Introducing iLounge Racing + Elise Trophy Updates!

[Vipers]

PetrolPed's No24 Goodwood FOS Adventure!

Always been happy to share my toys so for Goodwood FOS this year I split the runs up the hill with Peter, better known as YouTuber PetrolPed so he could make this video, He really is a top guy and the No24 couldn't have been in safer hands, thanks Peter for returning her in one piece

 

We were both as nervous as each other as neither of us had any experience of a car with this much power but he did a stella job, his film really shows what an experience it was driving the 24 up the hill, just follow the link below, enjoy.

 

Cheers,

Paul.

[Bibs]

That noise

[Vipers]

I know, it is bloody addictive mate.

[Vipers]

Musical Cars, Something New For The iLounge Showroom!

 

Hi All,

When we decided to open a dedicated motorsport simulator showroom it wasn't intended to be a Gulf themed room but it certainly ended up that way but to be honest what Livery is more iconic than the Gulf one.

So as cool as it was having my race Radical SR1 in the showroom it didn't really fit the theme so I came across something online a few months ago that would fit in perfectly so the order was placed and it now sits proudly in the iLounge showroom to finish things off nicely.

For me the late 60's/early 70's were a real golden era, especially in sportscar racing, with my 2 favourite cars of all time racing then, the Ford GT40 and Porsche 917, so anyone who visits the iLounge showroom will see the inspiration behind the theme, especially now that we've added the cool 917 from Half Scale Cars, it is basically a 70% scale model of one of the most striking looking and successful cars of all time, it even has an engine and can be driven, please find a link to their site and if you would like any info just let me know and I can put you in touch with the guys there -

https://www.halfscalecars.co.uk/

Anyway I just wanted to show a few pics of the fun and games of getting the Radical out and the 917 in, there is one last job to do, the 917 sits very low so we are having a plinth made for it to sit on to just raise it a touch.

As an update on how iLounge is going, we have sold a few systems now and we also have Jonathan helping run it so onwards and upwards, will be amending the site soon with some bundle prices + new products + we will finally be holding a launch / open day early in 2023 👍

Time Lapse Video - 

We also put this short video together of the fun and games.

Cheers,

Paul.

[Vipers]

Adding the Finishing Touches to the Showroom Porsche 917!

 

Hi All,

So around 2 years after the idea popped into my head of starting a Retail Demo Facility for Motorsport Simulators for home it is finally finished with the addition of a plinth for the Porsche 917 to sit on to make it more of a centre piece for the showroom as it was getting a bit lost just sitting on the floor, please find some pics below of the finished space and if you would like to come in to try any of the simulator solutions we have set up please feel free to get in touch to book an appointment.

In other sim racing news, we are now proud to sponsor the Radical Sim Racing League where we are participate in the Radical World Cup Championship in the Pro Class and Endurance Championship, these are broadcast live on Friday and Sunday evenings with full commentary from James Parfitt, you can find the links below, don't expect me to be overly competitive as these are some of the best Sim Racers in the world but it is great fun to compete against these guys, the last race at LeMans was amazing, never thought coming 10th could be so satisfying -

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfdc8Ba0hssLXnRi7VnNCsg/featured

https://radicalsimracing.com/

Regards,

Paul.

[Vipers]

Radical SimRacing World Cup Finals This Sunday, Don't Miss It!

 

Hi All,

So iLounge Racing is a proud sponsor of the Radical SimRacing World Cup championship that comes to its conclusion with the Finals this Sunday 4th December with 2 races at Road America and Interlagos.

It has taken 2 months of weekly races to qualify for the Final which I am really excited to say that I will be part of the grid racing the No24 iLounge Racing Radical SR10, The grid will be mixed with the Pro and Am classes, I will be in the Pro class, I will be up against some of the best Sim Racers on the planet so I don't expect to do overly well but I am just happy to have made the grid, really can't wait till Sunday.

Please find the timetable below -

Radical SimRacing World Cup Finals - December 4th

Race 1: Road America

• 16:30 GMT - 35 Minutes Practice
• 17:05 GMT - 10 Minutes (4Laps) Lone Qualifier
• 17:15 GMT - Minutes Race

Race 2: Interlagos

• 17:35 GMT - 35 Minutes Practice
• 18:10 GMT - 10 Minutes (4 Laps) Lone Qualifier
• 18:20 GMT - 30 Minutes Race

Live on YouTube

Forget the football world cup, this is where the real action will be, if you love your motorsport but have never watched any sim racing please tune in as these are some of the best sim racers out there so it is destined to be action packed.

Both races will be broadcast live on YouTube with commentary from the best Sim Racing commentator out there, James Parfitt, please find the link below -

Roll on Sunday, I really can't wait.

