Professional Simulator: the key to unlock your performance

By now the motorsport winter season has started for many championships and, for others, it is about to begin. For this reason, "The Racing Journal" moves away from the circuits for a moment and dedicates itself to a very particular part of preparing a driver to tackle the track: the use of the professional simulator.

Thanks to the lockdown due to COVID-19 in 2020, the simulator as a hobby or as a sporting activity spread rapidly among professional drivers and enthusiast amateurs. Real sim racing championships were born on different simulation platforms with a lot of registration fees and prizes of a certain level for the winners. What we are dealing with in this article, however, is not to be confused with this kind of simulation activity. In fact, the professional simulator has been used for much longer by teams to develop both driver and car performance, keeping costs and risks much lower than the classic test on track. In short, over time the professional simulator has become one of the most important keys to unlock the potential performance of the driver and the car even before reaching the race circuit.

Simutec Motorsport Simulation

Considering the importance of the professional simulator during the preparation of a driver, it was just logical for A Cup of Racing to offer this opportunities to both real drivers and sim racing enthusiasts. The winter off-season have arrived and, together with it, also the opportunity to have a space where everyone can train himself with a professional Formula simulator: a simulator studio based in Milton Keynes, UK. Partnering with A Cup of Racing and with our founder, Davide De Russis, owning a part of the total company share, Simutec Motorsport Simulation Simutec Motorsport Simulation Ltd. is born.

The Simulator

A professional simulator, like the one we have in our Milton Keynes studio, can be used to reproduce an interactive virtual reality that makes drivers and teams able to maximize potential and experience. Simutec Motorsport Simulation professional simulator consists of a Formula cockpit and a 180 degree screen that wraps around the cockpit which helps create a fully immersive driving environment. The room where the simulator is in is dark and the driver is surrounded by ultra-high resolution floor-to-ceiling graphics. The professional audio system completes the immersion in the driving environment to make it as realistic as possible. In some cases, professional simulators can be found that include hydraulic actuators that can also simulate the various dynamic movements of the cockpit. Pedals and steering are fully adjustable to allow it to be used by drivers of different heights and builds at Simutec, as well as to replicate the driving position that is typically adopted in a real racing car. Our simulator is also equipped with a live telemetry system and a two-way radio communication system for driver-engineer communications. In short, everything is designed to simulate what happens at the track in the most realistic way possible.

Physical and Visual Models

The car model is created and finished by professionals, both visually and physically. We spend hours working on physical models in order to replicate the static and dynamic characteristics of the racing car in the simulator in the most realistic and reliable way possible. Only in this way the simulation experience is equal to a preparation to face the real circuit. Despite this, there is always something to take into consideration when testing: a percentage error between what was obtained in the simulator and what was tested in the real world. This means that, although a professional simulator is of vital importance for the preparation of cars and drivers, there are natural variables that cannot be replicated with the same precision with which they are found in the outside world, as they are unpredictable. This is something to always keep in mind: the correlation between simulation and real world is what makes the difference.

In any case, the calibration of the physical model is vital to ensure the realism of the simulation. The best way to validate a physical model is to perform calibration with a mix of real drivers and professional sim drivers. Working with real drivers who drove the real car on the track, the data acquired on the track can be used as a basis for the simulation model correlation. Once the model is 85% ready, the professional sim driver spends a day testing it and creating the data that will then make a difference in refining the simulator model so that it is accessible to every driver.

The Circuit

The circuit model is also vital for a professional simulator. In fact, the physical model of a circuit checks the following parameters: surface of the track and its roughness, curbs, the coefficient of friction of the grass or gravel in the off-tracks, the height of the curbs and their roughness, the gradient change, etc. Any surface that generates friction is simulated so that the dynamic model uses a coefficient of friction as accurate as possible so that the car behaves as it would in the real world. The visual correctness of the circuit is normally developed with the same kind of precision because, although it is the physical precision of the model that makes the difference between a video game and a professional simulator, the visual references of the track are also essential for the preparation of the driver, especially when using the simulator to teach a circuit to a driver ( Circuit Learning).

