In the blink of an eye the damage is done.

“Fucking first lap heroes!” a voice screams through my headphones.

“Race ruined already, brilliant” another sarcastically concedes.

Both of those unhappy chappies are talking about me, or more directly what I’ve done during the first lap of a Skip Barber race at Laguna Seca in the subscription-only sim, iRacing.

Even though the interaction between car and track is entirely simulated with pixels, models and algorithms replacing the nuts and bolts of rubber meeting road, the feelings of guilt are immediately real as I misjudge the entry to Laguna Seca’s beloved corkscrew section resulting in me clipping and spinning a fellow human driver ninety degrees, which in turn tangles us together creating an unavoidable obstacle for a trio of drivers behind.

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