iRacing World Champion Gets a Shot At the Real Thing 168
jamie sent in a link to the story of iRacing World Champion Greger Huttu, who caught the attention of the Top Gear guys and got a chance to drive a real Star Mazda racer. iRacing is a realistic driving simulator that recreates the exact physics of race cars and tracks from around the world, and nobody is better than Greger. Top Gear wanted to see how the virtual champion would do with the real thing. Even though he was eventually unable to put up with the physical demands, Greger drove really well.
Video or it didn't happen (Score:2, Insightful)
WTF wants to READ about something like this?
The guy threw up inside his helmet (Score:3, Funny)
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The exact physics? (Score:5, Funny)
The exact physics? Unlikely.
From what I hear, these simulations break down as your racecar approaches the speed of light. And they didn't even get the Higgs Field right.
Re:The exact physics? (Score:5, Funny)
From what I hear, these simulations break down as your racecar approaches the speed of light.
True. However, real racecars also break down as they approach the speed of light.
Re:The exact physics? (Score:4, Funny)
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On a serious tone, they have been saying it's exactly the same for ages now :D
Well, waiting until they can simulate on a per atom basis, then recreate the physical sensations as a driver too... Then we can say it's approaching exact :P
Racing myself has shown how huge the gap actually is, even on the best of today's technology has nothing compared to the real thing. But still good fun, occasionally, in the lack of the real thing ;P
12 pages!?! (Score:3, Insightful)
They seriously expected me to click through a 12 page slideshow to read a two page article?
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I agree with you. Was about to read the article, but this is so stupid I stopped at page 1.
Re:12 pages!?! (Score:5, Interesting)
On a normal Thursday, Greger Huttu sits in the blue glow of a computer screen, in his bedroom in the teeny town of Vaasa on the west coast of Finland. In the afternoons, he joins his fisherman father to land a catch of perch netted from Arctic waters. But not today. Instead, he's wedged into the cockpit of a single-seater race car, in the boiling heat of Road Atlanta raceway, Georgia. He's never driven anything like this before - his regular drive is an old Ford Sierra - yet an empty track awaits him, a full race team is at his service and he has full permission to drive as fast as he pleases. Slippery fish suddenly seem a million miles away.
Why? Because TopGear is conducting an experiment. Back on that computer in Finland, Greger dominates the world of online racing. He is the undisputed grandmaster of iRacing, a fiendishly difficult driving simulator that recreates the exact physics of scores of race cars and circuits from around the world.
It's not some gimmicky graphics-fest, but a serious way to hone racecraft and learn about car control. And in the last six years, in iRacing and earlier online sims, Greger has conquered all - leading 2,339 of his 2,581 laps and winning every race from pole. Just a week ago, he clinched the iRacing World Championship, earning himself $10,000 as he crossed the line. No wonder fellow iRacer and NASCAR king Dale Earnhardt Jr is Greger's biggest fan. He is untouchable. Today's test is to see how such digital dominance translates into real life.
We'll soon find out. Under the searing morning sun in Atlanta, Greger squeezes into his car, a Star Mazda racer provided by the Andersen Racing team. The Mazda is a slicks'n'wings single-seater powered by the same rotary engine as the RX-8. It weighs just 607kg, has 260bhp, a six-speed sequential 'box and adjustable wings. And it's really, seriously quick - as quick as a GT car around some circuits.
In other words, it's a proper car that needs to be driven in the sweet spot where the tyres and aero do their thing. If our thinking is right, Greger could be the man to put it there. Because iRacing's physics programme is so accurate, he already knows the car well - the way it steers, the way it grips, even the way it sounds and every tiny intricacy of its set-up, from wing angles to suspension bump and rebound rates - and he's lapped this track thousands of times online.
As engineer Alan Oppel briefs him on the controls, Greger displays some typical Finnish cool. He's a humble bloke, a quiet 30-year-old with a hint of podge around the midriff and, if we're honest, everywhere else too. Despite the cameras and attention, he doesn't strut like a superstar. Instead his head is bowed, his words softly spoken. He appears thoughtful - analytical, measured - and as he digests instructions, he simulates a gearchange and angles the wheel, like he's sat here a hundred times before. Which he has. Virtually.
