From the category archives:

Feature Articles

The Jetta TDI: School Was Never This Much Fun

by declan on April 19, 2012

In 2008, Volkswagen of America took the bold step of launching its own single-make series for, of all things, its diesel Jetta model. For three seasons, the Jetta TDI Cup produced great racing and an inexpensive entry-level option for young drivers who were looking for a way into sedan, GT, and sports car racing. As part of the program VW put the competitors, all between the ages of 18 and 25, through a regime of physical fitness and high-level driver training carried out by the dedicated series coach, Jan Heylen.

Click here to find out more about the Jetta TDI Cup.

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Simraceway and Palatov Motorsport Shakedown the D4

by declan on March 16, 2012

A bright and sunny morning sees Dennis Palatov and his Palatov Motorsport team join us at Infineon Raceway, home of the Simraceway Performance Driving Center, for a shakedown session of his exciting new D4 track/race car. With motoring journalists Leo Parente and Brian Makse also in attendance, we’re keen to see how the Simraceway D4 compares to the real-life track weapon, so we can give you the most realistic racing experience possible.

Click here to see how the day unfolded.

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An Unconventional ‘Road to Indy’

by declan on March 12, 2012

“I’m never going to give up. Racing is my life.”

These are words that I have heard from many kids (even from ‘kids’ in their twenties) at the local kart track, but I recently had the chance to speak to a young man who really means them–and continues to prove it every day by chasing his dream, despite the difficult hand he was dealt at a young age.

Michael Johnson had a shining career as a young motorcycle racer, securing an amazing fourteen National Championships by the age of 12. On August 13 2005, 12-year-old Michael took part in a dirt track race at Hiawatha Horse Park in Sarnia, Ontario.  After making a move on the final lap to take the lead, having run out of tear-offs and trying to clear his visor, he hit a rut and lost control of his 250cc bike. Flying through a fence, he flipped over the handlebars, resulting in a broken collarbone, ribs, left leg, and ankle. He also fractured vertebrae in his back, meaning he is now paralyzed from the mid-chest down. He underwent 11 hours of surgery and still has four rods and 15 screws in his back! Michael spent nearly a year having treatments, including skin grafts, for the pressure sores he had, before doctors would consider letting him go back to doing anything physical.

This is the amazing story of how he not only recovered from his serious injuries but also learned to race again.

Click here to read Michael’s inspirational story.

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Simon Says—A Lap Around Mid-Ohio with the Track Record Holder

by admin on January 5, 2012

“I have the all-time track record at Mid-Ohio—I think it was a 1:03:7.” It was at this point of my conversation with IndyCar, sportscar, Aussie V8 and rally driver extraordinaire, Simon Pagenaud, that I fell off my chair.

The 27-year-old Indianapolis-based Frenchman loves to go fast and in the last 12 months he has taken every available opportunity to prove it. Pagenaud has driven for the factory Peugeot squad in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, he’s been ‘super sub’ in the IndyCar Series, he’s been a factory Honda driver in the Continental Tire Series for touring cars and he’s even found time to rally a Citroen C2!

That blistering lap time at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was set in a 2007 Champ Car (above) described simply by Pagenaud as “fantastic” with a “combination of power and grip that made that track layout really fun.”

Click here to find out how to master the Mid-Ohio.

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Taming the Beast—Behind the Wheel of the Iconic M6GT

by LUCY on December 6, 2011

One of the many beauties of Simraceway is the ability to drive cars that you may only ever get to sample in reality through one of those supercar driving experiences. But then there are some cars that are so rare–so elusive–that even dreaming about them would be a waste of time and energy.

Take the Mclaren M6GT for example. This car is so rare that experts cannot even say for certain how many genuine examples exist. There are three, or possibly four, original M6GT chassis left, depending on whom you ask.

Click here to find out how it feels to drive one of history’s most iconic cars.

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Simraceway Goes Behind-the-Scenes with Dario Franchitti

by LUCY on October 14, 2011

We announced Thursday that we’ve signed up three-time IndyCar Series Champion Dario Franchitti to work with Dan Wheldon on making Simraceway the most authentic racing game on the market.

In fact Franchitti has been working with Simraceway for the past two years and, during this time, we’ve been lucky enough to get up-close-and-personal with the IndyCar great. So with Franchitti heading into another final-race decider with Will Power this weekend, we wanted to share our behind-the-scenes snaps of last season’s exciting climax.

Click here to get full access to Franchitti’s 2010 triumph.

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The Simraceway Performance Driving Center—In Pictures!

by LUCY on September 1, 2011

 

To mark Sunday’s announcement of our partnership with the Jim Russell Racing Drivers School, we’ve published a few pictures of the brand new Simraceway Performance Driving Center in action over the weekend.

Click here to view some familiar faces!

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Simraceway Insider Screenshots

by Jonathan Haswell on August 9, 2011

To accompany our announcement of Simraceway, here are some development screenshots showing where we’re at with the art side of things, together with some photos of Indy 500 Champion Dan Wheldon, who is helping us create our brand new online racing world.

To get involved and help us develop the game, sign up for the beta over at simraceway.com.

Click here to view more screenshots.

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