Being an entrepreneur, that is in the blood of the Rheinards from Andernach. More than three generations have started their self-employment like Toni´s grandfather, who called a large plasterer operating his own. Father Uwe runs the firm still today, while also organizing several of the most famous and successful racing series in the world. Toni follows in their footsteps, even if not in the family business. He and his brother Marc have also being passionate about RC cars ever since. While Marc has made it to be one of the top RC car drivers in the world, being four-time world champion, Toni has a bit of everything: he knows how to handle a RC car, but he is also an entrepreneur, continuously building up his own RC car import and trading company since 2008.
The Beginnings
After school Toni Rheinard successfully completed an apprenticeship as a wholesale and retail salesman, where he worked for several years. At the end of 2008, he grabbed the first opportunity to become self-employed. He founded the RC car trading company ToniSport. Right from the beginning he became the general importer of an upcoming new brand from Hong Kong called SpeedPassion. The company is famous for its motors as well as speed controllers and batteries. Just before that Marc Rheinard became second time world champion with one of the motors of this company.
From that point on Tonisport expanded its product range constantly. Soon the company sold and imported products of RC car brands such as Xenon, Hobbywing or SpecR. One of his biggest coups Toni succeeded in 2011. In this year he took over the import of Yokomo, a brand that just was preparing to build on previous successes. Before that, things were little quiet around the Japanese company, whose name was closely associated in Germany with the legendary Keil-DTM. The various Yokomos, from K1 to K2, being lovingly called Yoghurt Bowls, have been known by almost every RC car driver in the 90s. In 2009 it was especially Ronald Völker drawing attention to the brand in Germany and Europe by his move of joining the Team Yokomo also achieving a multitude of victories. Since season 2011/12 Team Yokomo is also main sponsor of the Euro Touring Series (ETS).
Tonisport Grows
As an importer of RC car equipment Toni nowadays supplies dealers and major customers in many European countries. As an online retailer, he also sells directly to end customers throughout Europe and even to other continents like America and Asia. The product range is continuously growing. Since 2013, the products of VBC Racing belong to his offer. Products of MuchMore, for years the main 
supplier of stock motors of the Euro Touring Series, also occupy a large space on stock. With the European distribution of the Volante tires, produced by MuchMore and also being the obligatory tire in the ETS since the upcoming season, the presence of MuchMore in the 
company is even stronger. Additionally ToniSport is general importer for RC-RIDE, who delivered tires for the Euro Touring Series for years, both for the touring car classes as well as the booming formula class. (Since a few months ToniSport also started the distribution of the brand XRAY who is also a big part of the ETS family).
MR33 – A Brand with a Special Status
A very special place in the company’s products has the brand of four-time world champion Marc Rheinard MR33. For years now Marc is selling a series of RC car accessories and other helpful products under this brand name, starting from shock oil over bags to tools. MR obviously are Marc´s initials, but somebody might not know that 33 was his registration number during his second World Cup title in Bangkok 2008, where he celebrated a legendary success over the Japanese Atsushi Hara. This is how the brand name came up. While visiting the shop a new delivery of MR33 products just had arrived.
What many today do not know: Toni himself was for years one of the best RC car drivers in Germany. In 2009 he even became European Champion in the Tamiya Top Stock class, while his brother Marc took the European Champion Title in the M-Chassis class. That same year the two brothers travelled together to the Tamiya World Championships in Japan. 2005 Toni became German Touring Car Campion Modified in Berlin. He was the first driver in Europe, who defeated his brother Marc after his World Cup victory in 2004.
Even today, the older one of the two Rheinard brothers still knows how to handle the radio. With his clean riding style he still is able to drive lap times like the top drivers. He has always had the talent for setting up an RC Car perfectly and he has not forgotten it to this day, as evidenced by the many successes of his protégé Yannic Prümper.
Tonisport Today
These days the product range of the company includes more than 7.000 option and spare parts. On the grounds of his father at the Schillerring in Andernach, Toni has recently expanded his warehouse with a space of almost 200m². Two full-time employees are at his side: Uli Metzler and Tobias Baumbach, complemented by the support of his mother Elke.
For years, Toni is also operating as a sponsor of RC car Racing. The recently launched Tonisport Onroad Series (TOS) is actually now moving in its second season, represented in both the west and the north division. The TOS additionally takes place in Austria once a year. Furthermore the MAC Adenau organizes the Tonisport Winter Cup on the Eifelring in Leimbach, next to the famous Nürburgring. In January 2016 Tonisport is the main sponsor of the legendary MCSS Open in Althengstett.
The Big Dream – Setting up his own Indoor Track
Toni is trying to fulfill himself another dream: Setting up his own indoor track. Assisted by his father Uwe, whose former racetrack, the Motodrom at the Füllscheuer, has not been forgotten even after 15 years after its closure, Toni Rheinard points out: “The plans are quite concrete, but it takes time and careful preparation to find an appropriate venue”.
We are already curious about it, but one thing is for sure, if the Rheinards face such a project, the track will be something special. “An on- and offroad track including our shop and business – that would be ideal” says Toni Rheinard to BRCNEWS at the end.
Many times BRCNEWS was asked, to publish the report „Eine Erfolgsstory: Das Unternehmen Tonisport“ in English. Ok! Here it is!
Vielfach ist in den vergangenen Tagen der Wunsch an BRCNEWS herangetragen worden, den Bericht auch in einer englischen Version zu veröffentlichen. Diesem Wunsch kommen wir hier nach.
Zur deutschen Version des Textes geht es hier lang: