Simulators help drivers prepare for the real thing in Detroit – Speedway Digest

By Jeff Olson

IMSA Wire Service

The first time Jack Hawksworth experienced the streets of downtown Detroit on a racing simulator, he resisted the urge to go as fast as possible.

“I tried to treat it like it was true,” Hawksworth said. “Obviously if you start cutting walls and just messaging, it doesn’t put you in the right frame of mind going into a weekend of street school. You try to be somewhat disciplined because when you’re in the real car you have to be disciplined.

As IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams and drivers prepare for the series’ first visit to the street circuit for Saturday’s Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic, simulators have played a vital role in preparation, especially for Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) teams and drivers. ) class.

Hawksworth and Tommy Milner are no strangers to simulator drilling, but have only recently experienced the Detroit circuit on a simulator. Hawksworth, who co-drives Vasser Sullivan’s No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 with Ben Barnicoat, conducted his testing at the Toyota Racing Development facility in Salisbury, North Carolina. Milner, who teams with Nicky Catsburg in the No. 4 Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, spent a full day on the Detroit course in a simulator at the Pratt Miller facility in Huntersville, North Carolina .

As tempting as it was, Hawksworth and Milner didn’t push the limits in their first simulations on the Detroit course. Instead, they followed protocol with their engineers, learning both the course and the capabilities of their cars in a step-by-step procedure.

“If we mess around too much, if we crash the car and don’t take it seriously, we don’t help the plan for the day,” Milner said. “The atmosphere and structure of it all still makes it feel like it’s an important event and worth doing.”

Important and useful, indeed. The annual Detroit street race is not new to the WeatherTech Championship – the series raced at the old Belle Isle Speedway 12 times between 2007 and 2022 – but the latest track configuration is new to the series.

In 2023, the event moved four miles from Belle Isle to a downtown street circuit near the Detroit River, but the WeatherTech Championship was not on the schedule. Instead, the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge named the course Downtown. Two WeatherTech Championship classes – Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) and GTD PRO – will compete Friday and Saturday for the first time on the nine-turn, 1.654-mile circuit.

For those who have tested the new route on simulators, one thing stands out: it’s tight.

“It’s very, very tight – extremely tight,” Hawksworth said. “It’s probably the narrowest circuit we’ve ever driven. Many corners are in first gear. There are no high-speed turns; This all happens at very low speed and it’s narrower than anywhere else we race. …It probably looks more like Long Beach than the old Belle Isle track.

The circuit is simple and typical of city center urban circuits. It has six left turns and three right turns, all relatively slow and narrow. Of particular concern is Turn 3, a hairpin at the end of a long straight that requires hard braking into a tight left-hander.

“For some reason, on the simulation, you feel like you have a little more space than once you’re there in real life,” Milner said. “The walls seem a little closer, especially for a street track. The penalty for failure is pretty obvious once you see it in real life.

Professional racing simulators are a far cry from their video game counterparts: drivers sit in a large module resembling the cockpit of a racing car, with a video screen coupled to a machine that uses computer software to manipulate the cockpit according to precise movements that reproduce the movement of the car on the track.

They are quite realistic, drivers say. Milner noted that Detroit’s software displayed signage identical to last year’s race, providing visual cues and markings for drivers. As realistic as they are, simulators are not quite identical to reality.

“It’s getting closer all the time,” Hawksworth said. “Sometimes we find it very useful. Other times, it’s not as helpful. It’s a constant exercise where you’re basically trying to bring the thing closer and closer (to reality). Sometimes we really feel like it’s the real thing, and other times it doesn’t seem so realistic. It’s a moving target.

From a technical point of view, however, the simulators are very effective. Fuel and tire management, as well as car settings and race strategy, are developed using data acquired from simulators.

“Mock tests are structured very similar to how we would structure any test or practice session,” Milner said. “The engineers have a plan for configurations and changes they would like to try. …The first part of the testing was just a familiarization phase for me, and then we made some changes to see how the car reacted to those changes.

When planning an upcoming circuit, simulators are essential for drivers. Every turn experienced, every bump felt, every mistake forgiven.

“When we go to a new track like Detroit, it’s more helpful for the drivers,” Hawksworth said. “Just to do some laps, take a look at the track and get the pace around this place.”

Live coverage of the 100-minute race begins Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network, Peacock and IMSA Radio.

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