Circuit Learning

Circuit Learning is one of the most common operations performed by a driver with the simulator. The driver is prepared to tackle a track that he does not know. In this way, when he is driving at the actual circuit, he knows where and how to brake, which trajectory to follow, etc. to get the best performance possible starting directly from the first free practice session. The engineer's task in this case is to use telemetry and onboards to coach the driver on the best way to tackle the track, corner after corner.

Setup Development

Engineers can also benefit from the use of a professional simulator, as it is possible to virtually model different setups in order to evaluate directly with the driver which start setup might be the best once you get to the track. Normally, a setup is studied from the dynamic point of view through multi-body dynamics software and, subsequently, through a laptime simulator before arriving at the driver-in-the-loop simulator where the driver actually tests what has been simulated on the computer.

In short, whether it is a professional driver who wants to improve himself for the next season or race or a just an enthusiast who wants to see what it feels like to be in the "driver's office", Simutec professional simulator, with its right physical car models and circuits and its professional hardware, it is an excellent start to unlock that performance that would require time and kilometers on the circuit at a cost in economic terms and risk certainly much higher than those that can be had in a simulation study. In addition, it guarantees any enthusiast a real full immersion in the driver seat. Even if simulated.

If you would like to know more about what Simutec Motorsport Simulation Ltd. could offer you as a PRO driver looking for a complete driver development support or as a Sim Driver who wants to try the immersive experience of a professional simulator, just visit the website www.simutec.co.uk where you can directly book your session or contact us through Social Media or email.

Davide De Russis

2021: a new Nordic adventure

2021 it has been another crazy year. Even if less than 2020 because COVID-19 pandemic has begun to be less aggressive on people worldwide, we still have a different Motorsport year.

The biggest adventure for the year has been engineer a BMW M4 GT4 in Sweden during the 2021 GT4 Scandinavia.

The Beginning

After a very formative 2020, both personally and in terms of work, where I learnt a lot about people and situations, 2021 began basically in the same way of 2020. In the UK, it was in force another full lockdown since December 2020 and nobody knew how much this would last. This was meaning that having any kind of confirmation from racing teams for 2021 was very difficult. A lot of championship in Europe were still on a provisional calendar and some of those were moving the start of the season later in the year. In March, I started to be a bit worried about having a job for 2021 non-simulation related. Teams were answering me, but nobody had a true commitment for the season for me. Until Lestrup Racing Team answer me they were searching for a race engineer. They are based in Sweden and they won the STCC 2020 with Rob Huff. For 2021, they planned to race four Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR and that's the reason why they were searching for engineering staff. They were expanding.

The GT4 proposal

After a first interview with the Team Owner and with the Technical Director, a lot was going on internally in the team and I ended up to receive an offer to engineer a BMW M4 GT4 for the GT4 Scandinavia 2021 campaign. The GT4 Team was completely new in terms of drivers and mechanics. Moreover, mechanics were very experienced working on road cars, but they never managed to work on a race car before. Due to very short time to prepare the first event of the year, no testing was planned and we started together directly on the pay test of the Round 1.

Round 1 - Skelleftea

With this very new team, we arrived at Skelleftea for GT4 Scandinavia 2021 Round 1 in mid-June. The situation was very particular and amazing: being in the far north of Sweden in June, we raced with the Midnight Sun! Basically, in Sweden there is this summer period every year where the sun simply stays up in the sky for 24 hour straight. Racing in those conditions were super-fun and super-amazing! At 11pm you've got the same light you can have at 5pm!!! Something to try once in a life, for sure!

