Topic: Pro racing simulators coming to Buttonwillow. Need garage space.

Howdy Folks.

Short version:

We made a very detailed virtual Buttonwillow based on publicly available LIDAR scans. We made a virtual version of our Lemons car.  We are bringing over $100K worth of full motion driving simulators to Buttonwillow so you all can drive our car (or other non-lemons cars) on Buttonwillow, in VR.  We learned yesterday we have no place to put those simulators, so we're looking for garage space or some other suitable temporary structure in which to house the sims and two operators (people).


Long version:

Two members of the B-Team are associated with a professional motion control simulator company called CXC Simulations. http://www.cxcsimulations.com/.  CXC Makes very high end motion control systems, complete with virtual reality, that are best suited for racing.  Our sims are used by loads of pro drivers for training and as toys for the well heeled.  You may have also seen them in sim centers around the world, or at various events (Bathurst 12 hr, Gamescon, Pirelli Center grand opening, etc. etc. etc.)

A few months ago, we thought, "Wouldn't it be cool if we could drive the Chotus in the simulator?"

...and then we thought, "People at Lemons would flip over this"

...and then we thought, "Wouldn't it be cool if the Lemons folk could drive the Chotus at a Lemons race, and drive it on the track where the race was taking place?"

Minds exploded, feasibility was measured, responsibilities were tossed aside, and work began.

Things were going swimmingly until a miscommunication threatened the whole project.  You see, when I mentioned this to Jay, he thought it was a great idea and said, in typical Jay fashion, "Make it so," which, to Jay, meant "You have my blessing - now go make sure it can be done."  I assumed that, through Jay, we had all the permission we needed to setup two simulators and spectator screens in the Tower Cafe at Buttonwillow (where there's AC and low dust) so we got to work making thing happen on the virtual side (car, track, transportation of sims, etc).  Turns out, the track runs the Tower Cafe, not Lemons; and the track is not having it.  We learned of this yesterday.

As you can imagine, a considerable amount of effort has gone into this project, but the project now has no home. We really don't want to put $100K worth of equipment out in the dust, so we need to put them inside *something*.  That something ideally is lock-able overnight.

With that, we're looking for a garage, or some sort of semi-permanent structure in which to setup and run these simulators.  Ideally, it's somewhere near the thick of things, so people can see what's happening and get a chance to try them out.  We have 2 simulators (7' x 4' footprint, each), a large screen for people to watch the sims race each other, and an operator for each sim (to help people get in and out, and get their VR gear on and running). 

Full disclosure: We are a two car team and have rented one of the back garages at Buttonwillow for both cars.  We will use our garage for the sims if need be, but, as you probably know, the Chotus is notoriously unreliable and we will undoubtedly be wrenching on the damn thing most of the weekend.  I fear there won't be enough room for tools, spares for two cars, at least one car, us working on the car(s), and then also have the sims and crowd that come with the sims in one garage.

FWIW, this isn't a sales gimmick or anything of the sort - we're not advertising.  We just thought it would be cool to share the experience at Lemons - hence the Lemons car, and Buttonwillow (as an aside: I don't think Buttonwillow has ever been available in a simulator package)

To give you an idea of the status of things, here's a quick lap of Buttonwillow (config #1) in the Chotus (not minding pit speed limits. wink). Still a WIP when we made the video on both the car and track, but it's close:
https://youtu.be/XmWnax3qZ7I

and a shot of the interior of the car (as seen through VR goggles).  And yes, the back seat is in, just like in the real car... as are some disconnected wires, cigar lighter start button, Lucas switchgear, working Smith's gauges, and broken analog clock. smile
http://churchofbk.com/misc/chot/IMG_8558.JPG

and a shot of the virtual Chotus exterior just because (complete with 4 lug hubs on the front and 5 lug on the rear):
http://churchofbk.com/misc/chot/IMG_8562.JPG


With that: Is anyone willing to give up part or all of their garage space to house these sims? 

Maybe someone has another idea? Giant transport trailer? Air conditioned Burningman structure? smile

BTeam Racing
#72 "Pussy Wagën" E30
#74 "Llama" Lotus Elite, aka Chotus
http://www.facebook.com/bteamracing | http://chotus.org

Re: Pro racing simulators coming to Buttonwillow. Need garage space.

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