Throughout the years, I’ve always been passionate about sim racing in various forms. I started in the 1980s (yes, I’m that old) with a game called Pole Position on the Commodore 64. Looking back at screenshots now, you might wonder what you’re seeing. In that game, the track moved via your joystick, while the car stayed in the middle of the screen.
After that, I moved on to Toca Racing on PC, focusing on British touring car racing, again with a joystick. Then I switched from PC to Mac and bought a console for gaming. I was among the first to get an Xbox in 2001. On this console, I continued playing games, and my interest in simulator/arcade racing led me to games like Gotham Racing and the entire Forza Motorsport series until the end of 2023. Initially, I used a controller, then bought an Xbox wheel, traded that for a Logitech G29 wheel, and eventually used a Thrustmaster TX wheel with load cell pedals.
With the last wheel, I became addicted to Assetto Corsa Competizione. I played it a lot, but it was really buggy on the console. After 22 years of playing on consoles, I decided to build a gaming PC for sim racing to take the next step. Man, this was costly. I sold my Xbox Series X and bought a PC with enough power to run games at high detail.
Overall specs:
- AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
- GPU Nvidea 4070 Super with 12GB
- 64 GB of RAM
- 2 TB Fast SSDs
- 2 TB of 3.5 inch disk
- Widescreen monitor
I also upgraded my wheel to a Fanatec DD Clubsport 12Nm direct drive wheel with a Formula 2.5 wheel with Podium shifters and clutch. This took my sim racing experience to the next level.
My pedal set is now a Simagic P1000 with haptic feedback motors, so I can feel e.g. when ABS kicks in or I have wheelspin.
With the purchase of a metaquest 3 VR headset my racing experience went to the next level of immersion.
I also upgraded from a Playseat rig to a more rigid rig, as the 12Nm wheel was way too strong for the Playseat, it even bent!
My Simrace Rig now consists of
- Fanatec clubsport DD wheelbase (12Nm)
- Fanatec Formula 2.5 wheel
- GTM-M3 Button Box from boxoneracing.com
- DIY Flag/rev/gear display box
- Simagic P1000 pedals with Haptic feedback motors
- Metaquest 3 VR headset
- Simhound racing gloves and shoes
- GT omega Apex wheelstand
From a gaming perspective I more or less move my attention to Iracing, which is a broader based sim, very well supported and you can always race online with live competitors. My preferred racing classes now are:
* GT-3
* Open wheel (like F4)
* BMW CS2 cup
* Mazda Mx-5 Cup
Beginning 2025 I also got more involved in Le mans ultimate and enjoy driving the Hypercars with all the high tech settings.
My preferred games now (and playing in VR):
1) iRacing
2) Le Mans Ultimate
3) Assetto Corsa Competizione
4) Assetto Corsa
5) F1 2024 (hmm, not the best game)