Car start setup very standard because almost nobody has experience on the car and we used the first practice sessions to make kilometres with both drivers, in order to start the understanding of the car. Qualifying wasn't too bad after focusing only on data analysis and driving coaching trying to put all together a decent performance. Race 1 became our first GT4 Scandinavia victory. A great race were strategy at the pitstop and driving for both drivers was almost perfect and we managed to finish P1 and leading the championship in the PRO-AM Class. Race 2 was good too, but we needed to pay 10 seconds penalty at the pit stop for winning Race 1 and we managed to finish P3 the race. Basically, we started as a completely new team and we manage to leave the first round of the GT4 Scandinavia leading the championship! Completely unexpected but something I thought we could achieve after working of this guys for a couple of sessions. That is one of the part I love more of Motorsport: you can make a difference with hard work. In that event, we were the first to come at the track in the morning and the last to leave in the night. I think there is nothing I need to add.

Round 2 - Gellerasen Arena

After the great result, the team decided to do a private test to learn more from the car, considering the potential, just coming back from the Summer Break. We tested in Anderstorp in very mixed conditions, so we've got data from the car in very particular conditions and we needed validation in full dry conditions. Round 2 was the same week at Gellerasen Arena. Difficult track for the BMW because our car is a very big car and the circuit is perfect for a TCR car. In those conditions we knew that validation from Anderstorp test would be difficult to achieve and also that the race week end would be difficult in terms of results. Toyota was a lot faster than anyone else since the first practice session, but working on driving style and on car setup, we managed to finish P4 Race 1. For us in this track, that was a very good result. Considering the improvement throughout the race week end, we went in Race 2 to search for a podium, using the Race 1 podium penalties of the first 3 teams. During the race the pace for our goal was absolutely there and in just a couple of days we moved from a "we need to finish the race as a main goal" to "we can fight for the podium". And that was great! Unfortunately, a couple of mistakes during the race from the amateur driver make us finished Race 2 at the back. That was good points for the championship lost, but feedback from the car was that finally we solved the problem we had for the whole week end and we were able to fight nicely on track. Team was improving and everybody was seeing this, but in this sport you win and you lose together. Heads up on Round 3 with a P3 in the championship to defend.

Round 3 - Anderstorp

Finally, we had the opportunity to validate on dry conditions what we tested in Anderstorp during the summer test. A track were BMW is very strong overall and we went there to fight back the Toyota and the McLaren in the championship. First pay test, we run on dry conditions the mixed conditions setup we had from the test. Balance of the car was very bad and completely the opposite from what we learnt on the test three weeks earlier. We learnt that the BMW is very sensitive to track conditions for a GT4 car and we start to work hard for recovering performance. We did that: Race 1 we finished P1 starting from mid-grid. The team and myself were super-happy for what achieved and those were extremely nice points for the championship with the Toyota collecting a 0-point race (they were disqualified because they weren't respect the BoP since the beginning of the season) and McLaren finishing P2. The recovering for the championship victory was officially started, despite the issues at the beginning of the week end. All this general excitement became a nightmare: 0.298 seconds too fast on the minimum pit stop time and 31 seconds penalty on the results from Race 1. From P1 to P5 in no time. Time is time and we moved to Race 2 knowing we can take advantage from our performance and from the fact we avoid time penalties for finishing out from the podium. And we were doing it again, starting P7 after the pit stop we were already on the podium fighting for P2, while a missing braking point in turn 3 makes us finishing P4 the race. We had a great overall performance that could give us another victory in Race 1 and a P2 in Race 2, but we finished only P5 and P4 the two races. Not what we deserved, but un-experience mistakes made us to finish like that. Still possible to be in the Top 3 in the championship, but very difficult to win. The good thing for the whole team was that everybody learnt something very important in Anderstorp, from me to the mechanics, passing from drivers.

