I'm an endurance racer.

           My 24 hour race.

“ Wait, why on earth would you want to play a computer game for 24 hours"? If you are a sim racer, you've gotten that question at work or your latest social gathering. If you aren't the one getting that question, then chances are you have been the one asking.

Your sim racer friend will quickly point out they don't drive the entire 24 hours.  Sim racing happens around the world. From America, to Southeast Asia if you have an internet connection and a decent PC you can sim  race.

 We are racing on our (at home) simulators with racing enthusiasts from around the globe, in real time. 

Virtual racing uses programs such as iRacing, Assetto Corse and, Le Mans Ultimate. These programs are much more than games. Programmers work tediously to laser scan each track. Their goal is to re-create a visual and physical program for every bump and, every corner. The cars are also meticulously re created right down to aerodynamics and suspension. Developers go to great lengths to make the driver feel emersed in each track. If you can go to the track and see a particular tree behind the fence, you can see it in the sim. It's that accurate. 

Endurance racing teams usually consist of 3 to 6 members who practice together. Team members split the race into shorter time slots  called “stints”.  They help each other learn the particular braking points,shifting points, tire degradation and, weather impacts on the cars handling.  Teammates work together to find the perfect car setup to hopefully set their team above the rest. The perfect car setup consists of thousands of combinations of adjustments. Adjustments such as tire pressure, spring rates , aero balance  and, so much more.  In endurance racing the goal is to setup the  car for top performance over the course of an entire trip around the clock. The car must endure the heat of the Indianapolis summer day, to the chill of late January  fog swept sunrise of Daytona,  Florida. 

Over the course of the next year I am going to take you along for an inside look at our sim racing experience. Endurance racing, around the world, from my basement sim rig. Our first stop is the high banks of Daytona.  For the  iRacing 24 Hours of Daytona.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Track Time In Sim

Image
If you ask someone who races on the track or in a sim what they wish they had more of, you will get answers like horsepower, practice, and money. How this makes them faster is a simple equation: Horsepower + Track Time = Speed, and Speed ÷ Practice Laps = Track Time. It always comes back to track time and we cannot get enough of it. When a driver is no longer able to perform at peak performance—or if they never quite make it to the top tier of their sport—someone will inevitably ask, "Why do you keep competing?" The answer is the same every time: "I love to be behind the wheel. I just want to keep driving." It’s the sound of the car firing up, the smell of fuel and burning rubber, the satisfaction of hitting your braking point and the apex at the exact same location, lap after lap. It is knowing that your last lap was a few tenths of a second slower without even needing a stopwatch. It becomes a sixth sense. Just like losing the sense of touch, sight, sm...
Read more

The Road to the Roar

Image
The Road to the Roar ​In the world of sim racing, the "Roar Before the 24" isn’t just a race; it’s the first on the special event calendar each year. For many, it’s the gateway to the legendary 24 Hours of Daytona. The Roar is your last chance to hone your racing skills at the famed Daytona road course before the big day. But for me, this year’s journey was one of transformation from a green rookie without a team. To a driver learning race craft and learning how to adjust to racing on an endurance team.  ​ A Year of Transformation ​To understand the weight of this year’s event, you have to look back at 2025. My first attempt at the Roar was a baptism by fire. With fewer than 15 sports car races under my belt, I decided not to attempt qualifying. Instead I would start 46th from the pits in my Porsche 718 Cayman GT4. ​Against the odds, I survived the grueling 84-minute sprint, clawing my way up to a respectable 19th. That finish sparked a fire. My goal shifted from merely ...
Read more