Can gaming make you a better driver?

Multiple studies have proven that playing racing video games does improve your real-world driving skills, but there’s your old Playstation at home and then there are motorsport-grade simulators. So, can the latter turn an amateur into Lewis Hamilton in just a few hours? 

Well, that might be a stretch, but we’ve given it a try. We travelled down to Goodwood’s historic racing circuit to try out its new simulators, before going out on the real circuit to compare and see if it's something that would benefit the everyday motorist. Our car of choice, in both instances, was the BMW M4.    

First up was the simulator. Goodwood has four at its disposal, with each costing circa £50,000 – that’s right, in total you’re looking at about a Ferrari Roma’s worth of equipment. Where does the money go? Plenty is in the details: for instance, the seats are made entirely of carbon fibre. Plenty is in the high-tech computer each setup runs on, too, as well as the motion rig that allows the setup to pivot back and forth, left and right. You also have a wide, curved screen in front of you and a set of noise-cancelling headphones to put on.  

After setting off onto the virtual track, it takes a couple of laps to become immersed. From the seat moving you around to the feel of the controls, there’s a lot to take in – as it would be the first time driving a real car, to be fair. 

However, you soon get accustomed to it all. The more you focus on your driving, the more you forget that everything is synthesised. In other words, that part of your brain telling you it’s fake starts to quieten, even if it’s still always there – we haven’t reached Matrix levels of immersion just yet. When experiencing that level of concentration, that’s when we began to pick up the pace and get into a solid rhythm. 

Having completed some laps, we were taken through the data. Various graphs show your inputs (the white line on the photo below) next to the inputs of a driver setting an ideal lap (the red line). By comparing the two lines with the help of simulator operations lead, Fin Crawford, we could see where we were making mistakes. Essentially, the goal became emulating that red line: adjust our acceleration, braking and line through the corners for a smoother, faster lap. 

However, before having another go on the simulator, it was time to put what we’d learnt so far to the test. We headed out on the real Goodwood Circuit in a brightly coloured BMW M4 Competition and began putting its mighty 503bhp to the ground. 

We weren’t alone, though. Riding in the passenger seat was Goodwood’s chief instructor, Jack Layton. He instructed us when to brake, begin turning, when to apply the accelerator again and to what degree. 

Like setting off for the first time on the simulator, there was an adjustment period. The signage being different to the virtual track’s was a noticeable one, but so was the now very real sense of speed. Much more so than on the simulator, you can’t relax. You need to be completely focused all of the time. After all, there is no reset button.  

However, we did find ourselves quickly putting into practise some of the lessons we’d learnt on the simulator. For instance, on Woodcote Corner (which is almost two corners), we were braking twice on the simulator, but out on the track we began making it one braking motion and smoothening out the line. Not only did this make us faster, but it made the car more stable. 

What’s more, although we did say that the simulator isn’t completely immersive, there were many helpful similarities between it and reality. The track layout felt near-enough indistinguishable, plus the speeds we were achieving were similar too. We were essentially able to know what gear we needed to be in through certain bends, as well as roughly what speed we could take them at, before we even set off on the track.

Both the virtual and real M4 had super-sharp front-ends, with plenty of precision and grip to depend on. Their rears were similarly predictable, too, so if you began applying the accelerator a tad too early in a corner, they’d step out of line in a progressive and controllable fashion. Overall, both M4s felt brilliant – we rate the real one as a five-star performance car, after all. 

We should mention, though, that some simulated cars – of which are pulled from the video game Assetto Corsa (as is the model of Goodwood Circuit itself) – are better than others, so how realistic the car feels can vary. For instance, because there’s a dedicated virtual racing league involving Caterham Sevens, that car model is made to be ultra realistic. Not every model has had so much time and attention put into it, we’re told. 

After another session on the simulator and during another session on track, we did feel some fatigue set in. It’s not easy retaining such an intense level of concentration for so long (unless you are indeed Lewis Hamilton) and we felt that concentration beginning to slip. In fact, we briefly dropped an outside wheel onto the grass coming out of Madgewick Corner as a result. Let it be a lesson never to drive tired, whether you're on the road or cornering at 90mph on a track. 

Still, we came away feeling a more confident driver and having learnt a lot, with the simulator proving very useful for learning the track in a completely safe environment – professional racing drivers practise on Goodwood's simulators for that very reason.  It did indeed help us hit the real-life track running, getting a head start on those who had never experienced it before. 

Should every motorist book on and try a motorsport-grade simulator? Well, no. For your average, everyday motorist looking to become a safer, more confident driver, an advanced driving course is likely to be more beneficial. However, for those keen drivers among us – perhaps you’ve just bought a powerful sports car and/or are thinking about driving on a track for the first time – it can be a great tool. 

Then again, if you’re feeling cautious about paying £50 for an hour-long session on Goodwood’s simulators – we understand, it’s not cheap – don’t underestimate your Playstation. If you have one (or an Xbox or gaming PC), simply picking up a controller and firing up one of the latest racing games is a great start.  

Games like Assetto Corsa and Gran Turismo 7 are more realistic than any of their predecessors and, as we touched upon in the beginning, they’ve been proven to improve things like your reaction time and decision-making ability, similar to how a simulator would. Naturally, these skills very much come into play behind the wheel of a real car.  

However, one thing is absolutely key in all of this and that’s the need for good tuition. Whether you’re trying a racing simulator or doing an advanced driving course, having an expert give you the tips you need to improve (and then proceeding to put them into practice) is the real cheat code to being a better driver. 

Read more: Best and worst performance cars >>

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