We started making 1/12-scale car kits and then moved up to 1/10-scale off-road with the innovative original Cat 4WD, which Masami Hirosaka used to win his first world championship in 1987. The company has now grown into a modern factory employing about 25 people. RCCA: Schumacher vehicles are known for innovation in design and materials used. Which criteria are considered when new products are designed, and who are the principal designers or engineers at Schumacher? Does full-scale racing influence the design of your vehicles?

RS: The company has always been actively involved with racing, and we pride ourselves on making high-quality, competitive products that use the very latest materials and technology. Cecil Schumacher passed down the standards of engineering excellence that he learned in full-size Fi racing, and this had a very positive influence on the company. The design and development of our cars, however, is very much a team effort; there is input from our race engineer, Phil Booth, who's a former 1/8-scale gas on-road world champion; our engineering manager, Vic Ababurko; and design engineer Martin Patching. Our team drivers give us valuable feedback on what they want from the cars, and our sales staff contributes information on the market and customer opinions.

RCCA: European R/C racing is quite different from its U.S. equivalent. In Europe, offroad racing occurs mostly on fairly smooth grass and soft dirt tracks, while in the U.S., off-road predominantly takes place on bumpy, hard-packed dirt tracks. Another difference is that in Europe, touring cars usually are raced on carpet, while in America they're raced mostly on asphalt. The Fireblade 2000 USA 2WD off-road buggy is, to the best of our knowledge, Schumacher's first off-road vehicle designed specifically for the U.S. market. Will we see other Schumacher vehicles designed especially for the U.S. market anytime soon?

RS: Yes, there are some differences-espe dally in off-road, where we race on grass and in the rain. Our 2WD off-road buggy, the Fireblade USA, features more upright shocks and adjustable weight distribution to make it more suitable for Americanstyle tracks that have big jumps. The differences are less significant with on-road cars, especially with our touring car, the SST '98; it's very tunable for varying track conditions. We will have to look at each product individually, but I think we now consider the U.S. market very seriously every time we release a new product.

RCCA: Schumacher USA has been around for a few years now; has operating in the U.S. improved customer service and factory support?

RS: Schumacher USA was established in Tampa, Florida, in ago; after mixed success in the early years, it is now running very well. Having our own office is certainly beneficial and allows us to really keep in touch with our American customers. We distribute our products ourselves directly to the dealers. This works out well for us, and we have established very good relationships with many dealers across the country. We find that we can give better technical backup and customer service, and having just one inventory location enables us to provide a very high order-fill rate and fast delivery service. Although the number of hobby stores that carry Schumacher products has increased significantly in the last two years, parts can still be hard to find in some areas of the country, so we also offer a direct mail-order service. Anyone who has a Schumacher car can call us for parts, even if the model is five or six years old.

RCCA: Operating the U.S. facility has brought you far from your native country. Do you enjoy life in the U.S.? What are some of the things you miss from back home? RS: I like traveling, and I enjoy the challenge of moving to a new country, so I accepted the opportunity to move to Florida to manage Schumacher USA in February '97. Even though we share the same language, the culture and lifestyle in England are quite different, but I am enjoying it over here. I miss my family and friends, of course, and sometimes the cool weather, or the English pubs, but overall, it's pretty good. I lived in Japan for a year and a half before moving here, so I'm quite used to being away from home

RCCA: What do you like to do in your free time?

RS: I still race most weekends, which for me is partly work because I meet customers and learn about the cars, but I enjoy it. Outside of R/C cars, I play a little tennis and squash and try to keep fit, or I spend time with my girlfriend, Yumiko.

RCCA: Team Associated/Reedy, Team Losi and Trinity always have scouts looking for hot, new talent. Does Schumacher plan to aggressively pursue new talent in the U.S., or is the company focused on sponsoring drivers in other parts of the world?

RS: Sponsoring drivers is a very important form of promotion. We are always looking for new drivers, and instead of sponsoring a handful of expensive, big-name drivers, we have quite a few drivers across the country who are very good at their local and regional races, and they do an excellent job of promoting Schumacher cars. Our top sponsored drivers tend to be in Europe and in Florida, where we can meet them more often at the tracks, do testing and generally work more closely with them.

RCA: Schumacher is no stranger to nitro power; does the company plan to release any new nitro products in the future, or is its focus more on electric power?

RS: We have been making gas-powered cars for several years, and our Nitro 21 1/lo-scale truck, with its huge, .21-size engine, is a very popular and fun vehicle-although not designed to fit in any racing class. Our next major product release will be a gaspowered version of the very successful SST '98 4WD touring car; it will be powered by a .12-size engine. This is a growing class, and I am looking forward to doing some gas touring-car racing.

RCCA: What are some of your best sellers, in the U.S. and internationally?

RS: In America, we have four main products: the SST '98 4WD electric touring car, the Cat '98 4WD off-road buggy, the Fireblade USA 2WD off-road buggy and the Nitro 21 XT gas truck, or touring car. We also offer a wide range of hop-up parts and accessories, such as tires, chargers, tools, Corrally motors and Team Orion Ni-Cds. In Europe, the product mix is slightly different. We are stronger in off-road and in the low-cost, entrylevel market with our Club io and Wildcat kits.

RCCA: In closing, Robin, what does the future hold for Schumacher?

RS: We will continue our main activity of building high-quality, competitive R/C racecars, and we'll continue to work hard to make even better cars. We also plan to develop the range of accessories designed for the entry-level market. We have made a lot of progress recently in the U.S., and Schumacher cars are gradually becoming a more familiar sight at racetracks around the country. There is still work to be done, however, and we need to reach the many people who have not yet tried a Schumacher R/C car.

RCCA: Thanks again for your time, Robin; we wish you continued success