‘Every race we start from zero’ – Gruber

Two weeks ago Toni Gruber took the biggest prize of his racing career yet.  Realising the ultimate dream, he clinched his first World Championship title with a very convincing victory at the 1:8 GT World Championship in Sydney, Australia.   The victory didn’t really come as too much of a surprise however as the German is in the form of his life this season.  However, despite claiming the 1:10 Nitro Onroad European Championship for a second time during the Summer, following that up a month later by becoming Top Qualifier at the 1:8 Euros where he finished on the podium, and then rounding out the European season with his first ENS title win, the sport’s newest World Champion goes into the 1:8 Onroad World Championship in Japan with the mindset ‘every race we start from zero’.

There is no denying that Toni’s 2023 season is one most drivers can only ever dream of but there is still potential to add even more prestigious silverware to his growing collection.  With little or no time to let the enormity of his win in Australia sink in, his intense level of focus on his racing was quickly turned to the task ahead of him in Japan.  Such was the tight schedule between the two World Championship events, Toni’s grandfather was busy building his Capricorn cars back in German in preparation for the sport’s longest running championship while Toni was ‘Down Under’ steering his Hong Nor GT car to the Taiwanese brand’s first World title.  And it’s such family support that Toni is grateful to have and knows that without he wouldn’t be now one the best drivers is the World.  Chatting with Toni at the banquet after his big win, our photo of his winning fist pump setting the internet alight, I mentioned it to him that we weren’t sure we’d get such an epic reaction given he has had subdued reactions to previous career highs.  As he explained, ‘I can be so in the zone it can take time to realise what I have done but the last 3-minutes of the race today was the longest 3-minutes of racing ever so the relief at the end was huge’.

A driver who began racing at just four years of age, starting with an electric touring car before getting his first nitro car three years later, we first came into contact with Toni when he arrived on the scene in the ENS as a promising newcomer trying to break into the ranks of the establishment.  First racing with ARC, his career really stepped up a level when Italy’s WRC Racing took him on to lead their efforts and that combination was rewarded with the 2017 1:10 Nitro Onroad European Championship crown.  After 2-seasons he would join Shepherd with that partnership bringing the highlight of his first 1:8 Onroad World Championship Final in 2019 – the last time the category ran a Worlds.  Now 4-years on and having joined Capricorn at the start of this season, the 27-year-old believes experience is one of his new strengths in racing.  ‘As you get older, you learn more.  You know how to work better with yourself.  You have a better mindset.’

In addition to maturing as a racer, Toni knows every nitro race he contests is a team effort and like any successful team in any sporting discipline having the right people around you contributes to a successful outcome.  With his dad as his long time mechanic, himself a Champion racer, he attributes much of his 1:8 Onroad success this season to his move to Capricorn.  ‘This was a big step’ is how he sums up the significance of his signing with the Italian manufacturer.  That’s not the full story however because it is his relationship with his engine tuner that really stood out in the pits in Australia as a special element in his current form.  15-years ago Red RC was in Portugal to witness Daniele Ielasi became World Champion when he won the 1:10 Nitro Onroad title.  The emotion that day was raw and it is still one of our most memorial World Championship moments.  Transitioning from racer to engine tuner in recent years, Daniele has since built up his Ielasi Tuned brand into a major player and with it a very close relationship with Toni.  Becoming an Ielasi Tuned team driver in 2021, Toni has given the passionate Italian’s brand its two most significant endorsements yet.  First a European title in June and just four months later a World title.  Ielasi’s emotions in pit lane over the final 3-minutes of the 1-hour Main in Sydney was an powerful sporting moment and proof that while RC Racing is a hobby for many it is sport for the many who invest their lives into it.  Asking Toni about working with Daniele, he was quick to respond, ‘ The relationship is something special.  It’s not just a factory that gives me engines.  It’s more, it’s more than a friendship’.  One just has to watch them in discussion before and after each time Toni went on track to see the trust & belief they each have in one other.

Asked about his approach to the World Championship at Infinity International RC Speedway when comparing the ocassion to other races, Toni said, ‘All the races we go there for the win but if you focus on the fact it’s a World Championship you can make more pressure on yourself.  So, I think of it as any other big race and go there with the mindset we are starting from zero.’  Suffering gearbox issues on his 1:8 World Final debut before finishing 6th as others had bigger issues, looking to the week ahead and who he is going to face up against, he said, ‘With no international races since the last Worlds because of Covid it is hard to know where we stand.  Dominic (Greiner) is always there, Dario (Bakestri) is always fast too, Simon (Kurzbuch) is a new combo with Mugen and it hasn’t been perfect but he has been learning and so you can count he will also be in there.  Tadahiko (Sahasi) and Shoki (Takahata) will also be up there and have the benefit of plenty of track experience.’  Asked his thoughts on the track which he has never been to before his response was, ‘I think Kenji made it in the same style as Fiorano which I know but the asphalt is different and there is no banking but I am looking forward to driving on it, I think it will be a good track to race on’.

2023 IFMAR 1:10 Offroad World Championship coverage presented by Infinity

The third of the four World Championships Red RC will attend this year, starting Monday, 30th October, our coverage of 1:8 Onroad in Japan is being supported by Infinity.  Releasing their first car in 2015, the Japanese manufacturer won its first 1:8 Onroad World Championship in 2017 in France with Dario Balestri and last year completed the nitro onroad World Championship set by winning the 1:10 Onroad title in Thailand with Tadahiko Sahashi.  As well as producing Nitro Onroad kits, Infinity also offer 1:10 Electric Touring Cars and Formula 1 chassis.