Forget big-name Formula One (F1) drivers such as Lewis Hamilton and Nelson Piquet.
Singapore has its own core of racing aces.
Well, in their imagination, that is. These race-car gamers ranging from teenage boys to middle-aged men pretend to be F1 drivers in the comfort of their living rooms.
They don't just hunch over PlayStation game screens simulating real-live races, but rev up the thrills by buying car-part lookalikes such as electronic steering wheels which they clamp to their computer desks.
Some go further, spending thousands of dollars on real-life car equipment and on accessories such as projector screens to make them feel like they are really in the race.
Take 37-year-old Zaieri Mohammad Saad. Inspired by the upcoming Singapore F1 races, he has spent more than $3,600 assembling his own racing cockpit in the living room of his four-room HDB flat in Choa Chu Kang.
Every night after dinner, he puts on his motorcycle gloves to heed the imagined call: Gentlemen, start your engines.
While it is an Ogawa massage chair he sits in, not a racing car bucket seat, he is transported into the world of roaring engines,pitstop babes and chequered flags via a PlayStation 3 Gran Turismo 5 Prologue game that plays on a projector screen he has had specially mounted on the wall.
Released in February, the newest edition of the car-racing game that has been around for more than 10 years is all the rage among gaming enthusiasts for its graphics which mimic reality.
However, motor-mad Mr Zaieri has gone the extra mile to make his experience the wheel deal. He imported a wheel stand from Poland on which he has clamped a steering wheel, plus gear knob, accelerator, brake and clutch pedals.
He declares: "I'm a hard-core gamer and I'm into racing games. I need all this equipment to perform well."
Still, reality has a way of intruding: This F1 driver? is in T-shirt and jeans, rather than a full car-racing suit. He does plan to buy a pair of shoes from speciality race-car footwear-maker Sparko, though.
Such is his driving passion that the inventory controller, who challenges other racers playing the game, is online for six hours till 3am every day.
The game has a function that allows gamers to log online, so they get to race against others anywhere in the world.
His wife of eight years, Ms Zee Omar, a purchasing officer in her mid-30s, is used to her husband's gaming obsession.
"I can't stop him, it's his interest. It's okay as long as he knows how to prioritise his time," she says.
PlayStation says more than 2.23 million copies of the latest version of its car-racing game were bought within two months of its February launch, including 30,000 in South-east Asia.
The game's race tracks are exact replicas of the world's race courses, such as those in Japan and Europe. Every sharp turn and bend is reflected in the game.
It is usually played with a console on which gamers manoeuvre their screen cars via buttons pressed with their thumbs.
For those who do not want to customise the experience by adding steering wheels and the like, the latest boy-toy is a $12,000 mock racing car cockpit sold by electronics store Best Denki. It consists of a cockpit fixture worth $10,000, a $700 race-car seat, a Logitech G25 steering wheel complete with accelerator, brake and clutch pedals, and a PlayStation 3 Bundle.
The store has sold two sets since February.
Others prefer less expensive ways to get their F1 kicks, such as mechanical engineer Chris Wang, 35, who has made his own mock steering wheel stand.
He cut aluminium rods and secured them with brackets to make a stand to keep the wheel from being yanked out of place.
With the rest of the rods, he built an adjustable chair with a real car bucket seat.
He says: "It's better to race in my home than at the arcade. I don't have to keep slotting in $1 coins and there is no pressure to give up my place to other players."
Friend Besmond Tay, 35, improvises by putting his Taiwanese-made steering wheel on his lap for racing games.
He is one gamer boy who is no mere speedster wannabe - he hits the Malaysian race circuit in Sepang once every three months.
"I prefer the true racing experience," he says.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on Sept 14, 2008.
