Ascher Racing Dual Clutch Button Plate Review

It’s great to see vendors in our community that are always trying to improve on an existing design or product. Martin at Ascher Racing is always looking for ways to improve his products. And I can say he has achieved this goal with new C26 button plate. Instead of the old design where he used a industrial POM plastic, sandwiched between two carbon plates, he now uses a one piece CNC milled aluminum unit.
This new button plate has this really nice custom PCB that eliminates almost all of the wiring of  the older version of his button plate. Of course Martin is still using his great feeling carbon shifters, which is a good thing. Some designs just stand the test of time. I really like these new 7 position joysticks. Not having to move between buttons or rotaries to complete 7 different functions, is a real time saver. And if you are using VR as your main video source, these joysticks become even more useful. The dual clutch setup was at first something I thought would just be fun to play with when running an F1 car. But as it turns out, these paddles can give you an advantage when using any car in a series where you are required to make a standing start. Once you get the proper bite point dialed in, and become familiar with using the slave clutch to  complete your launch, you will want to use them anytime you can. Now, I want them on all my wheels. You also get to configure your button plate with different colors for you button and toggle caps.

Ok, now for downside, like most high quality sim racing gear, this button plate is a bit pricey. At 621.00 euro’s or 740.00, it’s not something that everyone will want for their sim racing needs. You still have to buy a wheel to mount it on. And with most name brand real racing wheels you are looking a almost 1000.00 total to build a wheel like you see here. So, obviously not for the budget minded sim racer. But then again, what high end gear is? If you are in the market for a new button plate, with or with out clutches, you should have Ascher Racing at the top of your list of vendors to consider.