My Journey to Circuit Racing from Scratch Part 1: My First Sports Driving Experience

Hello everyone☀️
This is Acerola Mamako.

The other day, I celebrated my 3rd anniversary of starting iRacing<(_ _)>

Actually,
while enjoying racing in the virtual world,
I started thinking, I want to try racing a real car someday!!!
and I have been making preparations.

Will that dream come true!!!
Will I really be able to enter a race!!!

This time, I would like to share that I have finally taken that first step.

1. Why I wanted to enter a race

I thought that by practicing on iRacing and learning the basics of driving a car, I would be able to drive both real cars and simulators more safely and enjoyably,which was why I started iRacing.
Three years later...

● Enjoying iRacing on the simulator and participating in endurance races with friends
● Getting the hang of enjoying iRacing (it's important not to overdo it in an environment where you feel comfortable)
● Participating in experience driving and night training in real cars
● Going to circuits to watch real car races

From having absolutely no interest or knowledge in racing or games, while living a life enjoying cars both in reality and virtually,

I started thinking, I want to try racing a real car someday!!!

I had come to think that.

Real car racing means the car will break if you crash, and it costs money.
Honestly, I have some anxiety, but seeing so many people looking like they are having a great time driving, I thought, "There must be something truly appealing about it."
I want to experience that for myself with my own body.
I want to feel the "virtual racing" I've been doing on the simulator on an actual circuit this time. That is the reason why I wanted to try racing.

2. Sports driving full of anxiety

"I want to race a real car someday!" A very happy thing happened to me while I was thinking that.
Someone I am indebted to, who knew about that, gave me a driving ticket for Mihama Circuit!

I was just about to start preparing little by little for real car racing, so I was truly grateful...
I decided to ask Mr. KMR Tanaka, who gives me lessons on iRacing, for lessons in a real car as well.

Since it was my first time doing sports driving, I checked what to prepare and had Mr. KMR share onboard videos to help me understand the course🙇‍♀️

I had already replaced the brake pads after my night practice at Koda Circuit, so I decided to drive without changing any other equipment this time.
When I arrived at Mihama Circuit, many cars were already preparing to drive, and I felt a little nervous...
First, I finished the application for driving at the office and started preparing to drive myself.

My goal this time is
"To watch the cars around me carefully and drive safely on the correct line"

One driving session is 20 minutes.
First session
First, while riding with Mr. KMR to check the course together, I received a lecture on points to be careful about when driving.
After that, it was finally my turn to drive. I had Mr. KMR ride in the passenger seat, and I drove Mihama Circuit for the first time with him riding along!

I was definitely nervous and anxious about driving with several other cars.
However, thanks to my night practice experience at Koda Circuit and the careful guidance I received from KMR beforehand, I was able to drive without feeling too scared.

Second Session
I drove intently while paying attention to other cars in the same session with reverse passenger riding.
I couldn't quite drive as I wanted to...
But I was truly happy when I managed to do even a little bit of what I couldn't do in the previous lap ☺️

Third Session
KMR and I drove separately.
I recalled the lectures from the first and second sessions and tried to drive while being careful at each corner, but time passed by in a flash without me being able to drive well.
My lap time was 6 seconds slower than KMR's.

This time, I was able to experience a total of one hour of sports driving over three sessions.

3. Lessons learned from this driving session

After the driving was over, we checked the in-car footage and logger at KMR's shop.

I realized a few things after experiencing this sports driving session.
・Poor positioning ➡ My arms are fully extended in the in-car footage
・My head moves a lot in the in-car footage ➡︎ I'm not feeling it in my back or waist, so my body and head position are unstable
These two points are something I can practice even during daily driving, so I plan to try working on them.I'm thinking of giving it a try.Also, since these were the same weaknesses I had on the simulator, I intend to practice on the simulator while keeping these realizations in mind.

And, I recorded in-car footage for the first time.
It's great because I can look back later and check my weaknesses and areas for improvement.
I bought a video camera and an in-car mount.
The camera was stable while driving, and the image was clear, so I'm glad I bought it.
I plan to use it more and more from now on.

※Excellent in-car mount👍🏻⬇️

※In-car mount is here⬇️

※Sony Action Cam HDR-AS200V⬇️

Please do use it as a reference 😁

4. Summary

Someday I want to participate in a real car race!!!
I will take on the challenge little by little.

This was the first installment, sports driving at Mihama Circuit.
I would be happy if you could keep an eye on my progress to see what I will challenge next.

Just like with iRacing, I will try not to forget to enjoy it at my own pace without rushing.

Thank you for reading until the end today 😊