Cliff Lett
| Cliff Lett | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Clifton Bradley Lett September 18, 1957 Long Beach, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Radio-controlled racer |
| Employer |
Yamaha Associated Electrics |
| Category | PRO 10 |
|---|---|
| Constructor | Associated Electrics |
| Designer(s) | Cliff Lett |
| Technical specifications | |
| Electric motor | 2T Aveox brushless rear-mounted |
| Battery | 24 2/3A cells NiCad |
| Weight | 2,100 g (74.1 oz) |
| Competition history | |
| Notable entrants | Team Associated |
| Notable drivers | Cliff Lett |
Clifton Bradley Lett (born September 18, 1957) is an American retired radio-controlled racer and the current president of Associated Electrics, where he began his R/C career in 1985. A former motorcross mechanic for Yamaha (particularly for Ricky Johnson), he won seven ROAR National Championships, three NORRCA National Championships and the 1991 IFMAR World Championship and was one of the foremost drivers of the 1980s. Lett, known as "the Buggymaster", helped refine the Associated RC10 and other models in the range. He was the first driver to exceed 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) with a radio-controlled car, recorded by Guinness World Records at 111 miles per hour (179 km/h) in 2001.
Lett spent most of his youth in Los Altos. From age 12 to 15, he raced BMX bikes and was part of the Matthews Motocross team with Scot Breithaupt (his best friend's cousin). Lett competed in and played baseball in high school, giving up baseball for a career in motocross.
Shortly after his mother died of cancer, Lett gave up racing and was a mechanic for Yamaha's amateur and semi-pro riders. He became Ricky Johnson's personal mechanic in 1983, when Johnson negotiated a contract enabling Lett to work with him; their partnership ended after the 1985 season when Johnson moved to Honda. Lett then helped develop engines and suspensions; in his last year with Yamaha, he worked in research and development of YZ motorcycles.
Lett entered the radio-controlled hobby with a gasoline-powered airplane, bringing it on tour and flying as time permitted. His first radio-controlled car was a Associated RC12E. During Lett's travels, he raced the car in parking lots until rider Johnny O'Mara destroyed it by driving it under a moving car. In November 1984, after watching an off-road race on a business trip, he bought a Cox Tomahawk at Hobby Shack and won his first race. When Lett became a mechanic, he worked away from home on weekends and in the office during the week; racing became less frequent until 1986, when he began working in research and development.
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