My First Lap
I've always been into racing games, namely the more casual ones like Need For Speed and Forza Horizon. The idea in my mind was that buying a wheel would elevate my experience and enjoyment of these games.
And so, one impulse purchase later, I ended up with a beginner set of wheel and pedals from Moza. Of course, being a Linux gamer, things are never as easy as plug and play – although thanks to the open source community, tools like Boxflat (Moza PitHouse alternative) make things much simpler! Setup was pretty simple and before I knew it, I was booting up Assetto Corsa Competizione and doing my first hot laps around in single player.
My first session was a humbling experience, to say the least. Part of it was probably down to my choice of car – the Porsche 911 GT3, which had always been one of my dream cars. Apparently it's one of the tougher cars for handling and overcoming the rather steep learning curve of ACC. Despite my Moza R3's low torque, I was able to actually feel the weight of the car on every turn, which was a really cool revelation to me!
Getting Better (I think)
Sim racing is addicting. After about 20 hours learning the game physics and handling, I sort of got the hang of it. Of course, my lap times were still about 10 seconds slower than the real life record, but I felt a sense of progression. I discovered a strange sense of clarity and flow state that sim racing exudes – it's almost like meditation. When you're so locked in that the braking points just become second nature, hitting that perfect apex with no external distractions – just you and the car.
Numbers Don't Lie
Real life doesn't really quantify progression in the same way as sim racing does. How do you know if you're improving at work or growing your relationships with s/o, friends, or family? Of course, there's things like KPIs, performance tracking for workouts.
Sim racing gives you a lap time. It's brutally, immediately honest, down to the hundredth of a second, and there's something deeply satisfying about a form of self-improvement you can't lie to yourself about.
Accessibility
Obviously I don't think I can afford to be playing around with GT3 cars on the track every weekend, so there's that benefit. I can make mistakes without forking over tens of thousands for repair! With the right setup (and a lot of money!), you can closely replicate the adrenaline of 200km/h straights and near-miss overtakes. So that's pretty neat I think.
Constant Learning
I never really understood racing as a sport, but I've come to really gain respect for it. There's so many things to learn as a beginner: whether that be tire temperatures, weight transfers, brake bias, and aero balance. Maybe I'm just a sucker for learning how and why things work the way they do.
Racing in general also feels like one of those things where there's no definitive skill ceiling. Much like the competitive teenage grinding ranked StarCraft, I think jumping in a sim also provides that sense of never-ending self-improvement.
Going Forward
In the grand scheme of things, I'm still a horrible racer in ACC. It's brutally difficult, which is why I've been allergic to touching multiplayer and the online side of the things. Maybe one day, when I deem myself "good enough," but the times of grinding a ranked ladder may be past me.
(p.s. currently love the handling on 992 GT3-R and M4 GT3!)