Shots of Tim Ball in action

BallRacing Developments Ltd, recognised as a global market leader in motorsport simulation, had its beginnings in remarkable circumstances, due to the inventive ingenuity of BRD’s Creative Director, Tim Ball, then a 21-year-old aspiring race driver who believed he could improve on the joystick/keyboard controls of PC motorsport simulation games.

With the crudest of materials - literally, a couple of wire coat hangers, a plentiful supply of papiér-maché to form and mould a steering wheel, and crudely-shaped blocks of wood for pedals – Tim cannibalised the electronics of the joystick to produce the prototype for a control system that would revolutionise the PC racing games industry.

Its potential was quickly spotted by Tim’s father, Roger, who, as a project manager with an international bank, had recently been made redundant. In 1994, less than 12 months after Tim’s joystick tinkering, Roger set up BallRacing Developments to produce the GP500, which, with its steering wheel and pedal controls, introduced overnight a far more sophisticated and realistic motorsport simulation system. It was an immediate success, receiving glowing praise from PC games magazines.

BRD was soon at the forefront of the PC motorsport games market with ever-improving models, it was not long before the company began to break new ground with a concept that, at a stroke, would elevate motorsport simulation to a far higher, and more serious, dimension. It built its controls system into actual racecars to create the ultimate simulation experience.

The result was so authentic that Formula One teams and motorsport companies were quick to recognise their promotional value as high-profile brand-builders at roadshows and exhibitions. Simulation work followed for Toyota (GB), BAR, Ford Racing, Continental, M-Sport, McLaren, Jaguar Racing, Peugeot, Orange, Vauxhall (GM), Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear, and for cars in the World Rally Championship series, British Touring Car Championship, and Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft, the German-based national touring car championship. In the non-motorsports sector, its client list came to include ACA Films, Maritz Canada Inc., Microsoft, Sony, Fuji TV, Intel, Cisco Systems, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest and Electronic Arts.

BRD now produces a wide range – and the most realistic - of Formula One car simulators. A 55% scale model Ford Focus WRC simulator, and a full-scale replica of a 1967 Lotus 49, complete with Cosworth DFV engine, are also part of its stable.

Through its strong links with the motorsport industry, and, in particular, its partnership with Hewlett Packard and Electronic Data Systems, BRD is able to create and design simulators using the same level of cutting-edge technology employed by many Formula One teams, which enables it to take data directly from the teams and manufacturers to speed up the design process and prototyping techniques.

BRD has more recently been devoting its energies to another area of driving simulation, in this case for the benefit of the every day road-user. With the aid of computer graphics, which create with powerful realism the road hazards encountered daily in private and commercial driving, driver-training simulation is becoming increasing popular globally as a means of preparing people for the road in a totally safe and controlled environment.

Interest in BRD’s driver-training development programme has prompted enquiries from official bodies and state agencies as far a field as Australia, Pakistan, America, France and Japan. Full details of our range of driver-training solutions will be available shortly on this website under driver training.

In January 2005, BRD expanded its design and manufacturing divisions through the acquisition of factory and offices at a business park in Newchapel, near Lingfield, Surrey, where it is able to achieve greater quality control, faster production times and more efficient management systems co-ordination.