A new partnership in sim racing came to light on Friday (23rd June) when Asetek SimSports and Tony Kanaan announced that the two entities would be developing sim racing equipment together, kicking off the relationship with a new TK sim equipment bundle available through Kanaan’s partners at Micro Center.
The bundle, which includes a 12Nm La Prima Direct Drive Wheelbase, a pair of La Prima pedals and the La Prima Steering Wheel, which is the entry level products from Asetek, but they fit the ecosystem where they can all be upgraded.
These TK-branded items can be viewed on the Asetek website but they can only be purchased directly from Micro Center. It says bundle, which would imply a discount to get all items, but it doesn’t seem to be the case through Micro Center with the Wheelbase priced at $899.99 and the Wheel and Pedals at $499.99 separately.
The bundle is to commemorate the opening of the new flagship Micro Center in Indianapolis. Kanaan has previously worked with Gomez Sim Industries (GSI) to provide his brand to the sim racing community and those Steering Wheels can be purchased through Micro Center as well.
However, Asetek offers a more complete package for TK to get his branding on, and he said as much in the announcement of the deal.
“When I decided to expand my offering of TK Racing gaming products to include pedals, wheelbases, and wheels, there was no question in my mind as to whom I wanted to partner with,” said Kanaan in the press release. “André (Eriksen) and the Asetek SimSports team have uniquely combined innovative design with software, hardware, and mechanics to provide sim racers a true racecar feel.”
Asetek has also worked with Formula 1 driver Kevin Magnussen. Now with Kanaan in the fold, that’s two different open-wheel disciplines that Asetek has in their back pocket for future development.
Kanaan, meanwhile, has his real-world professional racing career beginning to close as he just competed in his final planned Indianapolis 500 last month. He is getting pretty big in Racing Esports, however, as he works with Gustavo Ariel in the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup and also owns an eNASCAR team.
That eNASCAR team has Micro Center all over both of their cars, driven by rookies Parker White and Tyler Garey. Long story short, the TK empire continues to build in sim racing. Asetek is the latest to jump on board.
Tony Kanaan x Asetek Sim Racing Bundle
- 12 Nm Direct Drive Wheelbase ($899.99)
- Industrial Danish design in the colors of Tony Kanaan
- 12 Nm of Torque
- Compatible with Asetek SimSports® Quick Release
- Tested with over 200 million rotations
- 5-Ports USB C Hub
- Sim Racing Pedals ($499.99)
- Minimalistic and sleek design
- M.L.C.P.C. brake cylinder that withstands 180 kg of force
- Fully customizable in RaceHub
- Interchangeable pedal brake elastomers
- Sim Racing Steering Wheel ($499.99)
- 128 individual input options
- 12 Push buttons
- 2 Seven-way kinky switches
- 3 Twelve position rotary encoders
- 2 Contactless magnetic shifter paddles
SOURCE: Asetek
