STACK #257 March 2026

GAMING FEATURE

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Q A WILL FORD OF BOOSTED MEDIA CREATOR with

Will Ford has turned a lifelong passion for motor racing into a sim racing media empire that boasts hundreds of thousands of followers.We managed to catch up with him just long enough to ask a few questions about his history in the field, and to grab some tips on getting into sim racing. Words Amy Flower

Assetto Corsa Competizione ,

How did you get your start in sim racing? I've always been into motorsport, tech and racing games – some of my earliest memories are playing retro racing games on my dad's Commodore Amiga and

with the latter being the more realistic of the two. On PC you have a lot more choice.

The original Assetto Corsa is old now, but it has a MASSIVE modding community around it and offers just about everything you can imagine from drifting to Formula 1 and even open world street car driving, so that's a must. iRacing is probably still the most popular sim racing title and, in my opinion, offers an unmatched online racing experience, but it’s a subscription based service, so it can get very expensive very quickly. Ultimately, what are your top tips for budding sim racers? Find a community of likeminded sim racers with similar goals to race with, like a league or a group of friends. Sim racing does as good a job of simulating the emotional highs and lows of motorsport as it does of simulating the cars. Just like in real life, the bad races (of which there will be many) will make you appreciate the good ones more, but it should always be a net positive in your life, not something that frustrates you. When it stops being fun it's time to switch off for the night. Get lots more Will at boostedmedia.net , or follow him on socials: YouTube: youtube.com/boostedmedia Facebook: facebook.com/boostedmediaofficial Instagram: instagram.com/boostedmediaofficial TikTok: tiktok.com/@boostedmediaofficial X: x.com/_boostedmedia

going to the races as a kid in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Obviously gaming back then wasn't what it is now, but throughout my teen years I was either outside working on cars and bikes, or on the PlayStation or PC playing racing games. As I moved into adulthood, real life took over. I got more involved in the car scene, got a girlfriend, got married, and had kids, so there was a period of about 15 years between the early 2000s and 2018 where I didn't really touch sim racing other than the occasional arcade style racing game. Having two young kids and a wife to think about, taking risks became less appealing, so I gradually became less involved in the real life motorsport and car scene, but still had the urge to go fast! I found myself with a few hours of an evening most days when my wife and kids were sleeping, so I decided to see how sim racing had evolved in my absence and was instantly hooked! It was something I could pick up and put down as required, the barrier to entry was far cheaper than real life motorsport, and, most importantly, there's a reset button when you run out of talent! How would you recommend somebody new to the field of sim racing go about assembling an initial setup?

Ignore FOMO. Be clear on your goals from the outset. Are you looking to train for a specific discipline of real-life racing? Are you wanting maximum immersion? Are you just wanting to have a bit of casual fun with your mates? The biggest mistake people make is thinking that they need to spend a fortune to have a good experience, or that spending more money will make them faster. Marketing tends to focus on force feedback quality as the most important selling point, but good pedals and a solid way to mount your hardware are far more important and will lead to faster and more consistent lap times. The best sim racing rig is the one you can afford. That said, if the bug has already bitten and you know you love sim racing, “buy once, cry once” can often save you money over lots of small incremental upgrades. What would you say are the best sim racing games for beginners? On PlayStation, Gran Turismo 7 offers a huge amount of variety when it comes to cars and driving styles. For Xbox you're probably going to want to check out Forza Motorsport and

14 MARCH 2026

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