18 marca 2013

wrzutka od Oscara


Mistrz Europy w klasie PRO 10, trzykrotny Mistrz Europy w klasie E12. Dla wielu legenda lat '90, dla innych twarz firmy Team Orion, dla pozostałych po prostu przyjaciel. Oscar Jansen. W bardzo osobistym wpisie o tym gdzie teraz jest, jaki świat go otacza i jak go ocenia. Przekonajcie się sami, miłej lektury.


Hello dear friends and RC racers in Poland. My good friend Patrick has asked me if I had some time to write some articles for his blog, which I am more than pleased to do. I suppose Patrick know me well and he might be the best person to introduce me in a story from his side.

Right now I write you from my office in our Team Orion brushless motor factory close to Shenzhen in China, and this first sentence sum up where I spend my time the most right now being a World traveler. It’s either on a race track, in an airplane or somewhere in a factory. It’s not that I really like it all the time, but right now there is not too much choice.

Almost 95% of the RC company products are produced and assembled in China to offer you better prices, however still all developments are done outside China. Knowhow and technology is still one of our most preserved secrets, and however I like Chinese food as well the spirit of China, it’s for our future very important to keep developments and new ideas stored in the mind and not ‘distribute’ it.

I am sure many of you know China very well from the news becoming a new super power, increasing economy, and it being a communist country which means people here does not have any voting rights. The government basically decides everything, which is when you logically think about it, something very important when keeping 1.4 billion mostly not well educated Chinese under control.

When I first came here 5 years ago I had a tough time understanding it all, it looked all too crazy. A new road? No problem, just remove the houses, the people can find another home. New subway? No issues, we just do it and ready in 1 year. Here in Shenzhen they made in one go a new high speed train network, new subway network and new road systems, all at once. Just like that, and ready in incredible short time. It’s really very very amazing to see how fast factories are being build, new houses, new apartments, new roads. For the people here it’s all normal, the government decides and it’s like that. For me it was like I was in some kind of strange movie.

Right now, 5 years later, it seems I have become half Chinese. Even the factory owner and business people tell me this very often. Once you have integrated yourself in the system, look at it from another angle, and just accept that things can also work if there is not a voting or a large discussion makes a lot of things very interesting. For me it’s because all the little details that we have forgotten in our ‘modern’ society today to admire/accept about our progress; I put modern between ‘’ as when you would see how things look in Shenzhen today at once our system looks old. Just to give you some funny examples below about how things work here…

1) When you drive a car, there are no rules. When you come from either left of right to a another road or crossing, you just do not stop and look left or right if there is place and time. If you wait, you can wait until your hair gets grey and the black birds come to eat the remaining parts of your skeleton. There is only one option: just go… This was hilarious of course for me first time driving, as it’s un-imaginary and against all logic. But since Chinese driver anticipate on this, it all works.
2) If you want to pay toll at a road, you do not go to the place or spot which is empty to pay the toll. This situation is similar at supermarket counters. You go to where it is long row… it makes no sense for us, but in the mind of Chinese where many people are waiting it is good and fast.
3) Make a lot of noise when you eat. The more noise, the better the food. It’s same for talking, the louder, the happier and pleased you are. If silent, there is no fun and something wrong.
4) If there is a hole in the road, do not bother about repair. The key is to remember it, and make sure to drive around it next time.
5) If someone sells something, try to steal his business. Does not matter how. Just try to take it.

The last sentence makes the point. It’s in the mind here that nothing belongs to someone, it’s all for yourself to survive. This mind idea creates a hilarious amount of copies of products, which seem to look all good on the outside, but the quality in the end is bad. I am sure you all had already some kind of experience with this. For the distributor or the producer this is a difficult situation… how to inform the quality of a product to the customer?

This is what Team Orion does with racing, its team and its products… create an image, create products that look different, that work different, that are something special. This is what I do daily, try to be different and to understand what it makes to be different. And I can tell you, China opened in a lot of ways my eyes… and made me think even more different which also reflects in the products. If you ever have chances to go there do not hesitate. It will be a lifetime and unforgettable experience…

You might wonder why I told you the above story… it has nothing to do with RC. Or does it? In reality is does. All us racers (and I am/was one of those) do something which is different, something that does not really makes sense. There are no books about it, neither a university where you can study RC car technology. RC racing is something you have to discover yourself, see yourself, touch by yourself and feel by yourself; learn and enjoy by your experience and/or with others, and included the will to be better and win. This is what it makes RC racing so addictive…There are not so many sports and hobbies which give this opportunity and sensation, and I wish that someday many many others will discover the fun of it.

You see and might feel I am RC car enthusiast and I will forever be… to understand what and who I am. Wish all of you good luck in racing!

Oscar Jansen

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