After one installation lap to check everything's working, he starts his first flyer. All eyes turn to the final corner, a swooping downhill-right with a vicious wall on the outside, ready to collect understeery mishaps. Here comes Greger. The engine revs high and hard and his downshifts sound perfectly matched. Then he comes into sight and, to the sound of many sucked teeth, absolutely bloody nails it through the bend, throttle balanced, car planted. His only hiccup is a late upshift, that has the rotary engine blatting off its limiter. "Time to crank up the revs," says Alan. "He's quick."
The telemetry confirms it. His braking points are spot on. He's firm and precise on the throttle. And in the fastest corner, he's entering at 100mph compared to an experienced driver's 110 - a sign of absolute confidence and natural feel for grip. Remember, this is a guy who has never sat in a racing car in his life - he's only referencing thousands of virtual laps. Then, on lap four, he pops in a 1:24.8, just three seconds off a solid time around here. He recko
30 years old is not too old (Score:2)
For a guy who doesn't work out, Greger doesn't look half bad. What that means is that if you put him on a conditioning program, he would have a good athletic body in a year. I'd be interested in seeing how well this guy does after he addresses
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Ok, so you post on Slashdot which means you have a browser, which means that you have limited time - care to expand on your exercise program ?
I can't run (busted up knees playing ice hockey as a yoof) and this time of year, cycling on British roads is a bit too suicidal for me. But I _have_ to drop about 8kgs and get back to a 32" waist - you sound like you may be able to help :D
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I had refused to lift since the early 1990s because I didn't want too much bulk, but I wasn't losing weight. I knew that the secret weight loss without gi
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Thanks - that's a really interesting read. I've been on a 1700 kcal diet per day for a good 6 weeks now, but damn, I'm hungry all the time!
I'm starting to think it's time I found a good gym - I have the free time these days so I should stop making excuses.
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You've sold me - honest :D
Now I'm just looking for a gym with a decent free weights section and parking somewhere near me :D
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Yeah, but what about the sweet pics?
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This really isn't the way the web is supposed to be used.
Agreed. All text? No nudity at all?
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It's a shame you posted that as an AC - it would be a waste of my mod points to mod it "funny but all too true".
That is if I had any mod points.....
But then that's another truism of the web - lots of people promising things the can't deliver.
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Most slashdotters would be running ad blocking software anyway. I know I am. I'd also never buy something based on seeing it in a banner ad.
On the other hand, I'd actually think about buying iRacer, watching Top Gear, or buying the magazine after reading this interesting article. That's how the web is meant to be used.
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Did you not notice the pictures? Top Gear often presents a series of pictures without text at all. Their site is more about pictures than the articles, unlike Playboy.
Quick, someone inform this guy about the internet!!
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Those Top Gear guys need to discover this whole video thing. I bet they'd do pretty well.
how gracious of them... (Score:2)
Nice story. It was also nice of the photographers to let him clean the vomit off his face and uniform before taking the "victory" picture.
Physically demanding (Score:4, Informative)
Did some racing at the local level where I live and can attest to the physical demands needed to race well. I had to do a lot of running and weight lifting to build up my endurance and strength to race well. There are time I came off the race track after a 45 minute race so spent that my arms and upper body would have exhaustion tremors, unable to even operate the release to get out of the seat.
Yeah... Rub it in, why don't you? (Score:2)
Coming here and showing off with your luck and genes. We can't all be poor AND stupid you know? [southparkstudios.com]
You insensitive clod!
Yeah, yeah... (Score:2)
I know that you're trying to make me and everyone else here feel better but we all know that it's the same thing.
Fast cars driving in circles on a fake road until one of them goes over a line in the road and then the driver of that car wins. And then they pour champagne all over him.
Alas, many of us here at Slashdot have been cursed at birth with middle-class families and above average IQs.
Driving fast cars in circles, going nowhere... god.. I'm tearing up here... it will remain... just a dream to us.
I'm so
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Anyone with a car can race. Some land is helpful, whether you own it or can find it. And, of course, it's probably better to race with a car you don't plan on driving a lot, especially if you're rallying. Alternatively, it's about 40 bucks to bring your car for a lap at open track days.
