Simulator Tuition

Learn a new track or practice a new technique on our race and track day simulator.  Using state of the art software and hardware designed to give you the feel of a real car our simulator has been designed by racers, for racers.

The software includes tracks that have been built using laser-scan data for as close as possible replication of their real life counterpart and includes many popular circuits from around the UK, Europe and across the world.  We also have full data logging on every aspect of the car to allow you the chance to review your performance and see where time is gained or lost.  The simulator runs on a large projector screen giving you 1:1 scale to the real world and utilises multi channel sound to give aural as well as tactile feedback, you can feel every gear change, every curb and every bump in the road.  We also have the ability to run the visuals in 3D which some drivers prefer as it gives them a more realistic sense of depth to accurately place the virtual car and judge speed.

We offer competitive pricing on an hourly rate and flexible scheduling to fit your requirements.  Contact us with your requirements for tracks and cars and we will help prepare you for your next day on track.  The LearnToRace simulator is based in North Hampshire, about an hour outside of London.

Check out the video below of the simulator in action.

More Sim Goodies

The LearnToRace sim is almost ready to launch, we are in the final stages of confirming the software we will be using but in the meantime here is a bit of hardware testing.

https://youtu.be/VdtXx3OXuWU

Simulator Final Testing

The Learn To Race Simulator is nearly ready for launch. Yesterday we invited Simon Mason of Motorsport Tuition Simulators to try the sim out and offer his advice on fine tuning elements of the setup. This, of course, became quite competitive with some quick lap times being traded.

The video linked below shows Simon driving a lap using the optional 3d view which helps some drivers judge corner entry speed.

https://youtu.be/Cyd4nNkd4H0

Today’s Tip – Don’t Be Late

Make sure you plan your day at the track so you are not rushing around. The driving needs to occupy the majority of your mental capacity before, during and after your sessions. When you arrive in the morning you’ll have a lot to do: unloading; signing on; scrutineering; getting yourself changed into your kit.

Don’t arrive last minute and rush around in a flap, give yourself plenty of time. Expect there to be queues at sign on and scrutineering and aim for at least an hour of down time before you head on track to get yourself in the right frame of mind.

Today’s Tip – Mid-Corner Pace

We’ve looked at corner entry and corner exit so now lets look at the mid-corner.

Our goal with corner exit was to get on the gas at the point where you could accelerate hard out of the corner with no need to lift or feather the throttle. Our goal on entry was to get to that acceleration point as quickly as possible so what do you do mid corner?

In a short corner the mid-corner section is a simple transition from brake to throttle but you often need to use the last release of the brake to help rotate the car towards the exit. You need to aim for the highest minimum speed here which doesn’t compromise the exit.

In a longer corner you may need a period in between the release of the brake and the application of the gas. In this phase again you are looking for the highest minimum speed which doesn’t affect you corner exit, balancing the speed with the natural mid-corner balance of your car.

Today’s Tip – When Do You Accelerate?

Last week we looked at the ideal technique of getting into the corner but when and how should you accelerate?

In a modern car with modern tyres and suspension the ideal acceleration point is where you can get either full throttle or build to full throttle quickly and smoothly.

In an older, classic, car, especially on historic tyres you would aim to finish the braking earlier and pick up the throttle earlier to balance the car mid corner on the throttle. You would gently feed in the throttle out to the exit.

Today’s Tip – Trail Braking

As discussed yesterday, this is the art of getting to the slow point of the corner as quickly as possible.

Braking puts more weight over the front tyres giving them more grip. Initiate the braking as usual with a fast and hard application of the brake then as you turn into the corner balance increasing steering angle with decreasing brake pressure.

If your initial straight line braking is using all of the available tyre grip to slow down, if you then subsequently add a lateral grip request in the form of a steering input you need to reduce the longitudinal (braking) grip request by an equivalent amount. It is far more complex than that from an engineering point of view but from a drivers perspective you can simplify it by thinking that to add 10% steering you need to reduce the brake by 10%.

As you reach the slowest point of the corner you will naturally clear the brake as you are asking for maximum lateral load on the steering and tyres.