Training/Fun without the cost!
 

As many of you know, I tend to play video games, driving simulators, toys whatever you want to call them. Recently a new simulator has been released called Assetto Corsa and it features the Cobra in it! They have various versions too, based on the 427 street car, 427 race car and a 427 replica. So here is me having a bit of fun driving the 427 replica version at an old Grand Prix track in Tasmania called Longford!



I just think it is pretty cool how close some video games are getting to the real thing these days. Of course, it doesn't match the real thing and there are differences. But I reckon they do work as a training tool for the real thing.

How about one of these to go with it Madison :D

Racing Car Simulator Cockpits

They've got similar ones ( The cockpits) in a place here in Surfer's Paradise....
a bunch of us "kids" went in after a Cobra breakfast one Sunday morning.

We did Bathurst,and a few other well known tracks...
Never been so "Motion sick" in my life.

They seem real...but with all the screens around you, combined with the seat bucking and rocking...the old guts was in a real mess in a short space of time.

And Maddie....imagine those trees/bridges if they were REAL at that speed....
all I kept seeing was places that would "bite" me......

even though it really reminded me of the road out through Beaudesert and Boonah... going out to the A series sprints at Warwick....Lots of fun,with no plod about !!.

Cheers,
Warren.

Great video! Do you blip the throttle yourself on the downshift, or does the game do it automatically?

Nice Driving Mads, that thing looks like it handles like a boat!!!
I'm glad ours is a little more responsive than that...

Yeah, they are great simulators. I know that V8 Supercar driver Scott McLaughlin has one and loves it.

I'm assuming you are talking about a shop called "Racecentre". The simulators in Sydney I really like, but they don't move very much at all. You can barely even feel it. From what i've seen and heard, the motion platform at the Gold Coast store is different and they move heaps more. So basically, i've heard Sydney store = good, Gold Coast = unrealistic. Bit of a shame really.

Yeah that's the thing about video games Warren. No real consequences for mistakes because after all, it's just a game. However, the lines and driving techniques are still the same as real life and it definitely requires as much concentration which is important. The issue is with racing is that no one really gets to practice it very much due to track availability and the huge cost involved. So sim racing kind of lets you "practice" a lot more and allows you to try new and different lines and techniques to see where you can find more time. Of course there are some exploits in video games that will not work in real life both in driving and setup, but the same goes in real life. The trick is to find the "exploit" in the physics and go for it. For example, in V8 Supercars last year. ALL of the teams were running minimum tyre pressure allowed for race trim (17 PSI from memory). Before that they were running even less (way outside of Dunlop's window).

From the one time I've been to Warwick, yeah the roads do look similar!

I was blipping myself and also lifting on upshifts to engage the gear. In some cars the clutch is required on upshifts but it is very rarely required to downshift. So in this video you can see the pedal input on the bottom left and I was basically driving it like an Aussie Racing Car. Lift to go up gears, then left foot brake and blip the throttle to go down gears. I would've been heel and toeing but I was having issues with my clutch pedal when I recorded the video haha.

Back on again this year...

:)

Longford Revival Festival