Porsche driver Christian Pancione has never been to Mount Panorama, but the 20-year-old is already an expert at the Bathurst circuit.
The biggest problem facing rookie drivers at Australia’s most demanding track is the lack of practice time to get up to speed, with the ever-present concrete walls ready to put a huge dent not only in your car, but your wallet as well.
That’s why the Carrera Cup driver has been spending hours in a full-motion simulator, in order to be fully prepared for his first trip to the iconic circuit this week.
“I’ve never actually even been to Bathurst before, even in a road car, but people who’ve been there tell me the simulator is pretty spot on,” he told Wide World of Sports.
WATCH THE FULL LAP OF MOUNT PANORAMA IN THE VIDEO ABOVE
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“If there’s a bump in the real track, there’s a bump in the sim.
“It gives you me a really good idea of what to expect on the weekend and how to be prepared from the very first lap.”
Pancione says the motion-based simulator is especially useful when learning a circuit like Bathurst.
“The fact it’s motion-based really helps a lot, particularly for a track like Mount Panorama that’s got so much elevation change,” he explained.
“The simulator tries to give you that feeling of the car dropping as you come down the mountain.
“You can’t get that with a static simulator, so it’s a really big help.”
But for those amateur racers at home, it’s not simply a case of buying a simulator like this at the local shops.
“It’s not very cheap, luckily I got a very good deal through a sponsorship deal, so I didn’t have to pay full retail price,” Pancione said.
“But you could easily spend 80-grand on it if you want the very best.
“It can get pretty pricey, but it’s a vital tool for someone like me. The expense is nothing compared to actually taking the real car testing, so in the long-run it’s worth it.”
The Carrera Cup will run as one of the support races to the Bathurst 1000 this week, and Pancione heads to Mount Panorama in 10th position in the standings.
“The big thing for me is not to expect too much. I wasn’t supposed to be doing Carrera Cup this year as a full campaign, it was more going to be a few wildcard entries,” he said.
“We didn’t have a championship goal at the start of the year, but of course being a racing driver you want to win.
“I seem to have had a heap of sixth-placed finishes this year, so top-five would be good.”
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