Offtrack Grinning - 2010/09

September 2010 19
Opposite page: JTEC Radiowave supplied Juan with some toys for this special article. He seemed to have a great time flying these
airplanes, meeting everyone in attendance, and talking RC.
Above: Welcome to the office! Juan has wheeled high-performance racing machines in Formula 1, CART, NASCAR, and Formula 3000.
by Ernie Masche
COLOMBIAN-BORN Juan Pablo Montoya has raced against some
of the greatest drivers in motorsports around the world. From seventime
F1 World Champion Michael Schumacher to four-time National
Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) Champions Jeff
Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, Juan has cut his teeth against the best.
He has wheeled high-performance racing machines in Formula
1 (F1), CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams), NASCAR,
and Formula 3000 (F3000). But when Juan is away from the track,
and even when he’s at the track relaxing in the motorcoach area,
he pours his passion and energy into RC. It gives him an
adrenaline rush that is similar to that he enjoys while racing.
“Racing cars is my profession, but flying RC is where I have fun,”
he said recently at the Flying Aces Pilots Association airfield near the
Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina.
Juan has been racing at a fast-and-furious pace since his dad, Pablo,
taught him karting techniques at a young age. Juan competed in his
rookie season of F3000 in 1997.
Not only did he win Rookie of the Year honors, but he also finished
second in the point standings. Juan followed that the next year by
Offtrack
09sig1x_00MSTRPG.QXD 7/22/10 10:04 AM Page 19
Lef t: Ju an wears his A M A sw a g .
Distric t I V Vi c e Pr e s i d e nt B l i s s
Teague presented him with a patch,
an AMA shirt, and a hat.
winning four events on the way to claiming
the 1998 F3000 Championship.
After a driver swap between Formula 1
owner Frank Williams and CART owner
Chip Ganassi in 1999, Juan competed in his
rookie season on the CART circuit, winning
seven races and the CART Championship. In
2000, he crossed over to the Indy Racing
League and won the Indianapolis 500 after
leading a record 167 of the 200 laps.
In 2001 Juan returned to Williams, then
powered by BMW, to compete for the F1
World Championship. Although he never
won a championship, he was the top
driver and quickly made his presence
known as a fast qualifier. In addition to
20 MODEL AVIATION
Below: Juan pilots a 3.2-meter
Extra 300 powered by the new
Desert Aircraft DA-200 engine.
After taking the radio from Kevin
Young, Juan made a few laps, with
some aerobatic maneuvers mixed
in, and then this smooth landing.
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plus
AeroWo
100cc Yak
Test Report
! ! ! !!! Photos by the author
09sig1x_00MSTRPG.QXD 7/22/10 9:27 AM Page 20
seven victories, he tallied 13 pole positions
and visited the podium 30 times throughout
the next six years.
In 2002, during his European F1 years,
Juan’s wife, Connie, gave him a present that
sparked a new passion.
“My wife gave me a trainer for Christmas
and I’ve still got it,” he said.
She gave him a Hobbico Avistar 40, and a
new RC pilot was born. He taught himself to
fly by practicing with his airplane and a
simulator.
Shortly thereafter Juan bought a few other
aircraft, including a 36% Extra 330, but his
interest in aeromodeling and the time he has to
fly have grown more rapidly in the last two
years. In 2006, Juan’s father gave him a
turbine that sat virtually unused for three
years.
“It was ready to go, but I was in Europe
racing,” he said.
After returning from Europe and his F1
career, Juan rekindled his desire to fly RC.
Since then he obtained his turbine waiver from
the AMA and flies every chance he gets.
“Jets are pretty cool,” he said.
Juan has 12 airplanes, three jets, and five
helicopters in his “hangar” at home in Miami,
Florida. He prefers to fly his aerobatic aircraft,
but he has developed more of an interest in jets
and helicopters.
When Juan finishes a day at the track, he
likes to go back to his motorcoach and sharpen
his skills on an RC flight simulator or pilot one
of his small airplanes or helicopters in the
parking lot. He even ventures out to a local
hobby shop from time to time and finds
someone there with whom to go flying.
When Juan is at home in Miami these
days, he and some of his friends get together
and fly at one of the nearby fields. He
spends every free moment he has building
and flying his RC airplanes, jets, and
helicopters.
Juan enjoys the freedom he gets from
taking a break from racing to build and fly
his newest RC toys. And his son, Sebastian,
sometimes accompanies him to the field.
In recent years, Juan has shared his
experiences with three of his friends
who wanted to learn how to fly
RC. He has instructed them to get
a flight simulator and have
someone show them the basics.
“Get a trainer and with a little
help you can fly solo on your first
day,” he said. “Learn to line it up
with the runway and you’re pretty
much golden.”
Similar to his moves throughout
the world’s biggest racing series and the
skills he uses when driving various cars,
Juan realizes that each model is different
and requires different techniques. He
advises fellow pilots to “be prepared.”
“I’m a decent pilot but I always want to
do more,” he said. MA
Ernie Masche
[email protected]