Cheers,

Paul.

 

[Vipers]

Croft Club 750 Enduro Race Pictures!

 

Hi All,

Been a busy old year and I never got round to posting the pics from our Club 750 Enduro round at Croft earlier in the year so here we are.

It was my first time racing at Croft, really loved the circuit but with this being the 2nd round of the Club Enduro it highlighted the problems we found in the first round where our Elise Cup 250 just isn't competitive in its class compared to the competition, so although we didn't know it at the time this ended up being the last race we would compete in the championship and actually the last race the Cup 250 and I would have in 2022.

We have some really exciting plans though for 2023, watch this space as I am about to enter the Historic Racing scene where I can see myself racing for many years to come all being well, all will be revealed early next year.

Many thanks,

Regards,

Paul.

 

[Vipers]

Showing Our Jeff Gordon Nascar at the AutoSport Show!

 

Hi all,

It is a big year for Nascar this year with it being it's 75th Anniversary so it was great to get invited to show our 2012 Jeff Gordon Chevy Impala Nascar a the Autosport Show at the NEC as part of the celebrations, it was certainly busy and the car got plenty of attention, seems there are a lot of Nascar fans in the UK and rightly so as it is most definitely my favourite form of motorsport, not long now till the new season starts with the Daytona 500 in February.

I just wanted to share a few pictures and announce that over the next 2 weeks I will be in talks to start our own iRacing Nascar league so please watch this space and that is certainly going to be a lot of fun.

Cheers,

Paul.

[Vipers]

iLounge Racing Mini Open Day This Saturday 11th Feb, Meet Our Series Commentator James!

 

Hi All,

Just a quickie to say that we are going to be having a mini open day at iLounge Racing this Saturday 11th February so if you are into, or are thinking of getting into Sim Racing please feel free to come along, it will be held between 10am-4pm.

We will be having a special guest here for the day who many of you will have heard if you have watched any of our Radical races on Youtube that are Broadcast Thursday, Friday and Sunday evenings that we sponsor, James Parfitt, he really is a brilliant commentator who really adds another level to our dicing on track, please see below for a taste of last week's Radical Race Series race held on Thursday evenings, it really is a lot of fun and there was certainly a lot of great racing, if you'd like to join us please feel free to get in touch to find out how to join the grid.

https://www.youtube.com/live/w5VbJEB5LMQ?feature=share

RSVP

If you'd like to join us for the open day please fire a quick mail over to me at the below, the plan is to have all the sims up and running and also to add some type of competition probably a hotlap shootout competition which I'm sure won't get competitive at all.

paul@hifilounge.co.uk

Cheers,

Paul.

The man himself - Mr James Parfitt

[Vipers]

Mmmm, Questionable Behaviour At Our Sim Open Day!

 

Hi Everyone,

This is what happens when you let a load of sim racing guys lose that met on the internet, caption anyone?

Seriously though, it was so much fun at our iLounge open day where we all got to meet commentator James who commentates on our iRacing Radical races, he has just left his job to fulfill his dream of full time commentary, good luck mate, I have no doubt you’ll smash it.

 

Thanks to everyone who came from all over the country to make it such a fun day, look forward to seeing you all on track soon.

 

Please find a few pics, the idea of the blindfold was to try and guide the driver round with just directions which proved far harder than it sounded, great fun though.

 

Cheers,

Paul.

 

[Vipers]

Great Racing at Oulton Park in the Radical SR10 Until....

 

Hi All,

It's been a while since I've posted a race video, to be honest the new Radical SR10 on iRacing had a bit of a troubled birth to say the least but over the last 2 season iRacing have worked hard and now I'm pleased to say it is a great car to drive and we are now getting some amazing racing so I thought I'd quickly post the Radical Race Series race from last week at Oulton Park as it is a great watch and I was having a pretty good race until....

For this season we have a new format of each meeting comprising of 2 races, a Sprint and a Feature with also a few rounds being an Endurance with a Pitstop which keeps things interesting, this season is coming to an end and it proving a really great battle for the championship this year, please find a link to the race below, race 1 is good but Race 2 was brilliant fun, if you don't have a lot of time just start at 49 mins for the race 2 fun and if you'd like to join us on the grid feel free to get in touch and I can explain how.

https://www.youtube.com/live/0BG4TjPAYQ0?feature=share

Enjoy,

Paul.

[Vipers]

Coffee Racer With PS5 VR Now On Demo!

 

Hi All,

Really excited to announce that we now have the genius Coffee Racer on permanent demo and for fun we have partnered it up with Gran Turismo on the PS5 using the new Sony Virtual Reality headset, now I am used to much bigger setups than this but I have to say it is incredible fun.

