SIMULATION VS. REALITY.
In virtual motorsport, computer simulations on a PC or games console are used to recreate realistic races and simulate driving physics, traction, grip and tyre behaviour as accurately as possible. The players - or drivers - sit in real bucket seats, there are accelerator and brake pedals and even an original steering wheel from the BMW M4 GT3 with all the controls, buttons and toggle switches. Finally, sim racers look through a virtual windshield onto a lifelike, digitally animated racetrack, almost indistinguishable from the original. Even professional racing drivers use sim racing as a supplement to their regular training. But how real is simulated reality?
AS REAL AS SIM GETS.
BMW M is itself a major player in the automotive gaming sector. All BMW M Motorsport racing cars find their way into the most important games and simulations, and successful teams represent the brand on the big esports stages. Just recently, BMW M Motorsport invited its professional teams to further close the gap between simulation and reality. For the virtual racers, this meant completing a program of mental and physical training and putting their driving skills to the test in a real BMW M cockpit on real asphalt
THE HIGHLIGHTS:
- M Mixed Reality Experience
- Road trip to Italy
- Check-up by Formula Medicine
- Mental and physical training
- Intense multitasking trials
ROAD TRIP TO ITALY.
For intensive mental and physical training, the BMW M drivers from the BS+ COMPETITION, MOUZ and Redline teams were sent to Italy, more precisely to Formula Medicine in Viareggio. For decades, the institute has been the first port of call for some of the best racing drivers in the world when they want to work on their physical and mental strength. Even though the world of esports is all about simulated driving: in this case, the drivers of the teams had no objection to making the trip to Viareggio a very real one. In a convoy of five BMW M4 Competition Coupés, the drivers enjoyed a road trip that took them from southern Germany via Austria to the romantic country roads of Italy
A FULL SCHEDULE.
At Formula Medicine in Viareggio, the Esport athletes underwent the same programme as any professional motor sportsman. Under the supervision of Dr. Riccardo Ceccarelli and his team of professionals, the masters of the virtual racetracks underwent a highly realistic training session. In alternating mental and physical exercises, they refined their physical fitness as well as their reactions and reflexes. They also tackled a series of special tests to strengthen their multitasking abilities: a skill that is invaluable when something unexpected happens in a race - as it often does - and the driver has to quickly recalculate the next pit stop at full throttle in a bend.
M FOR MIXED REALITY.
The highlight of the exciting training programme, which lasted a week, was the M Mixed Reality Experience. This special exercise had the drivers of the BMW M Esports teams gather just outside Munich for the most thrilling challenge yet: to drive a timed race in a real BMW M on real asphalt under the guidance of a BMW M instructor. The particular thrill is the fusion of the virtual and physical world - BMW M Mixed Reality. For this, the whole vehicle turns into a gaming controller. The drivers see a virtual racetrack through their VR headsets – but they have to drive that virtual course behind the wheel of a real BMW M on the real asphalt of the BMW M Driving Experience compound. In a sense, they take a BMW M4 Competition Coupé into the virtual world. The kick of combining the virtual and the physical world is unique. For the esports drivers from the BS+ COMPETITION, MOUZ and Redline teams, it was a great driving experience that they can only recommend to every motorsport fan.
