Funworld November/December 2010

Professional motorsports simulators are now appearing at parks and attractions

If you’ve ever dreamed of speeding down the highway, darting in and out of traffic, sideswiping a driver who cut you off, and shooting ahead of all the congestion and into the clear, well, now you can experience that excitement with astonishing realism— and without the risk of being injured or killed.

The sleek, sophisticated motorsports simulators that professional racers have trained in for years are now available to entertainment venues, and their arrival is the culmination of years of effort by manufacturers to bring advanced, realistic racing simulation to mainstream recreation.

Mark Barry of InMotion Simulation in Prescott, Arizona (www.inmotionsimulation.com), which began by making NASCAR simulators in the 1990s for racing sponsors and brand promoters, says these high-tech machines are a far cry from the racing games traditionally found in arcades. “The difference is the ‘wow’ factor—the aggressiveness and getting thrown around,” he says. “People want the next level of experience, and this is definitely more aggressive.”

Frank Kalff, commercial director for simulator designer Cruden BV in Amsterdam, the Netherlands (www.cruden.com), which has determined that there is a viable market for premium motorsports simulators at entertainment venues, explains why these systems are much more sophisticated than the “racing tubs” found in amusement arcades: “The big difference is the realism, and that’s not only due to the motion technology, but also to the components. Having realistic feedback from the steering and motion systems is so much of the experience. Professional drivers tell us these simulators are just like the real [driving experience], and that’s quite an accomplishment. [Guests] can achieve all of the experiences of racing without the danger.”

Many of the premium motorsports simulators were originally developed for professional racing drivers and teams. Though the simulators now being offered to amusement attractions are virtually identical to these professional systems, there are slight differences, according to Sean Patrick MacDonald, cofounder of Simcraft in Marietta, Georgia (www.simcraft.com). “A professional driver or team wants customization,” he explains. “They might want a full cockpit replica or seating position, or exact geometry in seating placement, steering wheel placement, and so forth, to the millimeter.”

Kalff relates one problem Cruden faced when trying to bring its motorsports simulators to the entertainment market was the price, saying the professional simulators would run anywhere from €300,000 (US$380,000) to €2 million (US$2,500,000) or more; the company knew it had to shave off some costs to make the simulators viable to entertainment facilities. “We found we could take off some of the custom things professionals needed, but which wouldn’t be needed for entertainment,” he says. “We also changed components to make them more durable, because they are used more heavily in entertainment than in a research or [training] environment. We’re still reducing the cost.”

Indeed, professional simulators from these manufacturers are available to attractions now for between $40,000 and $200,000, depending upon the model.

Better Technology
As with so many rides and attractions in the amusements industry, advancements in technology have immensely improved the motorsports simulation experience. “We’ve incorporated chassis improvement for durability, reduced weight, improved speed and acceleration, and worked on improvements in software,” says MacDonald. “We’ve also built in collision detection that will come out through the motion software.” He adds that motion control has also improved through the use of electromechanics, which eliminates the response latency that’s characteristic with pneumatics and hydraulics because those systems operate by changing the pressure of gases or fluids.

Perhaps more impressive, these advancements haven’t increased costs. “They’ve actually become much more affordable,” says Barry. “We’re using off-the-shelf motors that make it [less costly]. Projectors have come down a lot and their quality has improved. Computers are faster and cheaper, and the gaming technology is cheaper and it has improved immensely— it’s now become photo-realistic.”

Feasibility as Attractions
The improvements in the guest experience that technology has brought, and the accompanying price reductions, certainly make these simulators more attractive, but are they now a good option for amusement parks, FECs, and other attractions? Kalff says yes, and explains why Cruden is aggressively pursuing the entertainment market: “I think when you go to a theme park or family entertainment center, you have something done to you and you’re not in control of what happens. But in this case, you are in control and have an influence on the outcome. Interactivity is becoming more and more important in entertainment, and these systems are definitely interactive.”

He adds the simulators are also addictive, and Cruden drives this repeat business even higher by showing drivers their performance statistics compared to their previous simulator rides, and even lets them compare their results to other drivers.

One challenge the parks and attractions environment presents to these simulators that manufacturers believe they’ve addressed is increased wear and tear. “We spent a lot of time modifying our equipment to make it almost foolproof, because actual run time in a professional driver is maybe four hours, whereas in a park they may run 10 or 12 hours a day,” says Kalff.

Attraction owners will be glad to hear that manufacturers say these simulators are low maintenance and require little intervention from them. “We use all maintenance-free components, completely sealed,” says MacDonald. “The public does seem to wear things out, so you might have an actuator degrade or fail after 50,000 hours, but that’s it.”

Barry agrees: “There’s just no maintenance—no oil to put in or anything like that. I’ve got simulators out there for six years that I’ve never heard from the customer because of a problem.”

Another concern for amusement facilities might be the potential for a tepid response to motorsports simulators from female guests because of what has historically been a maledominated sport. MacDonald says the solution to that is to just get females to try them. “We have many females that are fans of ours,” he says. “Women are more hesitant, but if they’re convinced to get in one, by the time they’re done, they really like it.”

According to Kalff, Cruden has taken on this challenge by making their simulators more accommodating to women. “Our new model, the Hexatech 4, sits much lower, so access is a lot easier,” he says. “Also, we’ve introduced a three-seater that allows them to experience it as a ride before they do it as a driver. Plus, the number of women driving professionally is increasing, and that helps a lot.”

Whether or not every guest will try to drive one of these premium motorsports simulators, one thing seems certain: They will attract spectators. “We have two of them so our customers can race against each other, and when they do, they’re entertaining the rest of our visitors who are watching, and that’s a spectacle in itself,” says Kerry Michael, owner of Weston-super-Mare Grand Pier in North Somerset, England, which has two Cruden Hexatech simulators. “No one in the UK has had access to this sort of motorsport simulator at a public attraction before, and I expect people to not quite believe what they are seeing at first!”

Contact News Editor Keith Miller at kmiller@IAAPA.org.