Team IHG Rewards Club and BMW have launched a groundbreaking project that puts fans in the hot seat and as close to the experience of racing on the limit in a Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship round as you can get without being one of the drivers, and fans are invited to try it out this weekend at Oulton Park.
Fans will be able to ride shotgun in the Team IHG® Rewards Club BMW BTCC Virtual Reality Race Experience alongside Jack Goff in his BMW 125i M Sport as he fires off the line to attack the first lap from this year's season-opening race at Brands Hatch Indy.
The simulator is the ultimate way to take a lap. Its Oculus Rift headset gives a full 360 degree view from the passenger seat where you can see Jack at work as he weaves his way around a frenetic first lap at the famous Kent circuit. The bucket seat itself adds an extra dimension, pushing and pulling to mimic the G-forces as the car speeds through Paddock Hill Bend as well as the bumps and rumbles as Goff fends off overtaking manoeuvres and rides the curbs.
Team IHG® Rewards Club BMW BTCC driver, Jack Goff, explains more...
"Like all projects of this nature, there’s always a lot more that goes on behind-the- scenes than you’d expect.
It’s a ground breaking project, and the first time a professional motorsport race has been filmed in 360 degree Virtual Reality.
The experience itself is fantastic. To be able to view a full 360 degrees, and see things that during a race I’ve never even seen before, was very cool.
When I watch people taking the experience and having so much fun it really does make me happy. It’s nice to see all the hard work I’ve done on the track bring enjoyment to people.
And the seat simulator is the ultimate way to take the lap. The chair adds that extra dimension so you get a real sense of the G-forces we go through on the race track. So for example, you can feel the rumble strips as I go over them, and even feel the tapping I get from my own team-mate, Sam Tordoff.
Unless you’re a racing driver, this is a close as you’ll get to understanding what it’s like to be on the limit in a BTCC race."
If you want to have the full experience, you can do this at the BMW stand at BTCC rounds, and also at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