You can spend about 1 grand on a 2nd hand car. Alternatively, you can get a new kart for about that much.
Racing cars is not just the realm of the rich. Most of the racing in LA happens from lower-to-middle class income p
That whooshing sound... (Score:2)
That was the joke you missed, starting couple of posts up.
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But every sport is somehow a fake or at least an abstraction of some real event. Track and field happens on simulated paths (tracks), with artificial obstacles (hurdles, high jump) and not very real weapons like spears (javelin), rocks (shotput) and slings (hammer throwing).
Lets call them laboratory conditions for a controlled environment to make the results less dependend on random chance.
The same is true for car racing.
I have a sport you might like then... (Score:2)
Elevator riding.
It is a controlled abstraction of climbing a mountain in a car.
It is very similar to racing cars, only it is even more competitive as driver's weight, length of arms and the lack of ass (so as not to get it stuck in the door while rushing in to the "cockpit"), speed and skill at pressing the desired floor are HUGE factors in who will win.
Plus it has a sudden death mode.
It's when they race down with their cockpits unhooked and brakes disabled.
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It is very similar to racing cars, only it is even more competitive as driver's weight, length of arms and the lack of ass (so as not to get it stuck in the door while rushing in to the "cockpit"), speed and skill at pressing the desired floor are HUGE factors in who will win.
Only drag racing is a spending competition on wheels (driving skill is a factor, but nothing you can't spend your way out of). In most events with corners, skill is a major factor.
In offroad navigational rallying, skill is THE major factor, navigation skill that is (driving skill is a big factor too, but not nearly as important as navigation skill...as a driver I must admit this). A team with a beat-down, nearly-stock Samurai can beat a team with a Bowler truck running well into 6 digits by having a more sk
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HAhaha! Loved the old Datsun bit! :P
Maybe because i'm a bit tied into the samething too, i'm probably the unluckiest racer there is ... Always something cutting my budget waaaaay short.
Anyways, my 30yo corolla with it's 110WHP is happy to beat the priceeeey cars anyday ;) ... well it does happen to have 4k+ RPM power band, really good racing suspension, among other small things... but most importantly it's the fact the driver for some reason doesn't seem to need brakes almost ever, and it sounds like he has
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Only drag racing is a spending competition on wheels
I take it you haven't watched Formula 1 in the past, oh, 15 years or so? Interesting that 7 time champion Michael Schumacher couldn't finish higher than 9th (out of 24) when when stuck in an underfunded team's car.
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Yeah but car racing has engineering as a key component, which is why it baffles me that so many slashdot people slam on it. Car racing is more science than sport (to me), so it should appeal to slashdot.
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It's the most biggest misconception that racing is only for the rich. If you lack the cash, just have some good ol' plain ingeniouty and effort. Money makes it all easier, but isn't necessitated that much.
Then again, it's not cheap hobby neither! Even doing the "cheap route" usually means spending about 400-600euros a month on average, no exceptions, saving saving saving saving saving and saving a bit more. Your life will easily become racing centered, it will become your life easy. Everything has to culmin
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Yeap me too a little bit, but in fact WAY shorter cycles, i had to remind myself constantly to let loose of steering wheel because i knew i would wear out really fast.
I do drifting, so it's quite a bit different, where you are racking in extreme to extreme steering angle in extreme speeds, but because it took so much energy to do that i learned a new car way faster, how to balance it perfectly with mainly using the accelerator.
I think my max flat out was 6laps on a 800m lap, only backend and main straight w
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I'm glad the article pointed out the physicality of racing. I've only raced Karts, and those are strenuous enough to require a guy to work out 3-4 times a week to keep up.
Killer Games (Score:2)
I would love to do the same experiment with some Counterstrike gamer, just to dispell the myth of "kill training" in those games. While i noticed the virtual reality approaching the real stuff with cars over the years, shooting is still (and luckily) completely unrealistic.
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I imagine those MILES gunfights would have the same strategic differences as a paintball / FPS game to some extent. The consequences of even the most serious and realistic MILES training exercise are still far less than death, and players will adjust their strategy accordingly, even if only subconsciously.
