Sim Racing – Speed Games from the comfort of our home

We had seen them from afar, we knew they existed, but we had not been able to test them from the driver’s position: the electronic cutters of sim racers who have the taste and the mood to spend hours and money in order to set up a perfect race simulator in the comfort of their home, combined with the fast Internet that allows online competition with drivers from all over the world, make the driving experience unique. Constantine Dimitriadis began to engage as a simple hobbyist at the time of coronavirus, when Sim Racing experienced a special increase in popularity as a good antidote to confinement. Along the way, however, he dealt more seriously with the issue, having developed contacts and partnerships with companies and individual manufacturers, and is also the creator of Lovely Dashboard, one of the most popular Dashboard for Sim Racing. As he explains, there is no “tavan” at cost, since each individual piece of equipment comes out in many different options, cheaper or more expensive depending on the needs and capabilities of each user. After all, solutions for sim racing are not sold with the logic of the complete package, but instead each user assembles his own racing crop by choosing each piece separately. Starting with the necessary computing power provided by a suitable computer of capable specifications (and with an essential component the very good screen card), each “builds” starting from a simpler setup for start. The introductory solution is a force feedback steering wheel with its own pedal and along the way begins to add more and more components of higher specifications that give another dimension to simulating reality. To drive with a high level of realism, the first thing to do is regional vision, especially if you are interested in track racing, where you fight with electronic or internetic “antipals” for the line at the entrance of each turn, so it is not enough only to see straight ahead. In the well-electronic cutter for sim racing, peripheral vision is ensured by three screens, preferably convex, which cover nearly 180 degrees of visibility, as in a real racing car cutter. The screens themselves are already a respectable cost in such a setup, along with the metal bases that should be built to keep them in the right place. Similarly, some metal structure should bring the steering wheel base to the right point and somehow the seat should be adjusted if we want to build a permanent and complete electronic cutter. From there, we start adding controls and additional screens: the pedal, for example, can be from relatively simple to too expensive, especially if it offers a realistic feel and active feedback to the brake pedal! The same applies to the force feedback of the steering wheel, which in advanced constructions is a separate apparatus with a shaft on which we adjust the steering wheel of our preference in retrospect. From steering wheels and capabilities, the options are infinite, especially for those who want to engage in track racing and cars with complex arrangements that must be made at the time of the race by the special controls on the wheel, just as in real cars. It is no coincidence that all professional drivers in one way or another now use similar simulation systems, mainly to prepare themselves when they are going to compete for the first time on some unknown track, so as to reduce the time to adjust to the actual track in the three-day race. This was our first contact with the high level of sim racing (because of course we all have in one way or another tried the classic solution with a computer screen and a simple steering wheel with pedals), but it is certain that we will investigate the matter more, because we are really impressed with the amazing technology and incredible progress of simulators even for domestic use. Besides, as we have seen, there is the possibility to drive even on Greek tracks such as Megara or Serres, so the issue is quite interesting – stay tuned, we will come back!