Dear reader,
We’re back at it again after a wonderful Easter bank holiday weekend here in the UK. We had some sunshine, some hail, some snow and a storm called Dave (no, really, the storm was called Dave).
I had friends over for dinner, board games and drinks which inevitably meant a midnight session on the sim rig.
There are racing games appropriate for a bunch of guys several beers down who have never sim raced in their life: Wreckfest, Wreckfest 2, the London Bus mod on Assetto Corsa, for example.
But for some reason, on Thursday night into Friday morning, I had my friends strapped to my Meta Quest 3 headset, Asetek Forte wheelbase turned up, lapping around Donington Park in a Porsche Cup Car on iRacing.
Needless to say, very few laps were completed.
Grab yourself a coffee, it’s time to get silly.
Tom Bunten, Traxion.gg
Traxion.gg April Fool Trophy Awards
Occasionally, there's a week with very little news. And thus, welcome to the first annual Traxion.gg April Fool Awards.
The TAFTAs (aka, the most coveted prize in sim racing)
This week has been the calm between the storms.
2026 continues to be a big year for sim racing, just not this week.
And so, it is with immeasurable pride that I can announce the first ever Traxion April Fool Trophy Awards, known throughout the industry as the TAFTAs, (a riff on BAFTAs... I reserve the right to change the name in future).
The nominees…
Fanatec
Fanatec have a record of actually releasing the products they announce on 1st April - the CSL DD being the most obvious in recent times. If you’re reading this Fanatec, please send us some PodiumPlants for our office! Official review coming soon…
Ascher Racing
Genuinely pleasing on the eye, I would love to get Boosted Media’s take on button clicky-ness and flappy padel noise satisfaction levels before I buy.
SimRacing Expo
Nice topical reference to the Grand KitKat heist of 2026. Our grandkids will ask us where we were when we first heard the news…
RaceRoom Racing Experience
This is now becoming, as the kids say, iconic. The fact that this joke is actually available to drive in game is what gaming is all about - who says sim racing has to be serious all of the time?
Moza
How a coffee machine employs force feedback, we’ll never know. This one made the list mainly because it actually looks like a really nice coffee machine! File this one under “wish it wasn’t an April fools joke”.
The Categories
Biggest Fools - Our top prize goes to the entry that our judges feel created just the right blend of creativity, topical humour and smart execution.
Second Biggest Fools - Our second prize goes to the entry that our judges feel created just the right blend of creativity, topical humour and smart execution, but not quite as good as the biggest fool was, but still better than everyone else. It’s a very complex process.
Biggest Fools
And the winner is… RaceRoom Racing Experience!
Our judges felt that the playable nature of this April Fools prank elevates the stunt above a lot of the (perhaps AI generated?) entries from the other nominees. Good job!
Second Biggest Fools
And the runner up is… The SimRacing Expo!
Our judges enjoyed the cheeky yet topical reference to the KitKat heist, suggesting that for some non-specified reason, attendees at this year’s SimRacing Expo would be given free KitKats - good joke!
Well that’s it until next year folks. The winner will receive their prizes in the mail.
Should Fanatec actually send us a PodiumPlant, these results will be revoked and Fanatec will claim top prize.
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News Highlights This Week from Traxion.gg
Like sim racing? Have ears? Then listen to the new, weekly format of the Traxion Control Podcast!
Our AI Pledge
If you’ve ever read a Traxion.gg article, you’ll know that the writers over here all have very distinct voices and opinions. It’s this character and sound that I think makes Traxion special.
Human creation is becoming a rare commodity with which the media seem to trade less and less. But not at Traxion. We don’t use AI to write our articles on the website, and I pledge to you, that I will never use AI to write this newsletter.
Last week’s poll results
Last week we asked which payment model you preferred when buying racing games.
The most popular answer was DLCs. To me, this makes the most sense, it is the “pay-as-you-go” model allowing you to invest only in the content you’re intending to use. Annual releases was the next most popular answer and also likely the cheapest method. iRacing’s subscription + DLC model was the least popular.
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Send your submissions by email to [email protected] and we’ll include them at the bottom of each edition.