Hello SimManiacs how are you doing? Hope everything it’s fine for you. Today I want to talk to you about rFactor Simulator. rFactor is a racing simulator created by Isi in 2007. Yes, in 2007! but still used nowadays by racing teams, in our case we talk about F1 Teams, such as Red Bull Racing, Williams F1, Sauber F1. Many pages have been written about this simulator, I call it simulator because it’s pretty different from a videogame. I personally love it. I have installed different mods, such as GT3, Formula Renault, BMW Z4, Formula 4, but mainly I use it with F1, and after seen many videos from the drivers using it for training, I started to collect all the tracks they were using on their videos and using them on my videos too. I know what you’re thinking: this is a proper maniac work! Talking about rfactor it has been created to be the best simulator in the market. Created with the possibility to reproduce any kind of vehicle, for this, includes complex simulation models of the tires and aerodynamics and a physics engine with 15 degrees of freedom.
Thanks to this architecture of the software, teams are able to collect and put a lot of data from their test, to simulate the real behavior of the car on the tracks with different tires, setups, and also test in the simulator the new parts available for their aero packages for the next race. Young drivers are hired from the F1 Teams to run lap after lap after lap on the sim testing, and sending back live to the pit wall, during race weekends, new data for setup changes during the pitstops. As you can understand the use of the simulator not only cut the expensive costs of tests, such as travel costs, rent of the track, and the risk of having damages but also make it easier and quicker, with no risk to hit walls or any other mistake that will affect the budget or any risk of injury for the driver. As Mark Webber once said talking about the simulator:”on the simulator is always sunny”. I have an rfactor rig at home, for sure not the same that drivers use on their team’s headquarters, but is very very challenging to get pace, change setups and improve lap times as real drivers do. You need to focus turn the lights off and go. Don’t forget that some details make the difference. When the drivers are training their brain must be “tricked” by the rig so;
- 180 degrees screen in which the driver’s eyes are completely absorbed in the virtual world.
- Full-size Cockpit, steering wheels, the pedals tuned to the same weight they have in the real car.
- Last but not least to complete the illusion they have a moving platform in which the axis follows the input of the car: acceleration, turn, brake.
All of these elements make the difference, in order to focus on the program, and not be like playing a videogame. Which simulator are you using? Which category are you fan or like to drive? Leave comments, subscribe to my youtube channel if you want.
I leave you with my new video testing a new beta Mod F1 2015 driving the new Mclaren Honda MP4-30 on the Barcelona race track. Thumbs up if you like the video and see you in the next episode!