road.
EFRA: And what’s the longer version of your EFRA role?
Conny: I’m responsible for making sure that Large Scale Off Road racing is the most fun class to race in Europe! Part of that is overseeing the Euros every year and making sure we have fair, clear and simple rules as well as trying to listen in to drivers and manufacturers to make sure EFRA is aligned with the industry.
EFRA: What is your favourite class of RC racing?
Conny: I think it’s pretty obvious I like big cars that can drive outside paved concrete tracks 😉
EFRA: So are you any good at racing?
Conny: I’m okay, in Sweden I’m the unofficial (as LSOR haven’t been an official class in SBF before) champion for the fourth year in a row. I have competed in the Euros two times, both in Fehring, but it has been a disaster both times with no results worth mentioning. So maybe it’s better I’m an EFRA representative instead, even if I will miss racing at the Euros this summer in Starec.
I started my RC racing career in 1985 with a Tamiya Grasshopper and then moved onto some other cars with the Schumacher Cat being my personal favorite, I still have in pristine condition.
EFRA: What is your proudest moment in RC?
Conny: I think what I’m most proudest of is the RC platform I have built called House of RC that is used by almost 7000 people globally and is used by many federations and countries in Europe as the primary event and track system. I’m currently working hard on the 2.0 release that will bring a lot of cool new features for everyone.
EFRA: Now what can you tell us about you that we don’t already know?
Conny: My regular “job” is working with accelerating the use of applied Artificial Intelligence in Swedish organisations. Mostly trying to help leaders with the transformation and change needed to adopt AI and unlock the potential. It’s really fun as it requires both technical knowledge, business expertise and people skills. I like how emerging technologies can improve people’s lives and solve bigger societal challenges. Right now I’m working on a very exciting project to improve the energy sector in Sweden.
EFRA: And what is your favourite sport outside of RC?
Conny: Karate, I just graded to Dan (black belt). But before that I played football for 30 years of my life.
EFRA: What was the last music you heard?
Conny: The Swedish band Kite, I went to their concert just a week ago. One of my favourites to listen to while I’m coding.
EFRA: What else do you do to relax?
Conny: Good food, something to drink and interesting discussions with friends. Or sometimes just watch a good show on TV in the couch with my wife. I’m really into The peripheral based on William Gibson novel right now.
EFRA: What advice would you give someone wanting to compete in an EFRA Euros for the first time?
Conny: Just do it, don’t even hesitate, you won’t regret it! Even if the racing results haven’t been what I hoped for the whole experience has always been awesome. Meeting people from all of Europe, watch good racing, have some good laughs and make new friends.
EFRA: How did you become involved in EFRA?
Conny: I was approached by EFRA if I was interested in maybe getting involved with EFRA. I always like new challenges but I still had to think about it as I can’t compete myself in the Euros. But I will be back racing in the future!
EFRA: What is the number 1 thing you would like to see in RC in Europe in the future?
Conny: More females racing and competing in all classes on a club level but also in the Euros. If we could provide better incentives for them to start and continue racing at a higher level. We could start by trying to prevent some macho cultures I have seen at some races and especially see on social media.
