Is sim racing now sophisticated enough to be considered real racing? We just finished putting together the latest issue of Grassroots Motorsports where we explore this topic—and many others. It'll ship to you lucky readers soon. Don't want to wait for the printed magazine to show up? You can read the digital version right now. Just download our new app …
No, it's not. It's got "simulated" right in the title.
But, it's fun and if you don't know a track it's useful to help make Practice 1 of your race weekend a little more about getting up to speed rather than "which way does the road go?".
So, not REAL racing by definition but educational to a point and an entertaining way to kill a bunch of cold winter evenings. Plus, you can get take the green flag with a beer in your cupholder.
Huckleberry wrote: So, not REAL racing by definition but educational to a point and an entertaining way to kill a bunch of cold winter evenings. Plus, you can get take the green flag with a beer in your cupholder.
While not wearing pants.
In reply to ProDarwin:
Lighter = faster. Right?
Great way to learn tracks 
Maybe. But are race drivers athletes? ...ducks his head...
I think once head tracking VR takes off it'll be much closer to actually driving.
Does it really matter?
Is racing two slot cars racing? RC cars? RC planes?
To the operator, they are equally as real operation as sim driving- the physical interaction with the motion isn't there.
But, to me, since the goal of racing is to go faster than the other person- sure, it's racing.
It isn't driving, tough. I'd personally rather drive to race.
Maybe with the head tracking VR they can simulate getting in and out of the car with your helmet and neck restraint on. You know...a nice jolt of some sort as you "gracefully" crawl through the window or roll bar. That would really bring in the full experience.
As we were preparing this issue for print I was thinking about the differences between sim racing and "real" racing. The biggest difference I could find was courage. It takes no courage to run fast in a sim. The penalty for crashing is putting down the Cheetos and reaching over to press the reset button.
It takes real courage to be fast on a race track. Getting hurt, or even dying is a real possibility in the physical world, not so much on a computer. It takes cajones to be fast in real life---- not needed in the virtual world.
Going fast on a computer takes skill-- no doubt-- but it's more of a game, and less a test of bravery. Sims are awesome learning tools, and a sim race is a race--much as alfadriver said-- like a slot car race, or an RC race. It's not really comparable to risking your life in the pursuit of speed though.
just my .02
It's different from the driver/participant's perspective. It seems pretty much the same from a spectator's perspective though.
Joe Gearin wrote: As we were preparing this issue for print I was thinking about the differences between sim racing and "real" racing. The biggest difference I could find was courage. It takes no courage to run fast in a sim. The penalty for crashing is putting down the Cheetos and reaching over to press the reset button. It takes real courage to be fast on a race track. Getting hurt, or even dying is a real possibility in the physical world, not so much on a computer. It takes cajones to be fast in real life---- not needed in the virtual world. Going fast on a computer takes skill-- no doubt-- but it's more of a game, and less a test of bravery. Sims are awesome learning tools, and a sim race is a race--much as alfadriver said-- like a slot car race, or an RC race. It's not really comparable to risking your life in the pursuit of speed though. just my .02
I completely agree with this. By strict definition, I suppose you could call it a race, but in the common genre of auto racing, I'd say absolutely no it's not "racing". It's a video game, period.
I also agree that the worst that happens in sim racing is you hit the reset button. Nobody is hurt, nobody has actual property torn up (unless you throw your beer at the monitor), no true harm done.
I actually started a thread in the sim section of this forum not all that long ago. My two boys, ages 12 and 9, really want to race. I'm toying around with getting them into sim racing. At this point, I have a Logitech G27, which is currently mounted to a folding card table. I take our old laptop and they're playing with rFactor racing. But just solo, or against computer controlled cars. I want to do iRacing with them, but frankly have concerns about dealing with "racers" who take it far, far more serious than they would...or even I think anyone should. No, my kids wouldn't be out there intentionally running into walls, causing "virtual" accidents, etc...if they wanted to do that, I've told them they can do it in "testing" sessions all they want. However, I don't want to have to deal with someone who thinks sim racing is one step away from them getting a top level NASCAR or F1 contract and has a melt down because my kid ruined their "race".
Yeah, I totally get that simulators are a fantastic way to learn tracks...frankly if we get iRacing or similar, I plan to familiarize myself with tracks I haven't run before and want to. I also understand that it can be a lot of fun, and it can be competitive. But I just can't ever take it that seriously. I see it as "no harm, no foul". As Joe said, something goes wrong, grab a Cheeto and hit reset.
Yes. Not exactly the same but yes.
Join a league or other serious group where wrecks or over agressively driving will get you penalized or removed and there are concequences to poor driving including reputation.
Obviously you can't die which may let you push unrealistically hard through a Road Atlanta or such but the gamesmanship/pressure in trying to pass or block are still the same and can help train mentally for the real thing.
There have been cases where winning Sim racers were placed behind the wheel of real race cars and done quite well.
I'd like to say that because of this article I have joined Iracing. Me and my trusty little t80 from thrustmaster just got going. Thanks for the article, this is why I read your magazine!
jstein77 wrote: There have been cases where winning Sim racers were placed behind the wheel of real race cars and done quite well.
Like the article mentioned!
Jerry wrote: Maybe. But are race drivers athletes? ...ducks his head...
Are people flying military drones actual pilots?
I would say virtual races are real races but you are a player and not a driver.
If the prevailing logic is that SIMULATIONS are REAL then I'm a combat veteran of legendary proportions from my level 88 with prestige status on Call of Duty.
Same thing right?
I'm sure some of my team and enemies have gone on to real combat "and are winning!".
I will also say that the art of racecraft is very real in sim racing.
I didn't read the article, so if this is in it, I'm sorry.
I think that sims give you 90% of what you need to be a driver. Also, in my experience, it's a lot easier to put a gamer in a car and have him do well than it is to put a racer in a sim and have him perform. The stuff that the racer needs to feel isn't there, and he has trouble without it.
Fr3AkAzOiD wrote:Jerry wrote: Maybe. But are race drivers athletes? ...ducks his head...Are people flying military drones actual pilots? I would say virtual races are real races but you are a player and not a driver.
Army recon drones, no. USAF with the big ones (predator, etc,) yes they are actual pilots who get tapped to fly the drones.
Bryan Heitkotter - PWC Nissan springs instantly to mind as a sim racer who has done well in the real world.
But really, the way most people "race" on sims makes them really useless for learning racecraft. Bashing your way to the front is going to get you nowhere quickly in the real world. As others have said though, a great tool for learning tracks and to some extent individual car handling as well, though the latter has too many variables to be totally useful.
Nick (Bo) Comstock wrote: I will also say that the art of racecraft is very real in sim racing.
Having done both quite a bit though... I'd also say it's not even close to the same thing. It's just not. The idea that one translates to the other seems logical on paper but it does not have much overlap at all in terms of skills that need to be in place to be successful in a real car (or vice versa).
I think that those guys who were sim racers and did well were also car enthusiasts and racers too. They didn't go from mom's basement to a race track. They autocrossed or karted or whatever they could. THey did everything they could with a car and also sim raced at a high level so some were capable of turning it up in meatspace too. Like Mike Skeen - I did iRacing and rFactor with him way back and he was a better driver than me in the real world too. When he got a real ride all the sim guys were fapping about how it trained him... but he was already an accomplished racer at the same time. I'd say they both stimulate the same parts of the brain but are in no way alike from behind the wheel.
I just wanted to say I am keeping this on the up and up 
I think it is racing, just not auto racing. However, it's a good tool for educational purposes.
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