IF YOU ARE into remote-controlled (R/C) cars, then it's highly likely you would have heard of Andy Lam Hok-nang. Two years ago, he entered the GT class of the Sanyo Tamiya Grand Prix World Championships. It was the first time he had competed at the prestigious event and, amazingly, he beat racers from Japan and the United States to take the trophy. Most recently, he finished in fifth place at an international competition held at the Tsuen Wan Sports Festival. Lam is a familiar face around local tracks - he has been involved in the sport since he was 15. The 32-year-old recalls: 'I used all the lucky money I got during one Lunar New Year to buy my very first R/C car. It was a Tamiya off-road model.' Soon after, his parents sent him to Canada to study and he abandoned his interest until he returned to Hong Kong in 1994. A year later, he started racing 1/10 R/C cars competitively and realised how seriously he felt about it. 'At first I did it just for fun but then it became a real sport for me,' he says. 'You have to practise and prepare for races, and you have to have a sporting spirit - although you can win races in a nasty way.' His achievements in local competitions were enough to win him several sponsorships deals. This allowed him to represent Hong Kong at numerous regional and international competitions, including the Kyosho World Cup in 1999. On competition days, racers get up early in the morning to prepare and take loads of equipment, tools and battery packs to the track. As Lam points out, racing is also physically demanding. 'Mentally it's very tiring. You need to be focused and there's a lot of pressure during each race,' he says. But the satisfaction it gives him keeps him on the track. 'There's a lot of knowledge involved in R/C racing and you learn a lot by sharing with other racers as you're always trying to improve. 'And I love the speed,' he says. Recently Lam has also been racing on-road 1/8 R/C gas-powered cars. 'Racing 1/8 gas cars is like running a marathon - using the 1/10 model is like competing in a 100-metre event,' he says. His love of R/C cars led him to open his own model car shop in Mongkok last year. 'I wanted to do something to nurture young racers in the territory, but the reality is far from ideal,' he laments. 'Many people just regard it as entertainment. They take it up but soon lose interest. 'Fortunately, there is a group of people out there who are really serious about this sport,' Lam says.
