New Sponsors VholdR! ~ Challenge Auto Racing!

So first off, we’d like to welcome two new sponsors to the Bad Cat Racing team.

VholdR produced Twenty20, LLC.  The -best- personal digital A/V recording device produced today.

Simple, elegant, high tech.  And… my freaking -favorite- feature of all.  ONE BUTTON OPERATION.  The rest of you hear that?  ONE BUTTON.  We currently have a DVR rig with a nice high end lipstick cam.  It never gets used, we used it once at the beginning of last season and it was such a pain in the ass that it’s been sitting in the bag unused ever since.  Why?  Well, first there’s about 20 wires all about six feet long.  Second, a battery pack to drive the camera, gotta hope that doesn’t come unplugged or any of the six AA’s pop out… so gaff-tape that up.  Third the DVR is mounted in a shock proof case with buttons you nearly need a jewelers screwdriver to operate and a menu system that is similar to the Nintendo Contra unlimited free replay code  just to start recording video.  Oh yes, that’s totally easy to do when you’re in leathers with Kevlar gloves on and it’s 100 degrees and Girl Wonder is screaming at you that they’re on third call for your practice session.

Again, the VholdR camera?  Slide the big button one direction… Recording.  Slide the big button the other direction, Not Recording.  Praise the God of Speed, someone understands!

Supposedly it has lots of other very cool features as well, and we’ll get into those quite a bit more as we use the product and update the blog with videos and details.  But the biggest and most important feature is can you simply turn it on and off in a panic situation quickly and easily by tactile sensation?  And the answer is a resounding YES!  Thanks go to Kelly and the team at Twenty20!

Challenge Auto Racing in Scotts Valley, California.

 

 Challenge Auto Racing is one of only two facilitates in the United States to offer full six degrees of freedom (DOF) auto racing simulation platforms.  To quote directly from their website. http://www.challengeautoracing.com/simulators.htm

 

For the ultimate in seat of the pants sensation, nothing beats a six DOF(degree of freedom) motion platform.

Six DOF motion platforms are an aerospace standard used in multi-million dollar fighter aircraft simulators.

Not only can you achieve six distinct types of motion, but when they are combined simultaneously, just about any desired effect can be had.

One of the most satisfying aspects of a 6-DOF motion platform is the absence of any perceivable pivot point. The motion platform lets you feel what the car is doing.

When you lose traction at the rear wheels and the back end begins to comes around, you’ll feel it. Without motion, by the time your eyes tell you the back ends coming out, it’s usually too late.

Motion also gives you a good indication of how smoothly you’re driving, you can feel the even the most subtle weight transfers from left to right, or front to back–something that’s almost impossible to see.

 

 

 Our stockcar racing simulator is built from a modified, scale race car capable of 200+ miles per hour. The driver is surrounded by a full steel roll cage and sheet metal interior. The body is proportionate to a full size NASCAR® stock car and 2/3 scale for ease of transport and space conservation.

The force-feedback steering gives the driver a real sense of g-force, and tire slip. This is not the watered down stuff found in other racing centers, arcades, or at home – your arms may experience fatigue.

Another key sensation in racing is vibration, and we’ve got it. We have a real, dynamic mechanical vibration, not a little sub-woofer under the seat.

The stockcar-racing simulator has authentic construction and styling. It features a steel frame and full roll cage with a fiberglass body. The stockcar is also equipped with Goodyear racing slick tires and Basset wheels. The interior is equipped with sheet metal panels. You sit on a Butlerbuilt racing seat, then in front of the seat is a high force feedback steering wheel and the shifter is a B&M Pro Ratchet.

On the panels are working gauges: oil pressure, speedo, tach and a shift light. Then on the dash panel is where you find our engines start button, aux 1-3, temperature light and gearbox select. The racing simulator has a THX 400 watt, 4-Channel surround sound system.

But you’re probably thinking to yourself, “But guys, this is a NASCAR simulator, and you drive a F1 sidecar, how is this going to help you?”

Well the neat thing is with hardware this advanced they make it so you can flick a few switches and (poof) you’re sitting in a Formula 1 car.  Which is of course exactly what we’re going for.  And, with Portland International Raceway loaded up on the Simulator.  It’s time to get to work for our mid-September PIR race.  Thanks go to Eugene and the team at Challenge Auto Racing!

~BCR

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