So what is the Coffee Racer? well not everyone has a dedicated room they can give over to their simulator and not everyone will want a sim setup all the time taking over the living room, but what is important is that if you love your racing games you will never get the best from it with a joypad, you really need a wheel and pedal setup but if you go own that route you need a really sturdy platform to attach them too, enter the Coffee Racer, basically when your sim is not in use it is a small coffee table but the true genius is that when you take off the wooden table top then your steering wheels and pedals are inside all attached ready for use, all you have to do is pull up the steering wheel support, tighten the locking screws and you are ready to race, it couldn't be simpler so now there are no excuses for not having a proper sim setup.

Another great use of the Coffee Racer is for our customers who buy a high-end sim from us as inevitably their kids want to have a go on it but I know first hand that it takes ages to set your sim up to your preferences so if you had a Coffee Racer next to your sim then your kids can have their own sim setup and not muck up all your settings, that way everyone is happy.

Below is a great video from Chris Haye which shows how well made and just what a brilliant idea the Coffee Racer is -

So if you feel this is something that could work for you please feel free to come in to have a look and give it a spin, I know you will be impressed.

Please find some pictures below and a link to the Coffee Racer on our website -

https://iloungeracing.co.uk/product-category/brands/coffeeracer/

Cheers,

Paul.

[Vipers]

What a Race at Barber Motorsports Park, Quite Possibly My Best Race Yet!

 

Hi all,

Just a quickie as I wanted to share lasts night race at barber motorsport, unfortunately iRacing have totally screwed up the radical SR10 that we have been racing for a couple of seasons so we have reverted back to the trusty ol' SR8 which is an absolute joy to drive.

This season we are doing a 2 race format, race 1 is a sprint then the top 10 finishing positions get reversed for race 2, race 1 was going well but an incident dropped me down the pack but I managed to fight back to 10th to start race 2 on pole, all I had to do was hold that position for 17 laps 😬

Please find the race below, if you do just want to watch race 2 it starts at around 48 minutes, enjoy, I certainly did although I was very sweaty by the end of lap 17.

https://www.youtube.com/live/QC1G0nILMTI?feature=share

Cheers,

Paul.

[Vipers]

Tomorrow's Boys Toys Day Update!

 

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to post a quick update regarding tomorrow's Boys Toys event, firstly the great news is that it really does look like the weather gods are Petrolheads as the forecast is looking excellent, what a result.

Secondly thanks to everyone who has registered, we have over 70 cars registered from every marque you can think of so it is going to be a very eclectic mix of cars that's for sure which is great news, just hope we can squeeze everyone in, as I mentioned before if everyone can aim for between 10-11am for the car part that will be great, I think we could possibly go for the Guinness Record for the longest queue to get to a HiFi shop ever 😉

I'm hoping to bring a 60's car that I bought a few months ago that I haven't driven yet, not even managed to get it started yet but I'm hopeful tonight with a little luck we can breathe some life into her and she will make the 30 minute drive to the shop tomorrow, if I'm not here you know why.

So we'll be busy setting up 3 listening rooms today with speakers from PMC, Wilson Audio and DeVore Fidelity playing plus we'll be fine tuning the sims but most importantly we'll be getting the BBQ dusted off for the BBQ breakfast, we've ordered 200 sausages and 100 rashes of bacon, if that isn't enough luckily there is a Sainsbury's just up the road.

Free Entry to this Years UK Audio Show

As a bonus we have teamed up with Chester Group to give everyone that comes tomorrow a VIP Pass to give free entry to this years UK Audio Show in October where we will be exhibiting so don't forget to grab your VIP Pass.

Ok must crack on, look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow, oh yes I should also say please make sure you turn into the correct HFL turning, not into the big house which is the entrance before as the last thing the people that live there need is 70 cars disturbing their weekend, we will sign post it also so make it nice and clear, thanks. Regarding parking, we will use the part outside the front of the shop first, then the normal car park then we will overspill into the hard standing where the big barns are so hopefully there will be plenty of space 🤞

See you tomorrow,

Regards,

Paul.

[Vipers]

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2023, See You There!

 

Hi all,

It is such an honour and a privilege to be one of a select few who get invited to drive up the hill at The Goodwood Festival of Speed so I am delighted to say that I’m going back again this year to tackle the hill for 3 days in our Jeff Gordon no 24 NASCAR as part of NASCARs 75th year anniversary celebrations.

 

Doing it last year was one of the best few days of my life so can’t wait to do it all again.

 

If you are there please come and say Hi, we’ll be in the main paddock, the ones making all the noise

 

Cheers,

Paul.

