We began with briefing on safety issues and on how to operate the car, but before we knew it we're sitting in the simulators themselves ready to start the qualifying session.
Each 'car' was actually the carbon fibre cockpit of a single seater racing car. We were seated very low down in the car; so low in fact that half of my field of vision was blocked by the steering wheel. Luckily, the accelerator and brake pedals were adjustable so my short legs could reach them. Behind the steering wheel, the paddle shift gearbox was located. These manual gears took a long time to get used to since I always pick an automatic gearbox when playing Forza 3! It was vital that I listen to the sound of my engine to establish if I was in too low or too high of a gear; the audio of which was provided by plugging a pair earphones into the a 35mm socket in the cockpit.
My view of the race track, partially blocked by the steering wheel, consisted of three large monitors which displayed the track, other cars around you and any barriers/obstacles you were about to crash into.
We were advised to wear the racing seat belts provided since each of the cockpits are raised on a set of motorised rollers, which move forward/backwards and side-to-side simultaneously to re-create some of the forces we might experience if we were in real racing car (up to 1.5G). For example, if you turned the car too violently and fast into a corner, the cockpit would move in such a way that you felt the back-end of the car flick out and lose control, and all through the seat of your pants.
The 15 minute qualification gave us a chance to get used to the car and each of the corners, as well as setting a fastest lap to provide the grid order for the race. I found the barriers and gravel traps all too often, but luckily crashing incurred no damage to the car. Otherwise, we'd have traveled quite a way for just 30 seconds of racing! As I was still getting used to the car, I managed to place 5th out of 8 cars, ahead of both of friends in 6th and 7th respectively.
After the qualifying session, we were given a telemetry sheet and a debriefing from the race instructor on how we could improve our performance in the race. The telemetry sheet of race data showed that I was "treating every corner like hairpin" just so that I wasn't flying off the track into the nearest barrier!
With the information in mind, we returned to our simulators and started the 15 minute race. I had a horrible start off the line as I found cars streaming past me into the first corner. Thankfully, practically everyone in front of me went straight off or collided with other cars whilst I carefully kept my car on track. I managed to take back a couple of places, but the majority of cars ahead began to disappear into the distance. But that didn't matter. My battle wasn't them, it was with my friends (and keeping my car on the track); not that I knew where they were anyway!
Corner after corner, lap after lap, I hardly saw anyone else in this race! I thought I must have been last since I hadn't seen any other cars and I'd been off the track a number of times. As the race finished, I looked up and saw the results and to my astonishment I managed to finish 3rd! my mate's girlfriend finished where she started in 6th, whilst he sadly brought up the rear as he had somehow managed to spectacularly crash into the barrier and flip the car into a grandstand of virtual spectators!
Overall, I was great day out. Having an extra sensation of the car movement, G-forces and the car setup certainly added extra dimensions to the normal docile routine of playing Forza or Gran Turismo. It was a real adrenaline pumper, but at £35 a time, it might be while before I come back again.
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