Our very own Vyacheslav Potapenko gave an interview to the Ukrainian webzine. Covering his recent visit to VAR and talking about sim racing and the team in general.
Here is the excellent article/interview translated from the original source.
Motorsport Driving Formulas on a professional simulator - Ukrainian simraisers share their experience autocentre May 23, 19:01
Ukrainian sim-racer Vyacheslav Potapenko tested the racing simulator of the Dutch team Van Amersfoort Racing and shares his impressions, as well as tells how virtual races differ from real ones.
Vyacheslav, can you introduce yourself and tell us about your career in simracing? I started taking simracing many years ago and my first simulator was netKar-Pro from the already cult team of developers from KUNOS-Simulazioni. Then came their new product - Assetto Corsa in which I continue to compete to this day. At some point, I joined the Vermin Racing Team, the pilots of which successfully perform in virtual championships. Our team is international, there are guys from Great Britain, France and Germany. Many in the team are very fast, for example, in a Formula 3 car we hold the world records in the Assetto Corsa. And our star, Oscar Williams, is now winning the stages of the prestigious Romanian championship. Having no motorsport career in my youth, simracing allowed me to develop the basics of piloting formula cars, which opened up opportunities to participate in real tests on Formula Renault 2.0. This year you had the opportunity to work on a simulator in a professional racing team from the Netherlands - Van Amersfoort Racing . Can you tell us about this experience?
Indeed, I spent two days at the VAR team base near Amsterdam, working on a simulator that the team uses to train its young pilots. I'll start, probably, with the technical description of the simulator. It is very important to reproduce as closely as possible the feelings of the pilot in the simulator relative to the actual ride on the track. Therefore, the team uses a real carbon monocoque from a Formula Renault car to land the pilot. The four-point Sabelt seat belts are pressed very tightly into the seat, making it difficult to breathe. Many youth series use the steering wheels of the French company XAP, so the same original steering wheel is installed in the simulator. It is very important to train the skill of proper operation of the brake pedal at the level of sensations, so the cockpit is equipped with Ultimate pedals from Heusinkveld. They provide a braking force of up to 136 kilograms, which corresponds to the rigidity of real formula pedals. Three projectors form an image of the track on a concave surface and you get a very realistic view around. The software part is based on the rFactor platform, well known in the world of simracing, but with a proprietary configuration of cars, which the team makes itself.
Simulators of the Van Amersfoort Racing team
How did the team build your work day on the simulator?
First, I want to say that the team works not only with young pilots, but in its staff a lot of young engineers, which gives them the opportunity to gain unique experience and grow to the level of high-class Formula 1 engineers. All go through the junior school. Daniel Blackledge, who until recently studied the basics of motorsport at the university desk and is now working on the settings of the car for young professional pilots of the VAR team, worked with me for these two days. So, my schedule was built as follows. I drove a series of about 10 laps on the track, then we studied telemetry in great detail with Daniel, and he formed my tasks for the next series. The telemetry graphs have the parameters of the so-called "reference time" relative to which all errors are immediately visible. First of all, I wanted to improve my ability to work with the brake pedal, and we devoted most of our time to this. During my races, Daniel was behind the "control panel" and could observe and analyze all my actions in real time. As in real tests at the racetrack, he, as a racing engineer, immediately gave me feedback and adjusted the management. This work showed high efficiency and my time on the lap improved with good progress.
Potapenko Vyacheslav together with the racing engineer of the VAR team, Daniel Blackledge
Vyacheslav, you also have experience piloting real Formula One cars. What do they have in common and what are the main differences from the simulator? For several years I have been going to tests, where I fly a Formula Renault 2.0 car. I can say with confidence, and my experience confirms that the experience of simulators, even in the "home" version allows you to get the necessary minimum skills to successfully pilot Formulas. If we talk about what is common - then of course these are the correct trajectories of turns. Force feedback, and especially the latest models, the so-called "direct drive" provide almost identical sensations. Working with the accelerator pedal, namely the control of engine power at the exit from the turn - is also well modeled in the simulator. Now about the differences. The brightest is adrenaline, fear and overload. Professional pilots can evaluate the available "handle" of the tire by the force of lateral overload. This is not the case in the simulator and therefore pilots have to focus only on the level of "resistance" of the steering wheel. The second strong difference is the brakes. Usually consumer pedals are based on springs, where the pressing force is not more than 10-15 kilograms. In the Renault Formula you need to press 110 and it is not easy to get used to it, having experience only in the simulator. The third is a visual overview. Of course, if you don't have a VR helmet or a 3-monitor configuration. The matter is that it is necessary to switch attention constantly (to look at an apex or a point of an exit from turn), and having before eyes only a flat picture of the monitor it is impossible to make it.
Van Amersfoort Racing team base
Having gained experience working on a simulator in a professional team, can you formulate the main differences from the "home" simulator? From the point of view of technical support already at home it is possible to collect the simulator on level not much conceding to professional (of course, we do not take into account Formula 1). From my point of view, the important difference is another - in the racing engineer sitting next to you, who will "read" telemetry and form tasks and tips to improve piloting. No wonder many teams in F1 eSports, which perform at a high level, already have in their staff racing engineers, including from real motorsport. It's like a coach, motivates and encourages you to correct and work carefully on mistakes on the track.
Your vision for the development of Ukrainian simracing? It's no secret that all motorsport fans dream of a Ukrainian Formula 1 driver. It's incredibly difficult, but we have every chance to make our way to the official virtual Formula One championship, where only the pilot's talent is valued, not the size of his budget. Moreover, in the last year or two, all the leading teams of the Queen of Motorsport have created units of F1 eSports, which opens up the prospect of becoming the official virtual pilot of the Formula 1 team and to perform at prestigious stages. I believe that the development of the Ukrainian segment of virtual championships will attract the attention of young talents, help build their careers, which in the long run will allow our pilots to win on world platforms and, who knows - to become official eSports drivers in Formula 1!
Fritz Van Amersfoort signs a contract with Max Ferstappen
What is the most vivid impression of the team's visit? For me, it was very emotional to meet the leader and founder of the team, Frits van Amersfoort. He and his team are legends, they were represented by such pilots as Max Ferstappen, Charles Leclerc, Mick Schumacher and many others. I am very grateful to Fritz and the team for the warm welcome and professional work with me. I'm just a Ukrainian simracing pilot - and they gave me time as a professional pilot and helped me improve my skills. The doors of the team are open to all fans of virtual and real motorsport, and if you need practice on the simulator, then VAR will definitely help you.
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