Hi All,
So this is an idea I have had for a while so I am excited to finally announce the launch of iLounge Racing.
What is iLounge Racing I hear you say?
So the idea behind iLounge Racing, hope you like the name by the way, basically HiFi Lounge without the Hif, is that we have got some exciting motorsport, racing simulator and car plans for the year ahead and I know a lot of our customers are also Petrolheads but I am also aware that not all HiFi enthusiasts share this passion so as to not overwhelm HiFi Lounge with car stuff I thought it prudent to start a separate website + social media channels where I can share all our motorsport and car news + stories in this area, I will still mention the big news on HFL but this gives us more scope to cover everything without overcrowding the HFL blogs section with non HiFi news.
So what does 2021 have in store?
Lotus Elise Trophy!
So as many of you will know after racing in the Radical SR1 Cup for the last 3 years it is time to try something new and as I have been a lifelong Lotus enthusiast it made sense to give the Elise Trophy a try so we will be uploading the race videos from each of this years 7 events + any other footage we have, the Elise is at the race shop at the moment being converted into a race car with the first test on the 9th April, certainly can’t wait to get back on track, please find more info below –
New Race Suit
We’ve also had the below race suit designed, certainly starting to think it is a case of ‘all the gear and no idea’ though.
Go Karting!
After my return to Go Karting last year after 20+ years away I have signed up for another year in the Lotus Cup at Rye House, yeah it is all Lotus this year, basically an hour long race once a month, have to say weight is everything in Go Karting so I have been sweating the weight off on my Peloton over the last 12 months so am now over 2 stone lighter than this time last year so hopefully that will help move me up the grid, I’ve now got a new GoPro so we will be uploading highlights from each round, I really love the cut and thrust of Go Karting, it is real racing, so can’t wait to get stuck in again.
UK’s only Domestic Racing Simulator Demo Facilities.
This is the really exciting news, during this third lockdown we have moved the Headphone demo room into a smaller more intimate room to free up the space for an exciting new business, basically the UK’s first demo room for domestic home racing simulators.
So I started playing racing simulators with Geoff Crammond’s Revs on the BBC Micro in 1984, a notoriously hard F3 simulator with only one track at launch, Silverstone, but at the time it felt like you were driving a real race car rather than an arcade game, then I worked my way through all Geoff’s F1 games up to Grand Prix 4 in 2002, then there the Papyrus games like Indycar Racing and Grand Prix Legends then last year I was introduced to iRacing where online racing really is taken to a totally new level.
I find it hard to believe that I really wasn’t aware of iRacing until thanks to Covid-19, Radical Cars took their racing online due to the UK Race Circuits being closed, I had previously been racing a Radical SR1 in the real world so was keen to see what online racing was like, needless to say I have been addicted ever since, installing a multi screen setup at home where I now race everyday after work.
When looking around at simulator equipment to buy for myself I realised that there was no where in the UK that I could find where you could demo a full system and get advice on what would be the best setup for me and funnily enough I soon figured out that the home racing simulator business is very similar to the HiFi Business and basically having a demo facility would be a good idea, I focus on iRacing and to be honest there is a hell of a lot to learn, a year in and I am still learning new functions and tricks so we want to help people choose the right system for themselves and answer any questions that iRacing is bound to throw up, obviously these systems can be used with any other racing sims but iRacing is where we focus.
We will have 3 simulators on permanent demo at 3 different price points but all very engaging and capable of posting the fastest times on iRacing and that will allow to realise your potential as an online racer, if you are interested in motorsport and have never tried one of these simulators please come in to give one a try and I know once experienced you will be hooked as I was.
We can also offer the full build and install package so there really is nothing to worry about, you can just get stuck straight in and enjoy your motorsport everyday.
As a customer of iLounge Racing you will also be eligible to join our weekly league races, for me this is where iRacing comes into its own, I race in a league every Thursday evening, to race the same people once a week in a championship really does add another level of competition, you can also join our Discord channel where we can discuss what happened in the race and look forward to the next race, really looking forward to creating an iLounge Racing community.
Sim racing is fun but I must admit I am surprised how serious I take it, it is certainly more than just a game, if you would like to explore this world more please feel free to get in touch to discuss your requirements or feel free to book an appointment to try out one of our simulators.
Please see below for more info on my home system, which already I’m thinking of upgrading, see just like HiFi –
Live iRacing Race Video’s
As mentioned above I race in the UK&I Radical League every Thursday evening which really is brilliant fun and HiFi Lounge is one of the title sponsors, we have just bought on a commentator and the races are now streamed live on YouTube, please search for ‘Milky Cereal’ to follow these live at 9pm every Thursday.
Please find a link to last weeks race at Oulton Park, I actually had a pretty good race here.
New Car Livery
Plus we’ve just had the below Livery designed for our Radical SR8 that I race daily on iRacing so if you watch any of the races that will be me behind the virtual wheel.
Car Videos
Finally we will be looking to add some car stuff to the website, I love my cars so we will start off with doing some videos on the cars I own then see where it takes us, we have quite a few HiFi customers with really nice cars so it would be great to do some videos of their cars also, if you fancy it let me know, doesn’t have to be a SuperCar, just an interesting car.
To Sum Up!
So as you can see 2021 promises to be a busy year and why I feel that starting the iLounge Racing website and Social sites made sense as not to mix it up with the HiFi news, if you’d like to keep abreast of what iLounge Racing gets up to please see all the links needed below and please feel free to follow them –
Website – www. https://iloungeracing.co.uk/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/ilounge_racing/
FaceBook – https://www.facebook.com/iloungeracing
You Tube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK-P27LCxLlSAqRScDGHqKg
Twitter – https://twitter.com/IloungeRacing
And remember as Steve McQueen said (from the greatest motorsport film ever made, Le Mans)-
Thanks for taking the time to look and if you fancy coming along to any of the track action or to check out our simulator demo facilities please feel free to get in touch to discuss.
Regards,
Paul.