Round 4 - Mantorp Park

In Mantorp Park the plan was to capitalise the third position in the championship. We knew we had a very good setup as a start for the race and Mantorp is another good track in terms of characteristics for the BMW. After not putting together the lap during both wet qualifying, we started both races P9. BMW is not great on wet conditions, but anyway we should put together a better performance. Race 1 started amazing: after turn 1 we were P5, after 7 laps we were P2. The only one to try slicks on very mixed conditions (the track was drying up quickly). On the line up procedure, every top team got confused about what tyres to use because we were the only one arriving without wet tyres mounted. And this paid off considering what we were doing during the race. After the pit stop, Safety Car was out and we could try to win the race. With Toyota completely within the regulations, we could finally fight on the same performance basis with them. And we were actually fighting with them, when they hit us on the last corner, trying to overtake. We retired the car with the rear left toe arm bent and the finished P4 the race. Race director decided for race incident and we lost another potential victory and very nice points for the championship. We were again in a situation for Race 2 were we could do a lot: car performance was very good and no penalties from Race 1, having finish DNF. The mood in the team wasn't great, but you cannot contest a Race Director decision even if everybody in our pit box was thinking that was not a race incident. So, we moved on to Race 2. Our Race 2 lasts 9 laps: the amateur driver were doing a very nice job, recovering positions from the initial P9, but he missed the braking point in turn 1 and went off. While rejoining not in the safest way possible, we hit the Audi coming from behind and we destroyed the front right suspension. Another DNF and finished the championship P6. Toyota won the championship.

The day after

We absolutely didn't finished the championship as we could for mistakes we could avoid. But from both my and the team point of view we put the basis for doing a great result. The team has been a lot improved since the beginning and without issues and mistakes we could win at least 3 races and doing a lot of podiums. Probably, the championship story would be different, but it is what it is and we can only learn from our mistakes. During winter off season we had a lot to work on for 2022. I am looking forward to start the 2022 as soon as possible because Lestrup Racing Team has been one of the best team I have ever work with for the environment, the technical knowledge, and, especially, for the people.

We regret a bit the 2021 results, but it's not useful to think about something you cannot change, you can just learn and improve based on your own experience. I improved myself a lot working in the GT4 Scandinavia this year and I can say the same for the BMW team: drivers and mechanics!

Next year (maybe finally a normal Motorsport year) plans are great and hopefully also the performance! We can be the outsiders and achieve a lot because we absolutely have the potential! I hope I can tell you more about the 2022 big plans soon!

Stay tuned and thanks for sharing my life and passion!

Davide De Russis

It's Race Week!!!

When someone asks me what I do exactly for living, I reply: "I'm a Race Engineer." Which is like saying nothing for a lot of people. In this second episode of The Racing Journal, I will explain what a GT race week in Europe is like for a Race Engineer, day by day, task by task.

Tuesday - Preparation Day

Tuesday is the preparation day. Yes, the race week starts on Tuesday and ends on Sunday for most races, especially when two events are in two consecutive weeks. Tuesday is an important day because we are going to define all those things that will allow the race weekend to start in the most organized and peaceful way possible. First of all, the car start setup is prepared and sent to the workshop to be prepared by the mechanics in the workshop. Then, all the track sheets are organised. Track sheets will be used to take note of everything that happens during each session during the event, from each circuit sectors timing, to the changes in the setup to optimise the performance of the car, passing through any issue that can occur in a racing car during a race weekend.

Tyre plan for the weekend is another typical activity of the preparation day. In fact, it is the only way to decide the used tyres to bring to the circuit in order to follow the regulations and also to know if and how many new tyres will be bought at the racetrack (dry and wet, depending on the forecast for the event). In addition, data from previous events on the same track are taking into account and every information from previous years regarding the car and the circuit are analysed, in order to have a clear picture of what the issues has been and what changes were made to try to solve those problems, improving the performance under certain environmental conditions. Reviewing the previous experience made in that same track is very important to define the car start setup to be sent to the workshop. On the day of preparation, the forecast for the weekend is checked, especially for the time slots coinciding with the individual sessions of the category in which the car competes. Finally, the simulator is used to test the car start setup in the expected weather conditions. This last activity is very useful to get as close as possible to the driver's point of view: taking into account the limits of a simulation environment compared to what happens in the real world, it is possible to better understand the feedback of the drivers on the setup when they get out of the car at the end of the various sessions during the race weekend. After the data analysis of the events of the previous years have been covered, the start setup has been validated and sent to the workshop, the track documents are ready and the car has been tested on the simulator, we are ready to prepare our suitcase for the next day's flight. The preparation day can be Tuesday or Wednesday depending on the weekend sessions schedule.

