How Long Have You Been Sim Racing?

I've been asking myself this question. There are so many sim racers here on RaceDepartment. So many different levels of experience are present. So tell us a bit about yourself and your history! How long have you been sim racing?

And to break the ice: let me start with my relatively recent story.

It all started in a dreaded year. We now look back at it in disdain as one of the worst years in recent history:

Welcome back to 2020.​

The start of the pandemic forced many people to stay inside their homes. And therefore, all outgoing people suddenly had to find something to do at home. I was not one of those, rather, I had been a gamer for years. Add to that my previous interest in racing, and you have the great combination of some games lying dormant in my Steam library.

One of those games was Project CARS 2, which I had bought at some point or another in the past, but hadn't enjoyed with my trusty gamepad. I thought of booting it up again, but then read that playing it with a wheel and pedals would be the wisest decision.

I immediately knew what to do because in the past I had read of Logitech wheels being sold 2nd hand on a local platform. However, for the first time looking at such a product, I had money to spare. So I thought to myself: "Screw it, I'm going all in and buying a new Logitech G920!"

My First Wheel Led to Massive Enjoyment​

And boy, did I have an amazing time! I ground the leaderboard of Brno with my trusty Honda NSX GT3.

Why Brno? I had been going there live for over 10 years to watch MotoGP.
Why the NSX? I just happen to like how it looks, to be honest.

This was such an exciting time for me. At some point I gathered all of my courage and started racing online. Now that was ... more of a 50/50 chance of having a good time. But the one memory that still sticks with me is my first-ever online victory!

It was Suzuka, or Sakkito as Project CARS 2 called it, GT3s and variable weather. With my trusty NSX, I qualified not too well, but after some happenings in the first lap, I was in the top 5. After some great battles, it suddenly started raining. And this is where the magic came in. I happened to choose my pit stop so wisely and perfectly that I immediately made up 2 positions. The top 2 at that time tried running their previous tyres to the end, leading to me catching up lap by lap, corner by corner. Half a lap before the end I finally managed to claw in P1 for my first ever online victory.

But then I Graduated ... To League Racing and ACC​

Fuelled by hype from this success and other good races, I started looking for beginner leagues. I found a promising one on Reddit, with which I spent quite some time before once again switching sims to RaceRoom and founding my own racing community based on that. At some point here, I had also switched to an entry-level DD wheel which I race to this day.

This community has, in the meanwhile, switched to ACC (based on community wishes), and continues to run strongly.

Think of that what you want, to this day, I mainly race on ACC and RaceRoom. And think of THIS what you want, but my favourite category to race is GT3s, no matter the sim.

So, soon I will have raced for only 3 years. Still, these 3 years have been filled with so much excitement, so many buddies I have met online, and so many good memories. I grew to love sim racing and probably won't ever look back.

Now It's Time for You to Tell Your Story!​

Sometimes it's really nice to reminisce and think about what made you the person you are now. I wholeheartedly invite you also to share your story with sim racing. How you started, how you evolved and where you are now.

Feel free to share your story as in-depth or as vague as you want. I can't wait to hear your guys' stories.

So, how long have you been sim racing? Please, let us know in the comments down below!

Ps.: Thank you very much to @AlbertGeorge for allowing me to use their magnificent screenshot for this article.