An Interview with Matt Sten – Founder of Trak Racer
Matt Sten is the founder of Trak Racer and one of the most recognizable figures in the sim racing hardware industry. Unlike many company owners in this space, Matt is highly visible and actively engaged with the community — particularly on Facebook, where he regularly interacts with customers and enthusiasts alike.
From the company’s early beginnings in 2008 to its current global presence, Trak Racer has grown into a major player in sim racing cockpits and peripherals. In this interview, we talk with Matt about the origins of the brand, recent improvements behind the scenes, product innovation, and what sim racers can expect from Trak Racer in 2026 and beyond.
1. Introduction
“Matt, remarkably there are still people in the sim-racing community who don’t know you. So for the uninitiated—with all due respect—who is Matt Sten in short?”
I started Trak Racer in 2008 with the launch of the RS8. I was looking for a simulator on eBay and found the options limited, expensive and poorly designed. I’d grown up around my dad and his fabrication business so had an idea about bending and welding so dad and myself designed up the first rig and started with 200 units. Fast forward to 2026 and we sell over 20,000 cockpits a year across our own 6 warehouses and distributors; and have partnerships with Alpine F1 team, Airbus Aircraft, dozens of professional drivers and teams and some huge new partnership announcements coming soon.
2. Quality Control & Logistics Turnaround
“In 2024 and early 2025, the Trak Racer Facebook groups were… let’s say lively. Lots of posts about damaged packages, missing parts, shipping troubles—you name it. But in the second half of the year, those posts dropped dramatically. What did you change behind the scenes to flip that situation around?”
We overhauled QC, redesigned packaging, added more regional warehousing, switched carriers in some regions, and focused on faster issue resolution by training and onboarding more team members and improving processes around information automation to customers.
3. Most Proud Design
“You’ve personally designed many of Trak Racer’s rigs. If you had to pick just one—no dodging—which sim rig are you most proud of, and why?”
I’m very proud of the TRX as it was a joint collaboration between myself, our engineers and Alpine F1 engineers. The new entry level TR5 is a game changer in industry and I’m also proud of how damn good it turned out.
4. Your Own Rig & Time to Race
“What sim rig do you have at home, and do you still find time to actually race these days? Or is running a sim-racing company the ultimate endurance event already?”
I run a constantly evolving Trak Racer profile rig at home, but I race less than I’d like due to work and personal commitments.
5. Innovations & the TR5
“We saw a lot of innovation in 2025, and for 2026 the TR5 is planned—a full GT/Formula cockpit positioned against the Playseat Trophy, Oplite S8, and F-GT Elite. What makes the TR5 stand out in this very competitive category?”
TR5 is purpose-built—true GT and Formula seating, high rigidity, clean design, and easier assembly than most competitors. It’s got a lot of adjustment in the pedal mount and wheel mount allowing adjustment for drivers with a height of 130-200cm. It includes the shifter and handbrake mount which also had a tonne of height/angle and slide adjustment.
6. Foldable Rig Market
“Foldable rigs—and space-saving setups in general—have become a huge market. Right now Trak Racer doesn’t have a foldable cockpit in the lineup. Is that something you’re exploring, or do you prefer to give people an excuse to move into a bigger apartment?”
We’re watching the space, but foldable rigs come with real compromises. We have been working on one for several years and will launch this year. It’s easy for us to design a product but if we do one, it has to meet our standards which this one does.
7. Pedals & Wheelbase Teaser
“At the Dortmund SimExpo, you showcased new pedals and a wheelbase. We saw a teaser again this year, but no concrete updates. Can the community still expect these products?”
Yes, they’re still coming. We had several delays with our software which we are now on top of.
8. What’s Coming in 2026?
“What exciting new products or innovations can we expect from Trak Racer in 2026? Give us a teaser—no pressure, but the community will analyze every frame of your answer.”
We have over 70 new products coming including those already on our site like the Carbon Fiber Range which is the TRX frame and 2 seats, TR5, 5 wheels including the Alpine F1 replica wheel and much more. It will be a busy year to say the least.
9. Industry Direction
“Stepping away from Trak Racer for a moment: do you think sim racing has reached a plateau, or do you believe we’re still at the beginning of a bigger growth phase?”
We’re still early—hardware, esports, and motorsport are only just starting and the industry is still very niche.
10. Competitive Landscape
“The sim-rig market is more crowded than ever. With so many brands offering similar-looking rigs, how does Trak Racer differentiate itself in a saturated space?”
I agree, it’s not difficult to cut aluminium extrusion to size and combine a few brackets and CNC plates. Trak Racer invests more than others into the design the setup of cockpits which gives us better economies of scale and also more custom products. Unfortunately, lower quality products are coming to the market that have an uncanny resemblance to our products like our sim frames and new TR Series fiberglass seat however we will keep innovating as we always have done to be ahead.
11. Sustainability
“More consumers care about sustainability—materials, packaging, logistics, production footprint. Is Trak Racer taking steps in that direction, or is that something still in development?”
Yes— our new products will be coming with Egg Shell style protection instead of foam. This does present challenges though for items like ours which are basically aluminium or steel in carboard boxes.
12. The Hardest Part of Running a Global Sim-Racing Brand
“Running a global sim-racing company sounds glamorous… but I suspect it’s not all carbon fiber and champagne. What is the most challenging part of running Trak Racer today?”
Since 2020 we have had growing pains as Trak Racer scales year on year. We have an amazing team of talented individuals around us however there is an ongoing need to find more talent. I’m also trying to remain true to my original plan with Trak Racer which has always been to offer better value of money with additional extras you get with TR that you don’t get with others.
13. Closing Question – New Year’s Style
“Final question —are you a big-party guy, or more of a quiet-evening-with-a-drink kind of guy?”
Quiet evening, good drink—maybe a race if I can sneak one in.
“Thank you Matt Sten.“