Q&A with Our Newest Ambassador: Alex Kay Racing

Meet Alex, also known as Alex Kay Racing! Alex is a well renowned streamer, with a passion to create extraordinary things, much like his super immersive Sim Rig. A time ago, Alex came across the Sim Racing world, and discovered his underlying passion for Racing Simulation, and hasn’t looked back since. Over to you Alex!

 

“It’s such a pleasure to be working with the great people at Trak Racer!

12 months ago I had a dream to create one of the most immersive racing experiences possible. An experience that would not only make me feel completely immersed in the simulator, but be able to provide that same feeling with others as well!

The customisability and ingenuity of the Trak Racer TR80 cockpit gave me the potential to make this dream come true.

We live stream races weekly on Twitch using this amazing POV, as well as epic cinematic racing onboard videos on Youtube.

I hope to share this immersive racing experience with the world some day, and can't wait to make some amazing content together with Trak Racer!”

In case you haven’t seen Alex before, here are his socials for you to check out;

• YouTube :https://www.youtube.com/@alexkayracing
• Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/alexkayracing
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/alexkayracing?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083541300124 

What got you into sim racing?

I started out sim racing after watching the F1 Drive to Survive series on Netflix. 

I had no idea where to start, and since I already had Gran Turismo Sport on my Playstation I gave that a go. 

I remember the time I shared the track with another driver in a Manufacturers Cup race at Interlagos, where we battled each other wheel to wheel for over 15 minutes. I remember finishing the race drenched in sweat and a feeling of pure exhilaration. That's when I knew sim racing was for me! 

That feeling of being locked in a battle with another driver, giving it everything you have and knowing that they're doing the exact same thing is one of the most adrenaline pumping feelings ever, it makes me feel truly alive.

What was your first sim rig?

I started off with a Racing Wheel stand as I didn't want to commit to a large investment straight away. I would pull it in front of a recliner and used a Thrustmaster T300 RS GT with its accompanying pedals. After realising I really enjoyed driving GT cars the most, I changed the stock wheel rim over to the formula style one.

What is your current sim rig? What gear do you have on your sim?

 

We built our immersive sim rig with the base of a Trak Racer TR80 aluminium profile rig. This flexibility of this cockpit enabled me to place and customise all of the attachments required to produce the racing POV footage we currently make.

Here's a tour of his Sim Rig: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsG2gjbgFKo&t=7s

 

Gear List:

Wheelbase: Fanatec Podium DD1

Pedals: Asetek Simsports Forte Load Cell Pedals

Wheel:  We have a bit of a collection now! 

Fanatec Podium GT3 BMW Rim

Simedal X-GT Lamborghini Rim

Fanatec Mclaren V2 Rim

Rexing Mayaris Formula Rim

Fanatec ClubSport RS Rim

Our Simulator is driven by our RTX 3080 Gaming PC, however we are looking to upgrade this in the future in order to keep up with the ever increasing performance demands of modern day sims.

What is your favourite sim racing title and why?

This is a hard one! I have to divide it into three because no one sim does everything perfectly:

For its strong competitive online ecosystem my favourite is definitely iRacing, being able to simply sign up for a competitive race and have some good close racing any time of the day is definitely the simulator's strong point.

When it comes to a strong community and league racing, Assetto Corse Competizione is my favourite. The friendships and strong sense of family/community are something I will keep with me forever.

When it comes to pure visually immersive and fun driving experience, Automobilista 2 will always be my favourite, the amazing environmental effects and the sense of speed the simulator provides give me that feeling of truly being in the car.

How did you make your sim rig so immersive? 

Thanks to the flexibility and endless customisation options that our Trak Racer TR80 cockpit offers, we are able to create the immersive experience you see in our POV race footage! 

Essentially the experience is built off of a triple screen setup, with the use of physical props (nets, roll cage, button boxes) to blur the line between the game on screen to the physical cockpit. This alongside ambient lighting and filming the entire experience through a GoPro, provides the immersive racing experience we look to create for our viewers.