Belgium - gamebastion.com

Sim racing can be a sweaty business. I dare say that's something I can write with experience, but perhaps no more. I went for a test drive in a sim rig over at CES 2025 from Nitro Concepts that included a set of blowers that kept me cool, and more importantly, plenty immersed while racing.

For my test drive, a set of blowers sit either side the Moza wheelbase on the Nitro Concepts E-Racer rig. This set-up also includes large LED light strips that light up in accordance with what's happening in the game, ie flashing yellow when there's a yellow flag, and a haptic rumbling cushion. This 'Immersion' gear all connects up to various controllers that are hooked up mostly out of sight.

I'm initially quite sceptical about the whole 'wind' thing. Will it really feel like wind or will it feel like someone turned a fan on in front of me?

The answer is: both.

It does feel like wind, and the gradual scaling up and down of intensity stops it feeling too much like a fan blowing in your face. That said, a fan blowing in your face might also do just as well when going at full speed.

I'm racing around Spa Francorchamps, a racetrack in Belgium on the F1 calendar, and there are some high speed straights that really let these fans reach full whack. There is something quite exhilarating about it—something in my inner brain is better tricked into feeling like I'm travelling at high speed with the 'wind' hitting my face.

But if you think about it, it's not even that realistic to have wind hitting your face in anything other than open cockpit cars. Modern racecars might not be entirely sealed up like a family SUV, but there's at least a windshield on many of them. Nevertheless, I found the wind really added to the experience—immersion doesn't always have to be about pure realism.

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I put a lap in, and then another, and I would've happily gone for a few more had I the time to stick around. But