Learning a race track

During my ongoing literature review I often discover interesting facts about things I’ve never thought about. Sometimes I can connect these facts with my own observations: The result is mostly a completely new idea why things are as they are. Maybe these ideas are new to you, too. Therefore I’ll share my new science based knowledge with you!

This week: This time, I think about how a player can learn to master a race track in a racing simulater, and, by doing so, also practice to drive on the real race track.

A few weeks ago, I finally started to play Assetto Corsa (AC) [1] again [2]. Assetto Corsa is a very authentic racing simulation due to a very realistic physics and graphics engine [3]. Playing this game creates the immersion of actually driving a race car along a race track as the behavior of the different race cars, that are available in the game, feels really authentic and it is often very demanding to keep a car under control when it is driven at its very limits. This immersive effect is even supported by the realistic graphics engine which presents the race cars and the race tracks with almost photo-realistic details.

Aside from enjoying the immersive effects of AC, it is also very interesting to observe the own improvement while practicing to drive on a certain race track. At first, the player has to figure out how the car reacts when he steps on the break or drives through different types of curves. However, after a short period of time, the player gets used to the behavior of the car and can start to improve the own performance on a certain race track. In order to do so, the player needs to learn and to understand each part of the race track. He has to figure out the braking points and the right speeds for each turn. Finally, the player has to find the right flow in order to connect all the turns so that he can operate the race car at its limits in order to achieve a great lap time.

Apart from getting a feeling for the race track, the player is also motivated by the indication of the own lap times. Every time the player finishes a lap, he gets an immediate feedback about the own performance, hence can follow his own progress.

„Eau Rouge“ in Assetto Corsa

As a side effect of practicing laps in a realistic racing simulator like AC, the users are driving on a virtual version of the real world race track, and, as a result of this, they potentially learn how to drive on the real race track. For instance, driving on the Spa race track allows the players to experience the famous „Eau Rouge“, and after having driven through the virtual version of this curve, players could be able to drive through this turn in the real world without any issues. At least, if they are used to the car they are driving.