Wednesday - Travel Day / Setup Day

Wednesday is normally the travel day if there are sessions at the track already on Thursday. If there is nothing scheduled until Friday, Wednesday becomes a preparation day, as described in the previous paragraph, and Thursday is travel day. In any case, the travel day is where you arrive in the country where the race weekend will be held. As soon as you land, you usually reach the circuit where the pitbox or tent is assembled and the car is prepared for the first session of the following day. A good use of the first few hours on the track is to prepare the run plan for the next day, so that the day's activities take place in the fastest and most organized way possible. A run plan includes the “strategy” of the next day's sessions: how many laps to do per session, when to stop the car for any changes, what changes you are expected to try, etc.

Thursday - Pay Tests Day

Thursday is the day of the Pay Tests, if any session is scheduled. These are unofficial paid tests that teams can choose whether to do or not. Obviously, it is in the team's interest to take advantage of all possible opportunities to test the car in order to have more time to improve the overall performance for qualifying and races. Pay Tests are not always scheduled in a race week. When they are not, Thursday becomes Travel Day / Setup Day as described in the previous paragraph.

After the car and the run plans have been prepared the day before, we arrive at the circuit two or three hours before the start of the first test session. The weather conditions are rechecked to confirm the tyres that will be used during the session, the strategy is reviewed with the mechanics and the drivers, the onboards and the data of the previous events on the same track with the drivers are reviewed, the cold tire pressures are decided and the car engine is on twenty minutes before the start. Radio check. The session begins. Driver in the car as per run plan, installation lap to see that everything works properly and start testing. If more than one driver drives the same car, both drivers normally get to test the same setup changes to the car to get double feedback and work in a direction in which both the professional and amateur driver can extract the best performance from the car and feel comfortable while driving. After the session, data is downloaded and the drivers' driving style and how the car behaved during the laps is analysed. How the car response to any changes in the setup has been is an important parameter to check because allow you to start thinking about what you can do to improve any eventual issue recorded. While the mechanics perform the set down of the car, taking all the measurements of how the car "moved" during the session, the engineer and the drivers have a debriefing of about half an hour where they talk about how the car has behaved and what needs to be improved to optimise its vehicle dynamics and overall performance. Normally, during the debriefing there is the possibility to do some driving coaching together with the professional driver, to improve the driving performance of the amateur driver or the professional driver himself, if comparing with his own driving the previous year or with other team drivers who recorded a better performance during the session. At this point, if another test session is scheduled during the day, the appropriate decisions are made on the car and the setup for the next session is prepared. When you have two tests of this type it is also possible to use the time of the two sessions to test different setups, such as qualifying and race, trying short and long runs respectively in the two tests. If, on the other hand, there is only one test, the preparation of the car will be oriented towards free practices the following day. The same goes for the run plans for the next day's sessions.

Friday - Free Practice Day

Friday is normally the free practice day. Depending on the championship, you can have one or two free practice sessions, called FP1 and FP2 respectively. It may happen, in some circumstances, that there are also qualifications on the same day, but keep in mind that the work does not change: simply after the last free practice session there will be the preparation for qualifying described in the next paragraph.

