I tried Worthing's new racing simulator lounge - and I felt like an F1 driver
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
For as little as £10 for 30 minutes, customers can experience the thrill of racing a car, at high speed, around real world tracks – all from the safety of a comfy driving simulator.
Founded by Ricky Slater and his partner Sabrina Fernandes, Just Race is a new family business, based at 45 New Broadway in Tarring Road.
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Hide AdI tried it out for myself and I can safely say it’s the closest I’ve felt to being an F1 driver. It was that realistic and immersive. Ricky and Sabrina were incredibly helpful and were able to clearly explain how to avoid crashing and spinning out – which I did a lot at first!


It does quickly become second nature – until the point when it becomes competitive and suddenly I lost all composure and started crashing again.
The direct drive force feedback racing simulators are extremely accurate and precise and are suitable for all skill levels – with anyone aged six and over able to have a go.
It’s the next best thing to driving a real racing car.
There are five gaming rigs, constructed of an all aluminium frame, with a full size true to life adjustable bucket seat. The controls are all direct drive force feedback steering wheels and bases with matching load cell racing pedals.
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Each rig is controlled by a top of the range modern gaming pc running fast graphics cards, ram and processors. Coupled with ultrawide 1500R curved gaming monitors. Each rig is also equipped with its own gaming headset for an extremely immersive experience.
Ricky explained: “You can feel the bumps, the rumble strips, the grass, the gravel, you can feel if the car goes light, maybe it starts to spin around on you, you get all that feedback through the steering wheel.”
You can choose from a vast collection of cars and tracks from around the world. There are UK-based tracks like Silverstone and Brands Hatch, F1 tracks like Las Vegas, Qatar and Spa and you can drive a number of road cars and race cars – even a Formula 1 vehicle.
Ricky explained: “We're big fans of simulator racing ourselves at home. We have two kids and I was noticing especially recently that they are quite isolated playing at home, so we thought why not take the game and the idea into a more of a family-friendly and social setting.
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Hide Ad"That's where the idea came from originally. Sim racing is getting much more popular over the years as well, so we thought it's probably a great little addition for the area."
Ricky said the feedback has been ‘absolutely amazing’ so far.
He added: “We've had people coming in for like half an hour or one hour bookings and when they've left, they've booked a party for their kids.
"We're getting booked up quite far in advance as well. We opened on Wednesday, January 15th and by the 17th we were fully booked that opening weekend, which was great.
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Hide Ad"I think we served something like between 60 and 70 customers just in that three-day period.”
The simulator is an experience that ‘you've definitely got to try once’ – even if you're not into gaming or driving simulation, Ricky said.
He added: “It really is open to anybody. I think I can almost guarantee once you've sat in front of that screen and you've done a few laps, you'll be hooked and you would definitely want to come and try it again.”
Sabrina added: “It can be as competitive or as relaxed as you want it to be, we don't want it to feel that you have to do well when you come in here – it's more for the enjoyment of being somewhere different.”
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Hide AdThe couple and business partners said they often run out of ideas when finding fun things to do with their children. They also found that it can be difficult to find a an experience where they can all race together – without being separated into different age groups.
Ricky added: “I think we've found a great little space in the market for that and it seems very popular. There are lots of interest in the parties so far.
"We've already got our eyes on some new equipment for some VR headsets. Obviously VR is not for everybody, that's why we've got the screens as well but it'll definitely be something that you can maybe choose to try if you want to.
"I've tried it myself and it is extremely immersive with a virtual reality headset, so definitely it’s something that we'll implement in the future.”
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Hide AdAnother unique element to the business is the artwork and paintings by Killer Pete, who also helped to decorate Hove Lagoon.
“He's a fairly famous local artist – he's carried out works all over the place,” Ricky said.
"He just happened to pop in while we were painting and getting the place ready and said ‘it would look cool to have some colour on the wall’. He began to show us some pictures on his Instagram pages and he very kindly done this for free for us.
“He's provided some extra pictures and bits and pieces on the walls – he's done a great job and we really appreciate it.”
The opening hours at Just Race are:
Monday - Thursday - 12pm - 7pm
Friday - Saturday - 12pm - 8pm
Friday - Saturday - competition 8pm - 10pm
Sunday - 12pm - 6pm
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Hide AdRicky and Sabrina run an after school session for £10 for 30 minutes of driving time.
Bookings can be made at Justrace.co.uk
All packages are now available to book, including group packages and birthday parties. Customers get a free tea or coffee with every booking. You can select from 30, 60 and 120 minute driving experiences, with group discounts available. Ricky and Sabrina said more packages will be added frequently so keep an eye out for those.
Watch our video from Reporter Henry Bryant above to find out more.
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