A Volkswagen Golf body, screens with a 190-degree field of view and a 6dof motion platform. It’s a simulator straight out of F1, built by Szymon Ładniak, a talented racing driver from Lublin. This young pro driver trains on it to compete in ADAC TCR Germany.

Szymon Ładniak was competing in this season’s ADAC TCR Germany series. He ended this year’s season with a first place in the junior classification and two non-division wins, which secured him third place in the overall. Ładniak, in order to be able to train as much as he needs, built with his father a simulator modeled on the equipment of F1 teams. It’s a unique racing simulator on the Polish scale, equipped with a motion platform with six axes of freedom.

Szymon Ładniak began his adventure with simulators by driving hundreds of hours in “Gran Turismo 5” on a pad and steering wheel, but at some point it wasn’t enough. Simon and his team needed a simulator so they could get behind the wheel more often, and training costs were optimized.

Racing on a real track also requires the racer to have adequate technical facilities and car preparation. The cost of fuel can also be predicted, the commitment of the team, food and accommodation are usually at the same cost level. On the other hand, you never know what will happen during practice and in what weather conditions the race will take place. A trip to the track involves very large costs to get there, rent the facility, pay the entry fee and prepare the car.

The simulator gives the drivers a great deal of opportunities to set up and change conditions from weather conditions to car settings. The modifications that were made to Szymon’s virtual car were custom-made to replicate the Honda that Ładniak competes in the ADAC TCR Germany series.

The computer operating the 6dof simulator does not know which cockpit was mounted on the motion system. The simulator was built on the basis of the Golf that Szymon once drove. The interior dimensions of the cabin and the current driver’s car are so similar that there was no point in changing it.

The motion platform provides real-time information to the driver. In addition, it simulates engine vibration, acceleration, and braking exactly as during a real track. In addition, the simulator is equipped with large screens with a 190-degree field of view and a professional sound system. Almost 100 percent of the teams in F1 use just such a solution.

At the end of the day Szymon Ładniak says: “Of course, the training itself is almost free, because of the price of the energy needed to power the simulator, but the cost of building such a device should not be forgotten. The simulator and “know how” is the cost of approx. 100 thousand euros, but this pays for itself precisely in the cost of training, although it is difficult to convert it exactly into money. However, the kilometers I have covered on this simulator are priceless to me.“