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At least racing games have realistic controllers that the hardcore players can buy. I don't know of any realistic gun controller, and that's a shame because it would make for some really awesome rail shooters. Games can be as realistic as they want, but until they get the controller, they'll never be able to properly simulate gun fights.
As far as "kill training" goes, I recall a game violence episode of Bullshit where they had a 10yo gamer try out a real semi-auto rifle. Not only was he no good at it, bu
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A large part of military training is teaching people to overcome their natural revulsion towards causing another person harm. It's hard- studies showed that the majority of soldiers
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The problem with shooters is that they will not teach accuracy. Even switching to something such as America's Army which is targetted more at realism and training. Invariably, it is difficult to teach and simulate hand eye coordination from a mouse to firearm. However, what a simulator can teach are tactics and procedures for various scenarios. However, because the field of engagement varies in real life it is difficult to create experience which can be applied over a wider range of areas with a handful of
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True. I think CS would help in paintball though, and vice-versa. People just need to understand that shooting in a game where you can respawn and a round lasts a few minutes is totally different than an IRL gunfight.
I played paintball once with an ex-military guy and he was pretty good right on his first play - not as good as experienced non-military players, but far from a noob.
Success (Score:5, Insightful)
It seems this was a stunning success. The guy had never driven a car anything remotely like an actual race car, he had never flown on a plane or even ridden a roller coaster. Yet he was able to hop into a high performance racecar for the very first time, and have lap times within 3 seconds of the best and handle 100 MPH turns within 10% of experienced drivers' speed. Yeah, he was totally physically out of shape for anything remotely like racing, the temp was over 110 F inside the car, and he threw up. But he didn't wreck after 15 laps. So I'd call this a total success, and does prove, at least to some extent, that experience gained playing games can directly translate to real-world performance, assuming the game simulation is realistic enough.
Re:Success (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, if nothing else this might motivate him to get fit... I mean, the physical demands aren't that great compared to the skills needed to drive that car.
Re:Success (Score:4, Interesting)
I agree, I would say that the part of driving these cars he is good at it the hardest part to be good at, know he needs to decide if he wants to really drive these things, or just be kind of the online car racign world I guess.
On a side note, if you check the iracing website you will see Dale Earnhardt Jr allot, I am not in to racing at all myself, even though I live in Charlotte NC where Nascar is pretty big, I used to work for a telephone company near the raceway, and Dale Dr. lives close to there, anyway he had a T1 line put in from us awhile back (sure something better now adays) but he was having issues with his Nascar game connection from his PC to play the game, I did not do phone support, but a guy that did the install, and as you would expect really liked Dale got me on the phone and had me try to help, as it turned out dale had setup NAT port forwarding correctly in his router for the game to work, but the guy that installed our T1 router also had turned on NAT in that router and it should have just been giving Dale a public IP not a NATed private one that Dale was then NATing again.
Anyway, one thing I can say is that Dale was smart about reading what he was supposed to do forwarding ports etc in his router (that was back before everyone had these NAT routers) and he was a really nice guy about everything while I talked to him and was happy we fixed the issue quickly. Talking to the guy that did the install he said Dale had a steering wheel hooked up and was all setup to race in his house, and was totally in to racing online! now like I said I am not in to racing myself, but I love to play games online, and even though Dale might not think of this as a game, older racers would probably think online racing is silly, and I thought I was pretty cool that he races online all the time like this, abd was a down to earth guy.
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Well, if nothing else this might motivate him to get fit... I mean, the physical demands aren't that great compared to the skills needed to drive that car.
Driving a real car that level, undergoing constant changing G forces, takes a great deal of core strength. Otherwise you flop around like a rag doll and it is impossible to employ the required skills with any finesse. No doubt, there is a marketing angle, but Jimmie Johnson won the Associated Press Athlete of the Year of 2009. [go.com]
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Agreed... Any sport at that level is demanding. But I can guarantee that if this guy was to sign up for Crossfit, or at one of the gyms where I teach, he'd be fit in a lot less time than it took to learn all the ins and outs of racing.
