Walkinshaw Andretti United has ramped up its Supercars simulator programme as part of a new deal with Motum Simulation.
The team added a full-motion Motum MP6-VR simulator to its Melbourne workshop a fortnight ago, something it expects to benefit both drivers and engineers.
The new sim was broken in by IndyCar stars Alexander Rossi and James Hinchcliffe, who have been using it as part of their Bathurst 1000 wildcard preparation.
“This technical partnership with Motum Simulation is a critically important one for our team,” said WAU co-team principal Mathew Nilsson.
“It gives us the ability to bring the racetrack to the workshop, creating an engineering tool that will help us develop our race cars away from the circuit, an extremely important option to have with the testing restrictions we face.
“The next best thing to reality is a high-fidelity simulator, and it’s fantastic to have one at our disposal, the cohesion between the two is unbelievable, and it’s something we can’t wait to explore further.”
Motum boss Steve Hoinville labelled the deal a “technical collaboration”, which will also fast track improvements to the burgeoning Supercars simulator industry.
“We are delighted to have Motum Simulation’s technologies adopted, and integrated fully into Walkinshaw Andretti United’s engineering programme,” he said.
“The first few days of operation have already seen incredible correlation between data recorded in the Motum Simulator and the team’s qualifying pace from Bathurst 2018.
“This degree of realism can only be achieved through a 6DoF motion system such as the MP6-VR simulator.
“For Walkinshaw Andretti United’s drivers to be able to practice for each circuit, and engineers develop the race cars in their workshop at any time without limitations, will be of great benefit to the team.
“For Motum, the opportunity to work so closely with such an iconic team will further our expertise in the field and allow us to continue to close the gap between the virtual and real worlds.
“It’s a great partnership, and at Motum we are very excited about the technical collaboration ahead.”
WAU is already deeply involved in Esports, its official drivers Joshua Rogers and Jarrad Filsell taking a one-two in last night’s second round of the Gfinity Supercars Eseries, staged on the Bathurst circuit.
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