 

 

[Bibs]

Epic! Have fun mate

 

[Vipers]

Thanks mate 👍

[EGTE]

Your car looked and sounded great at Goodwood!

Shame about today's cancellation.

[Vipers]

29 minutes ago, EGTE said:

Your car looked and sounded great at Goodwood!

Shame about today's cancellation.

Thanks, yeah proper windy here today so correct decision, here’s hoping for better tomorrow 🤞

like a Ghost town today.

[Vipers]

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2023 Photobook!

 

Hi All,

I thought I'd post a few pictures from FoS a couple of weeks ago and a quick overview of a very interesting weekend to say the least, I actually could post loads but have restricted myself to a handful.

Firstly it is a real honour to be one of a select few to be invited to drive up the hill at Fos, for those who don't know this years event was to celebrate 30 years of FoS so was a big one, unfortunately the weather didn't want to play ball with Friday being very wet, Saturday actually cancelled due to high winds but Sunday we got a dry and sunny day so we had all conditions to deal with.

Friday

Trying to man handle a 900hp Nascar on slicks with no windscreen wipers or windscreen blowers in the pouring rain was an experience I will never forget, the power wasn't really a problem but visibility really was an issue as Nascars are not designed to be driven in the wet, by the time I'd  got to the flint wall my glasses and the windscreen had totally misted up + the screen was covered in rain so I couldn't actually see it as it is under trees and it totally disappeared as I was heading towards it so I had to guess where it was and drive slowly hoping to not hit anything, by luck more than judgement we survived but I decided to not do the afternoon run as the rain was even heavier, good old British summer time.

Here's a few pics from Friday -

Doing it in style, we hired a camper van for the weekend.

Slippery When Wet 

Made it to the top of the hill somehow with no visibility

Then the news broke that Saturday would be cancelled due to high winds so we were asked to go down and secure our cars.

With Millions of pounds worth of cars on site the evacuations began

 

Saturday

This a very strange day, we went down to check on the car and Goodwood was like a Ghost town, crazy really when so many people were expected.

At least the divers ball went ahead and we were treated to a ZZ Top concert which was excellent as I'd never seen them play before and they really were brilliant.

Deserted

ZZ Top were Awesome though at the Drivers Ball

 

Sunday

Normal service resumes and we managed to get 2 runs in, it was very impressive that everyone got all the cars back.

Hanging out with Jenson Button

And Mick Schumacher

Johnny Herbert also

Much more fun getting to the top of the hill in the dry

Finally a quick pic of my favourite car, GT40 P/1075, winner of LeMan in 1968 and 1969, possible the most valuable car in the world.

So there we are a weekend to remember for various reasons, the highlight though was that Jeff Gordon, whose car I was driving and whom I'm a huge fan of mentioned our run on his social channels, that really made my day, now had 100,000 views on Facebook and Twitter, mad.

Cheers,

Paul.

[EGTE]

Fantastic memories from a fantastic weekend, no doubt. I greatly enjoyed Thursday/Friday. Sunday must have been epic.

[Vipers]

Yeah certainly a weekend I'll remember for many reasons Russ 👍

[Vipers]

In Car Fos Footage - Play It Loud!

g

 

Just thought I would upload this in car video of our Sunday morning run up the hill, unfortunately by the time we got to go up my forward facing camera battery had died so all we had was the camera facing me.

Watching it back it is amazing to see how many people there are as when driving you don't see one single person as you are so focused on not getting it wrong and crashing, always a relief getting to the top.

The gearing is all wrong really in the car, more geared up for 200 mph+ not a drive up a driveway, you can hear it hunting when not on the power but still an amazing experience.

Cheers,

Paul.

[Vipers]

Chasing a Nascar round Brands Hatch in the Lotus Cortina at Ford Fest!

 

Hi Everyone,

Well it's certainly not everyday you get Brands Hatch to yourself, well along with a Nascar of all things, but we were invited to run demo laps at Ford Power Live 2023 in our Lotus Cortina so needless to say I jumped at the chance.

This was the first time I'd taken the Cortina on track but I have to say it has fired me up to get it FIA approved asap so I can race it as it was so much fun.

As I mentioned we were sharing the track with a Nascar, now before our 15 minute demo run it rained really hard so the track was still damp which made things fun as I was quicker through the corners but with his 600 horses under the bonnet he'd leave me on the straights, great fun though, I wonder if that is the first time anywhere in the world that a Lotus Cortina has chased a Nascar.

Anyway I just wanted to post some pics, I have some great in car video also that I will post as soon as I get the time.

Cheers,

Paul.

[Bibs]

Very cool! 3 wheels all the way through Clearways I hope