And circling back to the beginning and car preparation, the car on the sim will be representative of a car in the best condition possible. In real life, it’s up to you to make sure your car has the right tyres and brakes that are in good condition and set up correctly. It’s up to you to make sure your car is up to snuff on servicing and your engine is in a top state of preparedness for abuse.
How the car will behave will of course be a lot more fluid in real life, with things like braking power degrading over time. My brake pedal – a stock all-Brembo set-up with dot 4 brake fluid – went soft after five laps, for instance. In games, at best, you’ll feel a bit of tyre degradation. In real life, it’s still important to pay attention to everything and not assume what you felt in the game will translate directly to your first-hand experience.
You also won’t get certain sensations in a simulator. Yes the sense of speed is different, but so is steering feel, brake feel and especially the sense of pitch, roll, yaw, grip and slip. That should be obvious given that on a sim rig, you’re not actually moving. The important point to note around that is that where learning those sensations are concerned, there’s no replacing the real thing, even slightly.
Perhaps the most obvious thing too is that unlike in a simulator, where you can just pause to jump up and get a drink or go to the loo, you’re stuck in your car in real life until you drive off-track. So make sure you’re well-hydrated and in good condition overall to be able to manhandle your machine safely and effectively. It’s also worth noting that it gets hot wearing the mandated long-sleeves and helmet by comparison to the comfort of home.