We’ve all heard the saying “where passion meets performance”. It’s a place where magic happens, fun is had, and goals are achieved. Sometimes we even feel like the impossible can become possible.
It’s a Saturday night and Protest Engineering Senior Technician Alex Daley is gearing up (literally) to put his best performance into his passion.
Alex is a pro simulated race car driver and on Saturday nights from March to October he is racing his Number 192 Protest Engineering sponsored Holden ZB in the Rfactor 2 Downunder series (DUS).
Alex’s childhood memories are filled with watching anything and everything involving cars and racing, from TV shows, movies and live racing broadcasts to PlayStation games.
It’s no surprise then that today Alex has a full-blown, race-ready driving setup in his man cave.
“I first got into online racing with a game called Project Cars 1 on the PS3 or PS4. They had the V8 supercar and then came the wheel and pedals. Before long, myself, dad and a friend went to Tekno Autosport for an open day where they had a Rfactor 2 computer game sim setup,” Alex says.
“The fastest lap on the Sydney Motorsport Park got a signed trophy from the team owner and then driver Shane Van Gisbergen and I came second. So, after that I got myself a PC, looked for the game that was used at the open day and got racing with the crew at DUS in 2016/ 2017 – all because I came second in a shootout on an open day.”
Proud to showcase his workplace to the racing circuit, Alex asked Protest Engineering Founder Liam Kelly if he’d be open to sponsoring his car. Liam, more of a “subwoofer guy” jumped at the chance.
“How cool is it that as a business we can support our people in their passions and hobbies,” Liam says.
“It’s true that we’re proud to support our employees in all their endeavours, from Alex’s virtual racing to proud netball and ballet dads and even those with side hustles. If you love it, by proxy we love it.”
Taking to the race track every Thursday for practice runs, and Saturday nights during the V8 season, 2023 is shaping up to be Alex’s best racing year yet.
“This year is probably the best I’ve had with RF2 DUS. I finished eighteenth last year and beyond that in years previous. But I currently stand in ninth place with six races left and almost 100 points between me and eighth,” Alex says.
“First is a fair way off though with a huge 924 points between eighth and first!”
Though sim racing is his main gig, you’ll still find Alex putting pedal to the metal in traditional racing games like Need For Speed, Forza and Fran Turismo – when he’s not running soil tests or practicing for race day Saturdays.
Rfactor 2 Downunder series (DUS) is more than just a bunch of people racing virtual cars. It’s a community where, while still competitive, drivers are happy to share their tips and feedback with the other drivers.
Don’t mistake that for friendly form on the track though. Alex says what he loves about sim racing is that human interaction plays a huge part.
“They’re going to go for the gap you left open or dive bomb into a hairpin. AI-backed games aren’t doing that,” he says.
Thank you Alex for giving us an insight into your love of sim racing and good luck for the rest of the season!
