Bhai Tech Driving Simulator Challenge: the Day
Unforgettable day at the Bhai Tech Advanced Vehicle Science Centre. The Mestrino-based technological centre opened its doors to 12 guys on Saturday. The 12 guys, coming from all over Italy, had in common the passion for car racing and for competing on the quick and long straights of the Monza circuit. In fact, they were “racer for one day” and challenged each other on the track where Vettel sealed a win only one week ago.
The guys put themselves to the test by driving the cutting edge full-motion 6-DOF driving simulator, which is situated in the Bhai Tech suite. They had a chance to experience all the difficulties professional drives usually have to face during a race week end.
Under the watchful eye of Gian Carlo Minardi, the Imola circuit’s director Pietro Benvenuto, Giorgio Pantano and Rafael Suzuki (Bhai Tech Racing’s official drivers), the day began with a training session in the gym. The Forlì-based Driver Program Center’s founder Stefano Elia and the physiotherapist José H. Poletti explained the guys the importance of physical and mental training through some physical tests and the use of e-health, which avail itself of a portable physical performance dial which allows trainers to make a real-time detection of the main body activities such as heartbeats, sweating, breathing. The Driver Program Center is equipped with that dial.
After the physical training session, the 12 guys challenged each other at the wheel of the “Bhai Tech driving simulator”, following the engineer and technical director Roberto Costa’s meticulous technical instructions. The technical director taught each guy how to handle a driving simulator from a technical point of view, before and during the simulation session, “It was a very interesting day. It was very interesting to see people who are not used to doing this kind of activity and being under such a physical and mental stress, challenging each other. They had the opportunity to test a real simulator for the first time, a simulator which is conceived for professional drivers. William Zerbini really deserved to win, as he was fast, steadfast and confident. He made a very interesting progression for what concerning lap timing. He also confirmed his skills during the wonderful race on the Singapore’s demanding track. He drove a very fast race, without making any mistakes.” The Monza challenge’s winner put himself to the test also on the Singapore’s demanding track, where the F.1 World Championship’s 13th GP will take place on September 21-22. After the Bhai Tech Racing’s official driver Rafael Suzuki, who competes in the International GT Open Championship at the wheel of the McLaren MP12-4C along with his team mates Pantano, Van Der Drift and Razia, drove some laps, William Zerbini took over the race and delivered good performances in the Singaporean night “Second place for Zerbinati, who amazed us. He was very cautious at the beginning, but, after working on telemetry, he made the grade”, said Roberto Costa at the end of the simulation day, “Corrado Ciriello delivered very good performances and drove a very fast race. He was very aggressive at the beginning, and then he became confident. He could have further improved and he took an interesting path. He’s the typical virtual driver who has never driven a car”, ends the Brazilian engineer, “Besides the lap times set by them, I was also pleased to see their progression lap after lap, as they were at their first experience and they didn’t have so much time at their disposal.”
Gian Carlo Minardi was one of the special observers: “It was a very positive day, spent with car racing enthusiasts, who proved to be very skilled in living car racing competition through cutting edge simulation facilities such as the Bhai Tech’s driving simulator. Besides lap times, it was interesting to see the guys’ driving behavior after the engineer’s technical instructions and their progression lap after lap. I want to pay everyone my compliments on their driving performances. We don’t have to forget that they drove a professional simulator, which is usually driven by professional teams and drivers. It was a challenge, but also a funny day”, says the manager from Faenza “We’re working on the possibility to establish a Championship, as it would be great that young drivers would enter the world of motorsport through virtual simulation. F.1 uses driving simulation to decrease costs, so it is right that also young drivers would have given a chance to put themselves in the test through this kind of technology.” The Bhai Tech day’s emotions can be re-experienced on RaiSport2, inside the “Numero 1” sport program presented by the journalist Franco Bortuzzo.