Pretty much anyone can develop core strength and decent endurance. Me, I'm the original white guy with no rhythm, and I have the natural physique of Mr. Potatohead, and yet I can pretty much drive guys half my age to exhaustion, mostly because I work out regularly.
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Certainly the mental skills are probably more important.. but your post seems to discount physical development. It shouldn't. The drivers of Formula 1 cars are some of the most physically perfect specimens in the sporting world. I'm not aware of another sport where the atheletes heartrate is sustained at the 180-200bpm level for 90+ minutes _continuously_. Many F1 drivers will lose several kg of water during a race. The neck muscles will be subjected to 5x the normal weight of head+helmet, and they wil
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I'm not aware of another sport where the atheletes heartrate is sustained at the 180-200bpm level for 90+ minutes _continuously_.p>
Cycling? A 90 minute stage in the TDF would be considered a rest day.... Marathons? Ironman triathlons? Most any endurance sport, actually.
At that level, athletes are pretty much specialized for their activity.
Anyway, the idea wasn't to make the guy into an F1 driver but rather to make him physically fit enough to drive the car for a few laps without puking. Pretty much anyone can do that given the motivation and gym time.
GTA (Score:2)
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You don't have to tell me! Because of GTA I can kill hookers almost like a professional!
But where's the money? I've tried it a few times, but there's never any money on the ground afterwards. I mean what's the point.
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They won't have any on them if they've been to their pimp recently. You have to cruise for them around the right time. Also if their purse is zipped up, the money won't fall out, and there's no green glow to help you find it so you gotta look carefully.
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A car like this needs to be driven with confidence. For the wings to generate enough downforce to make the corner, you must be going fast. Some corners either need to be taken incredibly slow, or flat out in order to have enough grip. Heck, lifting off the throtle (especially in the first or last corners here) can send you into a spin as the car's weight transfers forward off the rear wheels. Without that confidence they either would have driven significantly off-pace or wrecked the car. That said, I ag
Racer drivers vs Fighter pilots (Score:3, Interesting)
Will they take off and do acrobatics easily?
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G forces are directly related to how tightly and how fast a maneuver is performed. It's simply a matter of knowing what your limits are and not exceeding them. That's a pretty recurrent theme in all things aviation.
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But in an aerial dog fight if your ennemy is able to do tighter and quicker manoeuvers than you then your are most probably dead meat. But in 'normal' aviation you should never get next to your limits to have an 'easy' flight.
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Do you realize the g-forces involved in doing acrobatics in a fighter jet? Pretty unlikely.
Oh c'mon, the g-forces of doing acrobatics in a fighter jet is no worse than flying a fighter jet! I mean sure, standing on your head or doing a triple flip might *seem* complicated or dangerous in a cockpit, but I think the worst part is trying to avoid knocking yourself out on the controls. Seriously!
Done it (Score:5, Interesting)
Now, I want to see what happens when a flight sim buff gets in the cockpit of a real fighter jet.
Will they take off and do acrobatics easily?
I'm a licensed pilot and a flight sim buff. Some time ago, I had a chance to fly a T-34 Mentor (military trainer, that prior to an AD was legal for aerobatics). I flew the heck out of one in the sim, and then tried it in the real plane to test exactly this theory and to hopefully be more comfortable in some of the really unusual attitudes that aerobatic flying can produce.
Granted, a T-34 isn't a fighter jet, but it's as close as anybody with a realistic budget can get.
I was able to perform nearly all of the maneuvers that I'd practiced in the sim and other then a headache afterwords was also quite pleased with the outcome. Pleased enough that I flew it subsequently.
To answer your question directly, I wouldn't suggest someone with only sim experience trying to fly without proper training. I also wouldn't advocate trying aerobatics without a proper aircraft, some solid previous real world training in recoveries and a parachute. All of that being said, YES, sim experience definitely translates to the real world up to the point that you have the balls to test it.
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His Face? (Score:5, Funny)
iRacing and not... (Score:2)
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[citation needed]
If a reputable motoring publication is saying it is the most accurate racing simulator, physics wise, then I think the OP will need to cite his/her sources to be taken seriously.
It doesn't help your argument that you thought it necessary to post as an AC.
