Heart rate monitors are funny things to play around with, fantastic tools for working out and seeing how one pushes their body. When my friends and I thought it would be a good idea to wear them for the iRacing 24hrs of LeMans, we were both surprised, but not surprised by the results. Driving an LMP2 car for a planned eight hours would be a mental exercise.
Heart rates were up, peaking into the lower 100’s for all of us, clearly elevated to a sustained level when in the car over two hours. Sim racing isn't inherently a physical activity, but mentally it can be an ideal tool for dealing with pressure and stress. It makes sense though when you think of the countless hours the four of you have put into the car setup, into the driving tactics, into fuel and tyre strategy. None of us wanted to be the one that doesn’t bring the car back and hand it off to the next driver.
Four of us, all from different parts of the world, all pushing as hard as they could to win a class at Le Mans. We hit issues early which means driving at 10/10ths to get back into the fight, and that push elevates senses to real world amounts. To maximise laptime over two hours but to not make a mistake prioritizes your goals and self rules while in the car. No matter how hard you want to push, these long endurance races have that extra sense of responsibility. This is something that cant be found outside of a real car otherwise. This is where simracing can shine for a real driver looking for more prep.
These are the moments why I simrace. The pressure, the intensity, the camaraderie and friendships. While the race itself didn't end how we wanted it to, the mid-stint intensity of racing around LeMans at 2am local time trying to scratch and claw seconds off the next person in front, with teammates on the radio talking shit, nothing can touch it except the real thing.
