Virtual racing as crosstraining

raydog

Enjoying 1 road at a time
Donating Member
Registered
Just as teenage "gamers" tend to make good military drone operators and radar technicians, many auto and motorcycle racers are avid racing gamers as well. When my wife let me convert a bedroom into a "home theater" (I hate the term, sounds wrongly pretentious), I immediately included steering wheels, controls, internet competition and X box Forza 3/4. Maybe this doesn't apply as much to younger folks but, as a guy in his mid 60's, I really think racing a Ferrari at "the Ring", etc. really helps my real world motorcycling abilities, and kind of compensates for the inevitible slowing reflexes of aging.

Where to place yourself on the track (or street), reflexes, proper gear selection, passing efficiently, how to safely handle traffic, all get tested and worked over in the virtual racing world and it's so fun! Whenever all the ducks are in a row in my life (which is seldom) I disappear into my downstairs little world of driving/racing on any track in the world!

Anyone just about to "take the leap", I do recommend a high res, HD projector system with screen OR do what I'm doing, puting the screen away and creating a smooth flat white wall surface (even removing a vent and drywalling over) because you can hang the projector on the ceiling and make the image as big as you want! I'll end up with about a 9'x5' image that's also Dish Network when I'm not racing! Lotta popcorn being consumed in that room. This is not much more cost than buying a conventional flat screen and res is great. Also, since it's in my house and I always practice, I am always just a little faster than my visiting friends! It's so fun to beat the teenage boys my daughters bring home too! (ps the pics don't represent the way it's set up now, it's a work in progress and I just got a paddle shifting Porsche wheel and driving platforms that I'll post when installed) Doyle

45 auto 013.jpg


IMGP0063.jpg


45 auto 006.jpg


P1020613.JPG


P1020609.JPG
 
That's a cool setup.
I don't care who says what either.
The better your hand eye coordination is, the better off you are in the real world.:beerchug:
 
Back
Top