Can you provide us with more information?
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The F1 teams are using the Racer.nl codebase to train their drivers in the off season. I would hold that to be the highest standard. I'm not sure what this online racing sim uses as their codebase. It wouldn't suprise me if they both use the same codebase.
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I'm not sure what this online racing sim uses as their codebase. It wouldn't suprise me if they both use the same codebase.
IRacing is led by Dave Kaemmer of Papyrus fame, and iRacing uses the NASCAR Racing 2003 code base.
And if you're interested in how in-depth the sim is aiming to be, here's a fantastic video [virtualr.net] on the upcoming tire model that Dave is developing currently. Basically, he's not aware if anyone else has tried to model a tire the same way, using physical model predictions, rather than curve fits to test data.
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I figure iRacing, Racer.nl and RFactor are all among the best of the best. Which is the very best, I can't say, I'd need to have plenty of experience with all of them, but the fact that iRacing is in the spotlight while the others are little-known is thanks to iRacing's online experience and marketing muscle.
As the others said (Score:2)
Citation needed. In particular remember that you need to point to a HOME PC PRODUCT that is more realistic. I would not be surprised if there are specialized systems out there that are more realistic. Larger screens, motion feed back, that kind of thing. However that is rather different than a program that runs on a home computer.
So let's here it then: What for a home user is more accurate than iRacing? I'm just curious mind you, I steer clear of iRacing because it is a simulator, not a game and games are w
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You are (generally) incorrect. Of the two (generally accepted) sim racers, iRacing is the better of the two (rFactor being the other).
I know Greger from racing with him online as far back as 1997. He's a legend. If HE backs iRacing (along with the the Dave Kaemmerer guy, sp?, who has devoted his life to that sim engine, pun intended), then I'm pretty sure there's nothing better.
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One of the top US UAV pilots is 20-something and was a gaming fiend...someone else told me in another discussion and I couldn't beleive it, but they got me a source...I can't find the discussion now, I'm pretty sure I mentioned "last starfighter" in the post.
Re:Irresponsible! (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah, but he's Finnish. That means he was taught to drive properly in real life, even if he never went racing.
Knowing how to properly control a car plus knowing the track inside out means he had a pretty good start point, as proven by the actuality.
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Interesting. What aspects of their driving cause you such concern?
Btw,odd moderation on this thread!
Re:Irresponsible! (Score:4, Informative)
He definitely wasn't just given a car and told "have at it". If you RTFA, you'd see that he was put through a slower initial lap to ensure the car (and i presume he) was okay, and that he worked up to 100mph turns over the 15 laps. He was at a place that does 3-day courses in how to drive race cars, so he had professionals there to make sure everything was okay.
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He definitely wasn't just given a car and told "have at it". If you RTFA, you'd see that he was put through a slower initial lap to ensure the car (and i presume he) was okay, and that he worked up to 100mph turns over the 15 laps. He was at a place that does 3-day courses in how to drive race cars, so he had professionals there to make sure everything was okay.
You're kidding right? 15 laps and y ou're allowed to do 100km/hr on a bend? 3 days and you're a racing expert? A newb puking in their helment and being permitted to continue on. No wonder people die in the sport.
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100mph. It's actually 160kmh.
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I did a corporate skip barber 2 day even, and we were hitting 120MPH at the end of the first day in open wheel cars, with none of us ever being in a race car.
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And yet, he put in lap times within 3 seconds of a professional racer, and didn't hurt anybody.
There seems to be a theory of life that nobody should be allowed to do anything if they haven't been hand-trained by a professional. How did anything get started? Do stuff. Do stuff for yourself. Think through the risks, consider all of the angles possible, and then bloody well do impressive things.
You think everyone that is going to fly a remote-controlled airplane should go through an instructor? Did you dr
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And yet, he put in lap times within 3 seconds of a professional racer, and didn't hurt anybody.
Yes, but I still say that with his only training being a simulator he's lucky not to have killed anyone.
There seems to be a theory of life that nobody should be allowed to do anything if they haven't been hand-trained by a professional. How did anything get started?
