The real thing?

Simulating reality is not just a challenge for motorsport engineers, but for today’s game developers, too. With computer capacity relentlessly increasing, racing games are now modelling more parameters than ever before. So, why has Esports become so popular? How effective are these virtual racing games at representing the real racing environment? And, what are the differences between these gaming platforms and high-level engineering simulators?

The popularity of racing games has soared recently. Yes, partly due to locked-down countries courtesy of the Covid-19 pandemic, but also because major championships have jumped aboard the gaming bandwagon and established their very own Esports series. Before the pandemic, the likes of F1 had already completed two championships of its Pro Series where each F1 team competed with its own professional Esports drivers. With live streams, commentary and sponsors, Esports has become its own category of motorsport.

Interactive engagement

Perhaps more importantly than that, Esports engages motorsport fans at a much more interactive level. Unlike other sports, if you want to race yourself you either have to settle for go-karts, participate in track days or have enough money to pay for a seat in a entry-level racing.

Major championships have jumped aboard the gaming bandwagon and established their very own Esports series

‘Living in this era where people want to consume information, if people don’t understand the complex technology behind racing, or it is not explained to them, they can lose interest and switch to other sports,’ says Aristotelis Vasilakos, head of vehicle handling and R&D at Kunos Simulazioni, the company behind the Assetto Corsa software. ‘In simulated racing the driver has to be their own race engineer and their own team because they have to make set-up changes themselves. This gives them a much deeper understanding of what it’s really like in motorsport.’

This is particularly true as modern games now simulate a whole variety of additional vehicle and track conditions. ‘We model all elements of the Formula 1 power unit and drivetrain, including the behaviour of the MGU-H and MGU-K,’ says Lee Mather, F1 game franchise director at Codemasters. ‘We also model the internal combustion engine, along with multiple fuel modes. These work as they would in real life. Running more power generates more heat and wear on the power unit for example. We even simulate the effect of running in dirty air, where cooling becomes an issue.’This not only contributes to a more realistic gaming experience, but also