Renato Biker, a Titan among Racers
If a pantheon of Stunts racers existed, Renato Biker would be part of it. From Curitiba, Brazil, he joined the community in 2005 and became one of the greatest Stunts racers ever. His achievements are impressive: 2 ZakStunts championships (2006, 2013), 29 races won, 18 second places and 8 third places. He reached the podium in 55 of 65 races he took part in. He kindly agreed to an interview this week.
1. How did you discover the Stunts community? How did other racers receive you?
I've played Stunts with my brothers since 1993 (6 years old). I even have a video of the day I discovered the game (well, when my mom bought a computer). The disputes for the best times were intense between the three brothers. One day, my elder brother told me that there were competitions on the internet. I was crazy to participate. Dark Chaser received me very well, encouraged me, and sent me some replays to help me in the first race, ZCT58. To my surprise, I beat him in that race. That caught the attention of the community. Alain called me to his team, and I accepted immediately because he showed trust in me, while others suspected that I didn't exist, I was simply someone with a fake profile. I don't know if CTG believed I ever existed.
Renato’s ZCT58 replay in youtube
2. How was your performance before joining the community?
It wasn't very good. I'd usually lose to my brothers (I'm the youngest of three, so maybe that put pressure on me to improve). The turning point that made the difference for me was when I found out that in the championship we can use Replay Handling. My patience and perfectionism suited this style of play very well.
3. What did you think about the top racers of the time you joined? Who were they?
I respect Alain a lot. When we raced together in 2006, he wasn't giving 100%, so I beat him. What he did was play until he found the best shortcuts and tricks to help me, but he didn't play until he had a good time. I need to mention Ayrton too. He was the only player at the time who could beat me even when I tried with all my might for a lap. This is exactly why Alain was so important for the 2006 title.
4. Your first win at ZakStunts was in your 6th race, ZCT63. Before that, you had 4 podiums so you had a great start. How did it feel?
In my first race, ZCT58, I still didn't know the tricks of the game. That's why I slowly climbed the rankings throughout the month, with the help of Darkchaser and my cousin Jules. He discovered that crazy jump at the start of the track, in addition to bringing a lot of excitement to the attempts. I couldn't believe I managed to finish the race in third, it was incredible.
However, when I saw the replays of the top two, I realized that it was possible to win. The next month, ZCT59, I fought with everything I had. The replays of this race were amazing to watch, great track as well. But Ayrton was faster. A single detail in the last shortcut. It was very frustrating, but at the same time challenging.
The goal now became to be the 2006 champion. I didn't think about winning races, I just wanted to beat Ayrton. I knew it would be difficult for him to maintain that level of dedication all year, so I had a good chance of winning.
Renato’s ZCT59 replay in youtube
5. After that you didn't stop. How was the path to became a top racer?
Well, just play 5 seconds, pause, return, try again. It's quite stressful at times, but the result was rewarding. I loved watching the replays at the end of the month.
6. How is your race process? Do you take notes or use a checkpoint system?
Unfortunately I haven't kept any of the papers on which I wrote down the checkpoints. I used lots and lots of checkpoints. Sometimes even more than one in just one turn. Each race I filled a few pages of notes. It was getting a little crazy. When I started dating, she found it very strange, "but you don't even play, you just keep coming back, when are you going to drive that car?"
7. You joined the Orion team, a major force in those times. What did you find in the team play? What did Orion mean to you?
Alain helped me a lot on several tracks. An interesting case was in ZCT68. Ayrton was winning and I couldn't improve. Alain found a shortcut in the final hours of the race. I thought it would be very unlikely that I could repeat it in such a short time. I thought I would lose that race to both him and Ayrton. In the last moments I managed his shortcut, I got first, Alain second and Ayrton third, which guaranteed my title that year.
Renato’s ZCT68 replay in youtube
8. Who was your best opponent? You can also choose opponents from different epocs.
Ayrton. I also want to mention Duplode, whom I personally met in 2010, when I could see that he is much better than me at racing without replay handing.
9. Who is the best Stunts racer of all times?
10. Which race(s) did you enjoy the most?
Default, ZCT58, ZCT59, ZCT68, ZCT100, and ZCT138. I may be forgetting some.
Renato’s ZCT100 replay in youtube
11. Which race was the easiest to win, and which was the hardest?
Sorry, this one is too hard to remember. Instead of answering the question, I'll take the opportunity to remember the history of the ZCT100. Because of the race number, everyone made a great effort, the author of the track made a very good job and the main drivers were called to race. It was very funny. Well, I worked really, really hard to get that shortcut bouncing up the tunnel. Seriously, it was really hard to do that. I checked the times, I really got the best shortcut. I was happy to have been able to unravel the best solution for that track/car. However, Ayrton managed to be faster in every detail along the lap, enough to beat me, unfortunately. Anyway, it was an amazing race, please watch the replays of that race again, it's worth it.
12. What is your favourite car?
I like those cars that provide great shortcuts and tricks, for example, Audi, Lancia, Skyline. If the track suits them, I also like the Jaguar and Porsche 962. If you only want one, I choose the Audi (see ZCT138's results and watch my replay, hahahaha).
Renato’s ZCT138 replay in youtube
13. Did you participate in other competitions? Which ones and how were they?
CTG's competition and more one at that time, I do not remember.
14. Are you interested in participating to other aspects of the community life, like building tracks for other competitions, managing an event or a competition, building custom cars?
Maybe participate in a race, but it's not in my plans at the moment.
RENATO BIKER, A TITAN AMONG RACERS by Alan Rotoi
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