Dave don,t be scared to get a fuel engine please
the ones i used had a short lifespan because they were tuned to the max, they put out about 3.5 hp at 32.000 rpms. The tamiya engines will last a lot longer if you run them rich enough. Most people kill them by leaning them out to much.
On this page at the bottom you find some videos of the european 1/5 championship 2003 in France.
http://www.hobbycenter-france.com/competitions/annee_2003/ce_luxembourg/index2.shtml