Champion driver Ben Keating shares his unscripted review of his personal APEX 6 GT racing simulator.
Ben Keating, born August 18, 1971, in Tomball, Texas, is a highly accomplished American racing driver and entrepreneur. As the owner of Keating Auto Group—the largest privately held auto dealership group in Texas—he has built a successful business empire while simultaneously making his mark on the world’s biggest racing stages.
Keating began racing in 2006 and has since become one of the most successful privateer drivers in sports car racing. He boasts multiple victories and championships in both prototype and GT categories at legendary endurance races, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 24 Hours of Daytona, and the 12 Hours of Sebring. A two-time FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) titleholder, he won the LMGTE Am championship in 2022 and the LMP2 Pro-Am championship in 2023.
Nicknamed the “Ironman” for his relentless determination, Keating continues to push boundaries in motorsport. In 2024, he competed in his tenth 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving his ninth different car—the #23 United Autosports USA ORECA 07.
Beyond the track, Keating applies his expertise in industrial engineering (earned at Texas A&M University) to grow and innovate within both his racing and business ventures. His ability to balance entrepreneurial success with a championship-winning racing career makes him a standout figure in motorsports.
There is no other race-day preparation better than my SimCraft sim time, period. Running a real car on a real track is extremely expensive and time consuming. Using my APEX6 machine, I get to learn a new track or refresh my memory of a familiar track. I get to dial in shifting, brake points, turn in points, apex timing, and real lap times for a specific car and tire. For me, using my SimCraft before an event is equal to a half of running a real car at the actual track. Using this thought pattern, the APEX6 pays for itself within two races.
I get the opportunity to hop on my SimCraft for an hour or two at night instead of watching TV. It is so convenient and easy that it is almost a time-machine. It enables me to stay very sharp between events. I am a businessman who can’t be at the race track driving every single weekend. But with my APEX6, I feel like I have the same opportunity to refine my skill and my preparation as my professional teammates.
This is my first season in the World Endurance Championship. The first 4 races of the season were England, Japan, China, and Bahrain. I had never been to any of these tracks before. Halfway through the season, we were leading the GT-AM championship. A HUGE portion of this is credited to my APEX6. I got to the point where I knew the tracks extremely well. I knew how many times to downshift before a corner without needing to look down at my dash. I knew my brake points and turn in points. I knew how much of the curb I could use and how much I couldn’t. I was up to speed within the first practice session at these tracks, which is almost impossible. The learning process is accelerated so much, that the value of the SimCraft machine is extremely high.
We are involved in serious competition. We are all trying to find an edge that will give us half of a second around a track. My APEX6 IS MY EDGE.
I really get into the “feeling” of a simulator. After working with one of the SimCraft guys to give the machine I was on a little less Prototype feel and more of a GT feel, I was hooked. To be able to save both profiles based on the car I’m driving is also key. This thing feels as legit as possible. I also really love using the VR Goggles with my sim. For me, it really improves how “engaged” you can get behind the wheel. And I am very excited about some of the improvements that have been made for using the VR Goggles with the SimCraft machine. These guys have got it figured out.
Another thing I love about the guys at SimCraft has been the support. We have all spent a lot of money on something and ended up not having the ownership experience we had hoped for. The fact is that any Sim is a bunch of moving parts and it involves computers. It is 100% guaranteed to have issues at some point. The guys at SimCraft have been incredible with their support. Just last month my computer automatically downloaded an update that changed some of the settings. It was above my knowledge level, but Matt Nix texted me the solution on a Sunday night! It was just one example of incredible service. Based on my experience, this is a really big deal. I had a simulator from another company prior to buying my SimCraft machine, and I was basically forced to get rid of the old machine because of no support. Not only does SimCraft build a superior machine, but the level of support goes beyond any other sim company I’ve even seen.
People ask how a 48 year-old business man who has only been racing cars for 12 years can continue to improve with age. My answer is that I work pretty hard at it. But one of the keys to working hard at it is having the tools, and my SimCraft APEX6 machine is the secret weapon of improvement. Unlimited track time at home is truly possible.
Ben Keating
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