Hi all! I want to ask you all a question, would appreciate replies from those who have actually participated in real life racing (Formula Ford, F3, FRenault etc.) so basically, someone who participates/participated in a low formulae. I'm asking this because my ambition is to reach F1 someday and hopefully, do something like what 'ole Schumi did .

Unfortunately, because of circumstances, I can't race professionally in karts , however, I was told that I could train myself up on simulators like LFS and other sims. I understand that an important factor that I won't get from sims is the whole physical strain bit but like I said, personal circumstances.

So, basically, would I be realistic to train myself on sims? (e.g.: LFS, GTR2, RACE, GPL, RBR and NkPro) or are they not close enough to teach me something in a real car?

Lep, this is a cool discussion
http://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?t=24476

Anyway, I am a real-life racer too, and I agree that it can teach you the basic concept. However, real-life is still real-life. There are still differences.

Don't want to sound too negative but if you don't have the rescources to go karting, how do you expect to be able to race cars? Ever noticed that there are no from rags to riches stories in motorsport? Schumacher probably comes closest but even he had enough financial support from his dad to get him started with karting in the first place.

EDIT: forgot to answer your question. You'll never learn as much in a sim as you would in real karting but I do believe sims can be used as basic talent indicator. If you do alright in terms of speed you will probably have the capability to do alright in RL too.

LFS can only teach you the basics, but improving beyond the basics, you need real life experience. Plus, g-forces and road conditions in LFS are nothing like real life (unless you have that VR suit thing that makes it like your IN the game {those exist right? :S }), it doesnt take a racing driver to tell you that.

I voted yes. But only for basics.

you can learn basic race craft and stuff in a sim, but its nowhere near good enough to actually train yourself. I can see a benefit in learning the tracks via a sim, but since LFs has no real tracks, its pretty useless. rfactor would be pretty decent, I.E. i believe tristan taught himself castle combe on rfactor.

Yes and no. It'll stop you crashing on your first lap, and give you a second or two per lap advantage over total newbies for a race or two. It might help with planning race strategies, and keeping calm under pressure etc too.

But you won't get to F1 if you are prepared to let 'personal circumstances' get in the way. You'll need to make tough decisions and huge sacrifices to even get to F3 level.

I am agree with all of you. Be sure you will learn the basics and you will improve, but nothing like real life. This step (training with simulators) will help you if you drive a race car IRL some day (I wish ) but to become a good race driver you nee real practise.

PD: My dream is to drive some day in the WTCC or something like it

Quote from J.B. :

Don't want to sound too negative but if you don't have the rescources to go karting, how do you expect to be able to race cars?

I never stated that I dont have resources, I only stated that at the current time in my life, I cant race due to my mental instability and because my dad is getting ill. M8, saying something like that doesn't help, it stings me quite a bit because I want to race soo much, have had several nervous breakdowns because of it.

Don't take it the wrong way, I wish you all the best. If money isn't a problem then go for it as soon as you can!

For me I reckon a sim can probably teach you the basics of car control and the influences of setup changes but still nothing like sitting in the car and driving its wheels off.

The one thing that really surprised me when I did my first race last year after about 4 years out of a kart was how I'd totally forgotten about G force from playing LFS. The first lap I spent thinking how LFS had made me totally forget about how sore it was to hit kerbs

I think the biggest area LFS can train you on is race craft. I feel I've learnt a lot in this area racing some good tough racers and I certainly noticed an improvement there. I was a lot more on the ball in the couple of races I did last year to when I was `more seriously` karting. That's one of the areas that is very hard to practice out with race meetings, sometimes I'd do the odd `pretend` pass when testing to find how late I could brake on a narrower line but still doesn't match having another competitor to navigate between.

It's great to have an ambition and you should aim for your goals but you do have to be realistic I'm afraid. Competing at top level karting alone is serious money and sponsors won't even look at you unless you can provide good coverage. But if you feel you've got the resources go for it, you can only try!

Quote from Leprekaun :

I never stated that I dont have resources, I only stated that at the current time in my life, I cant race due to my mental instability and because my dad is getting ill. M8, saying something like that doesn't help, it stings me quite a bit because I want to race soo much, have had several nervous breakdowns because of it.

Ouch. In that case, for your own well-being, you should get racing as soon as possible. Isn't there any local grass-roots motorsport you can get involved in and still be able to spend a lot of time with your dad?

I appreciate the support Kev but not that kind of ill, I hope. He's just quite stressed out and it has taken a physical turn on his body so he hates the idea of karting due to many past arguments so thats why I haven chosen not to race now.

As my Total Immersion Racing game says "No matter how realistic we try to make the physics, driving in real life like you would in a video game is NOT the same the same as real life. Do not attempt anything you see in this game in real life". The same applys to LFS. Even though the devs try to make the physics as real as posible, they will never be exactly like real life. now LFS might give you an idea what your BF1 may handle like but if your going to race it in real life, get a track and some practice.

As good as LFS is, it cant be used as a "tool" for real experience.

For a noob maybe, you can learn about vehicle dynamics, traction or choosing the correct line, but only the concepts, not the sensations itself

i race in the national kart championship on a very small budget against some VERY experienced drivers and im only about 0.1 off the pace, and ive only done 11 kart races as a non novice...

this is down to sims teaching me how to drive and improve, but you have to have some previous experience to base LFS upon and improve what you are weak on, if that makes sense???

race craft in sims is totally different to real racing though..

Quote from ayrton senna 87 :

race craft in sims is totally different to real racing though..

Very true. In sims, you take risks you won't even dream of IRL on the track simply because of the "infinite risk compensation factor" aka no fear of injury and death leading to cavalier attitudes to safety.

In LFS, if you messed up your overtaking attempt and land in the gravel/wall, there's always the reset button. IRL it could be the last thing you'll ever see.

In fact, it is well known that as racing gets safer on the track these days, the general level of risk aversion has fallen significantly among drivers.

I race kart's one or two more years of it,then maybe formula ford's(dad's plan) but i dont train myself on LFS for reall life racing,it will help you to a certain extenct,then you will be experienced enough to know what to do,but LFS could help on rcae craft i suppose