Real Versus Sim Racing at The Nordschleife (Forza 6)

As many Sim Racing enthusiasts out there, also RaceDepartment‘s AussieStig visited the 2015 Sim Racing Expo at the Nurburgring circuit in Germany. He brought back some interesting video footage we want to share with you all.

While there were lots of interesting events going on inside the “ring°boulevard” exhibition center, also the Nordschleife itself was used for some Sim Racing action. Team Redline‘s Aleksi Uusi-Jaakkola had the opportunity to take part in a “real vs virtual” race against multiple FIA GT champion Michael Bartels in his BMW Z4 GT3 Blancpain Endurance car.

This awesome race was set up by Expo organiser Norman Simon, Vodafone, Microsoft, and Thomas Jackermeier from Fanatec. After closing the Nordschleife circuit for the public, Aleksi took place in a Fanatec Rennsport v2 sim rig that was literally placed on the holy tarmac of the Nordschleife to do a virtual lap against the real Z4 of Michael Bartels.

The virtual vs real race started somewhat chaotic, because when the flag was waved, Aleksi had not yet arrived at the dedicated starting point. Soon after, the race developed into a fears and competitive battle between the Forza motorsport powered Z4 and its real life counterpart. The race ended in favour of Michael Bartels who finished a couple of seconds before the virtual car of Aleksi Uusi-Jaakkola.