CALGARY — Ever wondered what it feels like to be in a racecar cockpit, piloting a vehicle around a track at speed? What kinds of forces are felt by the driver? How does the car respond to inputs?
Gaining that kind of experience in a real racecar costs plenty of money, plus an investment of time. And besides money and time, there’s always the very real element of danger.
But, for approximately $55 an hour, those questions can be answered – by driving a race simulator.
Blair Robertshaw opened the Race Room in Calgary late last year.
The Race Room, Driving
“If you’ve never raced because of a lack of budget or other conditions,” said Blair Robertshaw of the Race Room, “we can satisfy that hunger or desire.”
Late in 2014, Robertshaw, a noted racer himself with years of karting and open-wheeled driving experience, opened the Race Room in Calgary.
With four professional grade full-motion racing simulators, the Race Room offers an environment for racers and non-racers alike to enjoy an authentic, safe and relatively inexpensive racecar experience (robertshawracing.com/the-race-room/).
Robertshaw’s racing simulators are essentially the front two-thirds of a real racecar chassis, outfitted with a racing seat, safety harness and all of the controls a real racer would have, including a true racecar steering wheel. The simulators are set up with hydraulic brakes and clutches, and the driving experience is virtually identical to racing the real thing.
Racetracks – more than 70 of them from around the world – are all laser scanned by iRacing, a company that offers sophisticated simulation racing software. Robertshaw said the tracks are very authentic – if there’s a bump in the real track, it will be felt in the simulator. And, all of a track’s landmarks, such as buildings, trees and flags, are 3D modelled for a realistic experience.
The simulator can be set up to replicate the driving experience of some 44 different cars from NASCAR to open wheel formula vehicles.
The Race Room, Driving
When seated in one of Robertshaw’s simulators, a driver has a view of three large screens, and this is where the virtual action takes place.
“It was remarkably authentic,” said Calgary driving enthusiast Jim Thornton, who recently experienced Robertshaw’s Race Room. “These are not simple video games, but four actual race car simulators. It was really interesting to see how far (simulation) technology has developed. When the track went down, I went down. If the track went up, I went up. If the track was banked, I was banked.”
Robertshaw builds all of his own simulators, and has also begun installing residential racing theatres in the homes of consummate driving enthusiasts.
Robertshaw got the idea for the Race Room after building a simulator that he used as a way of thanking the real-world corporations that sponsored his racing efforts.
The simulator was set up at tradeshows attended by these corporate sponsors.
He would then offer the ‘immersion’ experience to guests wandering through the corporate booth.
“One of my sponsors commented on how (the simulator experience) would be a great team building program,” Robertshaw said. “That thought fermented in my mind for a while, and I thought there might just be a market for a racecar simulator business.”
When he started talking about his idea, one of his racing sponsors, Calgary flooring specialist After
Eight Interiors, offered him 1,200 sq. ft. of unused office space at the front of a warehouse. Handy, because after gutting the space and starting over, the Race Room now features many of the flooring and other renovation products used by After Eight Interiors in something of a mini-showroom. It was a win-win for both.
“We can tailor packages to companies for corporate team building, or for private parties or for racers wanting to learn a new track,” Robertshaw said. “There’s really nothing else like it – a function here is usually very memorable.”
Greg Williams is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Have a column tip? Contact him at 403-287-1067, gregwilliams@shaw.ca, or visit gregwilliams.ca.