There is a difference between doing something for the first time and doing something exceedingly dangerous to yourself and others without having the good sense to build up the skill. That is the difference between the Wright Brothers and some idiot that straps on wings and jumps off a cliff: Careful buildup and calculated risks.
Do stuff. Do stuff for yourself. Think through the risks, consider all of the angles possible, and then bloody well do impressive things.
Thinking through the risks isn't enough. 1 in 1000 people might get away with
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A: He trained in a simulator more extensively than probably anyone else around, so he has the theory.
B: He drives a normal car, so he has the physical side of things.
C: He did these 15 laps at a training facility, with training, under professional supervision anyway. They thought he was good to go. They're not going to risk a million-dollar vehicle on a lark.
A potato cannon isn't going to maim anyone other than the operator, unless you point the damned thing at someone. Then it is basically a thrown rock
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You think everyone that is going to fly a remote-controlled airplane should go through an instructor?
Given that it's the law in most places, HELL YES!
LOLWUT?
I don't know of anywhere that just flying an RC plane legally requires instruction. I've flown all kinds of RC aircraft with no instruction whatsoever (only lots of simulator time, which with today's highly crash-resistant fly-by-wire RC aircraft, you could probably go without).
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LOLWUT?
I don't know of anywhere that just flying an RC plane legally requires instruction. I've flown all kinds of RC aircraft with no instruction whatsoever (only lots of simulator time, which with today's highly crash-resistant fly-by-wire RC aircraft, you could probably go without).
Where are you from? Check out the rules for your local modelling body. In a lot of places you're suppose to have your bronze wings to fly solo and your gold wings before you do public displays. That means you've been tested by a qualified instruction.
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To be fair, it was the first time he'd ever gone that fast, he had never been on a roller coaster before, and the flight to the US was his first time on an airplane.
Given that history, 15 laps hitting corners at 100mph+ is not bad.
They said he was putting up respectable times, and it was his first time doing anything even remotely similar to racing a car.
He eventually had to quit because the g-forces literally beat him up. He certainly didn't give up after puking in his helmet, like most people would have.
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Agreed! I'd have a story that mentions me being sick just to drive that track in that racer!
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The heat and smells of a race car are enough to make some people feel sick before they even get going. (The smell is a mix of oil, gas, and sweat, and then once you get moving there's the burning rubber smell from the hot tires and the plasticy-fishy smell of hot brakes...and if you have a grass allergy, spinning off the track will probably make you feel like you've got a bad case of SARS).
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It has also been mentioned that a combination of jet-lag and possible food poisoning may have contributed as well.
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Hey, you just described my favourite bag o' smells in the world, that cocktail of smells and i'm right at home enjoying the fresh breeze :P
(Yes, i do race abit ...)
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> I threw up after looking at that nerd. He has the whitest skin I've ever seen
Racist.
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He's from Finland.
That should have been enough to explain it. If you still don't understand, go to www.google.com and type "Finland" in the search box. I'm sure you still won't be able to figure out why he's so white, but I'm not going to hold your hand. People need to learn to do things for themselves.
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Finland gets so little sunlight, they design their cell phones with the assumption that sunlight will never touch them. Their infrared proximity sensors are triggered by it, causing all kinds of weird behavior (they use it like the Blackberry uses it's case-triggered magnetic sensor).
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I honestly thought someone Photoshopped Dick Chaney's head into a race car.
That having been said, that's one lucky dude. Getting a chance to race around a real track in one of those? Well done, white man, well done.
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Well to start with the physics of racing are a bit simply because they involve large objects with relatively predictable parameters, in addition, most gaming "physics" is designed to be impressive. People like seeing heads explode and bodies fly 20 feet backward, reality would seem boring.
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They've done something like that on Top Gear before (with a Gran Turismo game IIRC).
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. competes in the NASCAR iRacing series [nascar.com] (won by a Brit, Richard Towler) and several other NASCAR drivers use the service as well (AJ Allmendinger ran a race live on Speed [virtualr.net], for example). Also, about half the IRL drivers [virtualr.net] use iRacing, as well as a smattering of other racers. It's just not rare enough to be interesting anymore, but if you want to find it, there's plenty of video online of pros running iRacing.
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