Talk It Up Tuesday: Ryan Lutz Talks WRC and 2021

Ryan Lutz is the first big silly season mover of 2020/2021 we caught up with him to talk about the big moves and his 2021 plans for this week's #TalkItUpTuesday.

LiveRC: Hey Ryan hope all is well with the family, how has your 2020 been overall?
Ryan Lutz: Hey Tyler, yeah we are all hanging in there and trying to make the most of the extra time I've been able to spend at home this year. With my 2020 travel schedule being down considerably from the previous decade plus of racing, it’s been a welcomed change of pace and refresh. Overall, I guess you could say it’s been a reset or refresh type of year for me especially as we got into this final quarter of the year.

LRC: You surprised everyone with your switch to WRC, were there other options or was it always WRC?
RL: Everything came about very rapidly. It wasn’t necessarily my intent to leave my previous sponsor. But the opportunity with WRC came about suddenly and I felt it was a good fit for a longer term game plan for my career.

LRC: Does WRC plan on releasing a Truggy, will you be racing truggy with something else in the meantime?
RL: Yes they have a truggy in the design phase right now. I don’t know timeframes at all yet. Yes I'm able to run any truggy in the meantime and that choice may just come down to ease of access to one for the first races of 2021 (If ours isn’t ready yet.)

LRC: We also see you are back with Alpha Plus, has much changed with the engines or company since you were previously there?
RL: Well in the past 2 years they have got Jon Dell and Neil Craig over in the UK to import and run the engines. Jon being a wealth of knowledge on the engine side and Neil being an amazing driver of course. So I have some other top talent and knowledge to gain some information from. They have also introduced the new Dragon IV Edition 2 which I demonstrated in video just how easy it is to get started for the first time. They also come pre-broken in from the factory and thus they have really gone after making the engines super user friendly and they have improved fuel mileage and throttle response from what I remember about 4 years ago too.

LRC: What race are you looking forward to the most in 2021?
RL: All of them! I’m excited to get back racing more and hopefully outside circumstances will allow. I am looking forward to working with the USRC series and attending as many of their events as I can, visiting new tracks in the region. I plan on doing most of the Racetime Entertainment events as well and just look forward to being at the races, wherever that may lead me.

LRC: What race do you cherish the most during your time with Agama?
RL: There are 3 highlights being the ROAR Nationals, AMS 10.0, and the primary one having to be the DXR race in the UK. The DXR race was special as Nemo was the primary sponsor of the event, we had a huge presence there and I had only been with them for 4 months. To qualify 2nd and then make the right AKA tire choice for the main to take the strategic win over the World Champion nearly half my age was a great memory I'll never forget!

LRC: You have been on a lot of different teams over the years, who was your favorite teammate?
RL: It probably doesn’t come as too much of a surprise but Joe Bornhorst and I got along great and our fun banter over social media was always fun and seemed well received. We both hated to lose to one another, and we pushed each other to do better!

LRC: Is there anyone you would like to thank?
RL: The women in my life are the ones who allow me to even continue to do what I do. My wife for her continued love and support. My mother-in-law who lives with us most of the year and is immeasurably valuable to our family especially when I am away. And my mother as well who is always a phone call away whenever we need backup! They are the true backbone that allow me to continue in this career path and I am blessed to have them.

Then of course we have my sponsors who also make anything I do possible as well. WRC North America, Alpha Plus Engines, AKA Tires, Futaba Radio and Servos, VP Fuels, Tekin Electronics, ProTek RC Batteries and accessories, Amain Hobbies, Vision Racing Products, Boom Graphics and Prevail Paints.

And last but certainly not least all those who support what I do day in and day out with words of encouragement or supporting my racing program.

And thank you Tyler for having me as part of Talk it up Tuesday!