Although there are naturally many differences between the real world and a simulation, just how well sim racing prepares you for the real world is the topic of much discussion.
A twist I have never seen put on the question is how well the sim prepares a driver to drift. The Drift Masters European Championship, though, has decided to put Rhys Tatterson, 2021’s Drift Masters Virtual Champion, in a real car to find out.
The sim racer shot to prominence this year and has now been given the keys to a 900 hp (912 PS/671 kW) Nissan Silvia S15 drift car that was driven to its own championship win by Piotr Więcek, who joins in to give Tatterson some tips and tricks.
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“From my experience comparing one to the other, you don’t have so many g forces [in the virtual world],” says Więcek while showing Tatterson around the car. “You don’t feel what’s going on.”
The sim racer agrees, and although there are certainly advantages to feeling everything happening beneath you, there are also disadvantages, such as the smoke that can fill the cockpit during a drift session.
For someone who says this is his first time sitting in a professional drift car, never mind driving one in real life, Tatterson picks it up quickly. Taking it slow at first, he is quickly encouraged to try doing a donut and does so successfully.
“Oh, man, if you could tell how nervous I was during the first clutch kick,” admits Więcek. “But then on the second transition, I could see that [Tatterson] was controlling the car with the clutch and really good steering wheel applications. I was like ‘Okay, he’s a natural.’ He was doing it like he’s been doing it for three or four years.”
After just one outing in the car, Więcek gets out, saying he’s just ballast. By the end of the video, the two drivers are performing tandem drifts together. So, if you’re looking to get into drifting, sim racing isn’t a bad place to start after all.