Hong Kong racing car driver Dan Wells weaves in and out of real and virtual motorsport – ‘it’ll be a busy few years’

The 30-year-old has several ‘hats’, including fledgling careers in the Super Trofeo Europe, simulator sales in Hong Kong, and more
‘I’ve made a lot of mistakes in motorsport. There’s a lot of experience I’d like to pass on to others’, says Wells

Lamborghini

Andrew McNicol

Published: 10:00am, 10 May 2022

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Racing in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe Championship, running a simulator distribution business in Hong Kong, and overseeing a new esports franchise – it’s fair to say Dan Wells has a lot on his dashboard.

But it is just another day for the 30-year-old, as he returns to his Bologna, Italy base this week after working as a host at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Imola and a test event at the Paul Ricard Circuit near Marseille.

While Wells acknowledges wearing “a few different hats”, he said that his focus was on winning, no matter what he did.

Hong Kong racing car driver Dan Wells at a Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe Championship race event. Photo: FFF Racing

“But they all get equal focus. I’m competitive, I want to win as a driver. I also want to win in esports. I don’t see that changing,” said Wells, who alongside FFF Racing teammate Oscar Lee aims to to qualify for the Super Trofeo World Final in Portugal in November. Wells won the final round of last year’s event.

“I want to maintain this balance, win more more championships, and if an opportunity comes up with a semi-factory or factory driver, that’s definitely an aspiration.

“But it’s getting people into motorsports that I love, too. The coaching aspect, because I’ve made a lot of mistakes in motorsport. There’s a lot of experience I’d like to pass on to others. It’ll be a busy few years, but a very, very enjoyable one through my 30s.”

Having been appointed to oversee Lamborghini’s debuting esports team this year, it feels as if Wells’ career has come full circle.

Hong Kong’s Dan Wells (right) and Taiwan’s Oscar Lee of FFF Racing after winning a race event at the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe Championship. Photo: FFF Racing

Wells started his motorsports career on a humble Logitech before becoming one of the first to make the sim-to-real world switch, and racing under the Hong Kong banner.

He has since weaved in and out of both worlds, the common thread of which is maintaining sales for his Asia distribution rights for simulator makers Pro-Sim.

“It was kind of hard for me at the beginning because I’ve always been in the simulation side, always been a game and interested in tech, but I do love the real world,” Wells said.

Hong Kong racing car driver Dan Wells (left) with FFF Racing teammate and former, Moto GP star Dani Pedrosa at the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe Championship. Photo: FFF Racing

But amid a “very hard year” in 2020, Wells’ simulator business kicked into gear, and after installing the first Pro-Sim in Hong Kong in 2019, “all of a sudden I was just getting phone calls. Everyone wanted simulators”.

Wells added: “At the beginning, I was just selling into Hong Kong because of the sheer number of clients who were referred to us.

“I think we’ve probably sold about 20 simulators in Hong Kong over the last couple of years, but I’ve got clients in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, America, Europe.

“A lot of the Hong Kong racing drivers – who like their cars – want to have a good racing experience on a proper racing simulator. It helps them enjoy virtual race tracks while they can’t really travel.

“The way that it’s going at the moment, I’m very busy, but I don’t want to do something half-hearted and without putting 100 per cent effort into it. I would never want to do something jeopardises something else.”