Starting from the results, data and feedbacks of the Pay Tests, we continue with the run plan for free practices. They are very important because they represent the last chance to define what will make the car fast or not during qualifying and races. Also in this case, with two free practice sessions you can try different setups to better prepare both the qualifying car and the race car. The pre and post session procedures do not change from what is described in the Pay Tests of the previous paragraph. Normally, several pit stop and driver change simulations are done during free practice sessions to make sure that the minimum pit stop time calculations are optimised so as not to waste too much extra time during the pit stop during the race, but at the same time stay within the rules and avoid heavy penalties for being too quick in pit stop procedures. At the end of the day, after analyzing every detail of the performance during free practice, we prepare the setup for Saturday's qualifying.

Saturday - Qualifying / Race Day

Saturday is typically qualifying day. In some cases, it's like having Race 1 in the evening shortly after qualifying. The qualifying car was already prepared the previous day and the bulk of the work is now up to the drivers. After the qualifications have taken place (normally two qualifying sessions, one for the professional driver who will start Race 1 and one for the amateur driver who will start Race 2), the sectors are analyzed and compared with those of the direct competitors, data, set down to the car and debriefing/driving coaching with the drivers. If you have Race 1 on Saturday, you prepare the setup for the race and go to the line up between twenty and ten minutes before the start of the race, depending on the championship regulations. On the grid, the pressures are checked after the out lap and, if necessary, a pressure bleeding is carried out to bring the tire pressures back to a level that allows to reach and maintain the desired hot pressure target tested in the previous days. in the correct time and manner during the first race stint. During the race, as in any other session, the Race Engineer's task is to stay at the pitwall, ready on the radio for any type of communication or decision to be taken instantly when the race variables cause the strategy to deviate from the one planned. Pit Window Open. Time to decide when to call the professional driver who started the race in the pits for the driver change. In the ideal of things, being the fastest professional driver, you want him on the track for as long as possible, but there may be variables so this is not always what is done. At the time of the pit stop, you change driver and (respecting the minimum pit stop time imposed by the regulations) you return to the track with tyre pressures at target and amateur driver in the car that will go until the end of the race. At the end of the race, the technical procedures are the same as described for the other sessions after the Parc Fermè, because there is still Race 2 to run and it is not certain that the car is exactly the same as in Race 1. In the best case, yes, you celebrate a victory or a podium and there is little to do but make sure that the car of Race 2 is the same that brought the good result of Race 1. But, unfortunately, this does not always happen and, if something did not work in Race 1, we try to have a more competitive car-driver package for Race 2.

Sunday - Race Day

Sunday is Race Day. Whether Race 1 has already been run or both races are still to be run, the procedures remain the same as described in the previous paragraph. After Race 2, there is a quicker analysis of what happened both from the data and with the drivers and, after the set down, the pit box is dismantled and prepared to go home. In some cases, Sunday is also Travel Day. In others, especially if Race 2 is at the end of the day, Travel Day is Monday.

Monday - Travel Day / Report Day

Monday can be a Travel Day, where you go home if you have not done so on the Sunday evening after Race 2. Normally, when there are no races immediately the following weekend, as soon as you return home you take the day off and prepares the report of the weekend just finished on Tuesday. In many other cases, you have to leave early for another race, so as soon as you return you prepare the report and the race week starts again on Tuesday with Preparation Day, as described at the beginning of this article. The Race Report contains the "story" of the weekend: changes to the setup, sector analysis and lap times, analysis between the two drivers, car behaviour discovered during setup changes, mileage and tyres selection for the next event, issues and incidents, list of components to buy and work to be done before the next race, etc. In short, everything that happened during the weekend and everything that needs to be done for the following weekend to avoid problems and try to optimize performance for the next race right away.

What is described is obviously a typical week, many things can be different depending on the category and championship in which the team you work for participates in, but in general this is a real Race Week. The Race Engineer job is the one where you never stop learning and gaining experience. You learn from your mistakes to optimise performance in similar situations in the future and, especially, you never stop looking for the limit because winning is always one of the best feeling

in motorsport, even if you are in a situation where it happens often.

Davide De Russis