100 days at VRROOM

When Aidan and I decided to ‘risk-it-all’ and open a sim racing centre there were a few challenges. For a start we had zero experience in sim racing. Google maps led us up Hangman’s Hill to our first meet with a simulator company. The signs weren’t looking good.

We built a ‘Frankensim’. Bolting together components from different brands, keeping the best bits, recycling the rest. The result was not pretty – but it was pretty good.

We wrote a mission statement to keep us focused. We hunted for premises in the day and raced at night. Weeks turned into months and a year soon passed by.

We found premises and began to bring our creation to life. A home for simulators without chequered flags, stacks of used tyres and cheap plastic trophies. A colour scheme inspired by motorsport. Furnishings that embody the spirit of motorsport without being a cliché.

I scraped, sanded and painted while Aidan approached each new building task as a personal challenge. Not knowing how was never an excuse. ‘That’s what YouTube is for’ he would say followed by a sharp intake of breath.

In the end Frankensim was not going to cut it. She was just too unsightly. We needed an evolutionary leap – a make over. If we could not buy a component, we made it ourselves and pretty soon, ‘pretty good’ became awesome.

We were joined by Josh, a racing fanatic. Josh brought a new perspective, fresh ideas and a shiny new socket set in which to build the new sim beasts we had imagined but yet to assemble.

We opened our doors and you came in. That was 100 days ago. In that time over 2,000 of you have experienced our simulators. Hundreds have returned and quite a few are now regulars. Our first Esports championship is well underway. There are more in the pipeline.

We have ideas, we are ambitious and we remain determined. It was never going to be easy, but then nothing worth having ever is.

We are the crazy ones, obsessed with the orchestral manoeuvres of a V10, looking beyond the glossy exterior of cars to the inner beating heart of engineering prowess and human endeavour. We challenge ourselves to save 10ths a second, yet enjoy spending hours doing so. There’s no rational explanation as to what we do or why we do it. We’re here for the adrenaline, the love of competition and the belief that to succeed, you need only apply yourself. Sure, that’s a life time endeavour, but what a life.

It takes a community – an army to start a revolution. Our community is growing across Sussex and far beyond. We are truly thankful to all those who have come down and spent their hard earned cash with us. Here's to the next 100 days and beyond.