

Belt-less direct drive systems are emerging as the new standard in this area, but cost over twice as much as this set-up. This substantial (over 4kg) block houses a brushless servo motor and belt drive system to capture your responses and transmit the all-important force feedback. The wheel attaches to Fanatec’s Clubsport Wheel Base. So if you’d like to sample another of Fanatec’s official wheels – the NASCAR or WRC examples, for instance – you can, even mid-game. There are two gearshift paddles behind the wheel which, like the rest of the buttons and knobs, operate with a satisfyingly positive click.Įvery element of the hardware feels solid and well-builtJust like on a real Formula 1 car, the entire steering wheel can also be popped off and replaced for a different model. Multi-directional switches fall easily beneath your thumbs, and the two closest buttons have thumbshields to avoid accidental presses. This extends to the switchgear, the caps on which can be swapped to tailor the buttons to suit your configuration. Much of the wheel’s construction is customisable, yet no apparent concessions to build quality have been made. The grips are trimmed in comfortable Alcantara and can be swapped for different styles if you prefer. The ClubSport Formula wheel – stamped with the official F1 logo – feels solid with a reassuring heft to it. Installation amounts to little more than a few minutes’ work, and the supplied cables are all of decent length – I’ve learned from bitter experience that a heavy piece of hardware on too short a wire is a recipe for knackered ports. The box contains a steering wheel base, a separate wheel, and a pair of pedals. Its products are pitched at the upper end of the consumer market, offering premium-grade kit at price tags to match.Īdvert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free German manufacturer Fanatec is the official supplier of racing hardware for the series. The official Formula 1 Esports series, launched four years ago, has attracted a huge roster of incredibly skilled competitors who demand the best from their hardware.
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Professional racers can drop four or even five-figure sums on systems much like those you might find in a racing team’s factory.įalling between the two are the growing ranks of dedicated simracers, logging hours on iRacing and other painstakingly detailed simulations. A basic steering wheel and pedals set-up costs less than £100 today, though it may not be up to much more than a game of Mario Kart. Like the games, simracing hardware has evolved rapidly in the past three decades. I never saved up enough pocket money for one to find out.
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By fitting the mouse into a contraption involving a Velcro strap, a rotating shaft and a steering wheel, you could theoretically achieve a finer degree of driving control than bashing the keyboard or bending your Competition Pro joystick.Įven as a nine-year-old I was sceptical how well this Heath Robinson set-up might actually work. The product they offered allowed you to repurpose your regular ball mouse (who remembers the perpetual need to clean the gunk off the rollers?) and use its analogue input to control racing games. But someone had the idea of offering aspiring simracers a realistic steering device – a foresighted piece of thinking when you consider what the market for such products is now worth. Most game controllers were digital at the time and racing wheels attached to computers weren’t seen outside arcades.
