Get to Know: Bas Slob

An active iRacer since November of 2013, 31 year old Bas Slob has quickly become acquainted with what it takes to be a successful sim racer. Racing out of Randwijk, The Netherlands, Bas has 27 victories in nearly 400 official races on road courses, and has an oval victory at Lanier National Speedway on his iRacing resume. Bas has also been able to take his love of motorsports to the real world in the Netherlands, having racing and rallying experience in a variety of different cars.

I had the chance to ask Bas Slob about his real world and sim racing endeavors in this week’s edition of Get to Know…

Q:    What attracted you to racing in the first place?

A:    I read about it on a car forum. Someone linked to an article about one of the WCS races on the iRacing News page. It was like reading about a real-life race. That triggered me into taking a trial membership. I was hooked after that.

Bas and his navigator/sister pose with some nice hardware.

Q:    When did you start sim racing and how?

A:    Before iRacing I have been mainly playing arcade race games. I always found other sim racing titles too much hassle to setup and find races. So iRacing was my first real sim racing experience. This was 1.5 years ago.

Q:    How invested, would you say, are you into your sim racing?

A:    When I started iRacing I already had a Thrustmaster T500RS, but after a while I upgraded to a Fanatec CSW with BMW rim and Formula rim. Also, more recently I have bought an Oculus Rift DK2 specifically for iRacing.

Someone linked to an article about one of the WCS races on iRacing News. It was like reading about a real-life race. That triggered me into taking a trial membership.

Q:    Your most memorable race on iRacing and why?

A:    I am member of the Gathering of Tweakers iRacing community and together with four other GoT members we drove the HPD in the NEO Endurance League. This was the first time we did any endurance races with such a strong field and it was exciting from start to finish. Even when I was not in the car driving I was glued to the screen to see if everything was going ok. Once I got in the car that feeling of trying to give it all you have and keep the car clean is so much bigger that driving a normal race on your own. Also the multi-class aspect of those races brings it to a whole different level. The first race we finished fifth, less than a second ahead of the next car, this was after six hours of racing!

Q:    What other hobbies do you do outside of sim racing?

A:    I have been driving rally for the last three years; I drive a BMW 325i E30. All the maintenance on the car I do myself as well. Before that I built a Lotus Seven replica which I still own and take out for a spin on track days every now and then. I also like to do some snowboarding and mountain biking.

Take a ride with Bas and his sister on YouTube:

Q:    What job do you have in real life?

A:    I am a programmer and work for a company that sells 3D Cad Software.

Q:    Funniest moment you have had on iRacing?

A:    I can’t think of specific moment, but with the GoT community we have league races every Monday evening. We take a different car on a different track every week. We just do one hour of practice prior to the race which makes it challenging but a lot of fun.

“The multi-class aspect of (endurance) races brings it to a whole different level.

Q:    Most bizarre moment you have had on iRacing?

A:    I am not really an oval guy, but I did do some truck races for a bit. One race the yellow flag came out every time before we even could get one lap done. This happened five times in a row I think. Only the last five laps we did some actual racing.

Q:    If you were given the opportunity to race in real life, would you take it and why?

A:    Yes, of course! As I said before I am driving a rally car, started doing this three years ago, but time and money limits me at the moment on how many events I can participate in. If I would get to opportunity to race or do any other form of motorsport I would gladly take that opportunity!

“We were best in class but also fastest BMW overall, which was a big surprise since it was my first gravel rally!”

Q:    Most exciting thing you’ve in real life this year?

A:    Winning the Lausitz Rally in Germany. We were best in class but also fastest BMW overall, which was a big surprise since it was my first gravel rally!

Q:    Name one place you want to visit this year.

A:    I want to go back to the Nürburgring; it has been five years since I was there last time. There is actually a mountain bike trail following the track which is a great way to experience the track during a VLN race.

Q:    What is one race you would like to see live at the track that you haven’t yet?

A:    I live in the Netherlands and have been to many tracks, but never to [TT Circuit] Assen. So I really need to visit that track sometime, doesn’t really matter what kind of race as long if it is competitive!

In addition to his successful rallying career, Bas still takes-out his Westfield Lotus Seven replica for track days.

Q:    What is your favorite moment on iRacing from this year?

A:    I have had many great moments and it is hard to think of a favorite moment. But the first time I drove using the Oculus Rift was so amazing, it brought the immersion level for me to a whole other level. I have not used a normal screen since then on iRacing.

Q:    Tell us a little bit about your family.

A:    I live on my own. I have an older brother and sister. My sister is my co-driver during rally events. My parents used to have a farm but are retired now. I have a nephew who is a car mechanic and he helps me out on the car during rally events.

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