Why Sim Racing is good for your soul
Photo Art of Rally
During the COVID lockdown driving online provided much-needed camaraderie and escape, says Nik Berg.
I’ve been a Gran Turismo fanboy since day one. Back in 1997 I’d spend hours after work going head-to-head with my Top Gear colleagues on Trial Mountain. Later I was lucky enough to work on GT2 and GT3, writing car descriptions for the franchise and sourcing vehicles to be driven and digitised by the legendary Kazunori Yamauchi.
As a player I would diligently progress through the different licence grades, establishing a vast collection of exotic and obscure cars along the way. But, until a year ago, I seldom ventured online.
My experiences in the lobbies were almost always grim. Having raced in the real world I’d try to keep my driving clean, but everyone else seemed to believe that Gran Turismo was a contact sport.
As the coronavirus hit, the world locked down, and opportunities for getting out in my newly-purchased Caterham Seven (great timing) diminished to zero, I turned back to what The Cardigans and millions of others called My Favourite Game.
Through Twitter I discovered 27Racers, a community of GT Sport online racers, who race for fun, but race seriously. Except that it isn’t serious at all. Every race has a backstory and every driver is encouraged to create car livery to suit. I spent far more time designing a Talladega Nights-inspired NASCAR machine than actually driving it. We had a Samba Claus Christmas special race, even a breakfast-fuelled event. We have paid tribute to great drivers sadly passed and classic races both iconic and obscure.
The sharing of designs and lap times before each event is as enjoyable as the racing itself. And, unlike almost every other time I’ve attempted to race online, the on-track action is respectful. Most of us have never met in person, but we race as if we have. There have been off-track dramas but it’s a community that rallies round to support its members. Thursday nights, and the preparation for them, have been a lifesaver.
Sometimes, though I crave a different kind of sim racing experience; one that’s a solitary escape and a way to unwind without competition. For that I turn to the beautiful Art of Rally.
Photo Art of Rally
This is a visually stunning game as if Studio Ghibli took on the classic stages of the World Rally Championship. The gloriously stylised cars and landscapes are accompanied by a techno soundtrack that never drowns out the pops, bangs and hisses of the 50 cars included.
It’s a completely different discipline, trying to control the little classic rally weapons using a keyboard, rather than the steering wheel and pedals I use for for Gran Turismo, but is totally absorbing nonetheless. Even just watching the trailers is a welcome way to relax.
As restrictions ease I’ll be out on real roads again much more, but thanks to a reacquired fondness for sim racing you’ll still find me online as well.