How Jimmy Broadbent swaps sim racing for real motorsport

“You quickly notice that racing drivers are just people: people like us who like to race,” says Broadbent. Even so, he immediately admits that he is still being struck by the stars. “I overtook Frank Biela once in a race that is an icon for me,” he says. “It was surreal. And I was met by Rubens Barrichello once! “

However, his best anecdote comes from a legendary event last summer. “Don’t hit Emerson Fittipaldi,” pleaded Broadbent seconds before giving the 1970s icon a “punterino” in the gravel. “That night I got a call from an unknown number,” he says. “It was Emerson: he actually wanted to apologize because he thought he was too slow! I was sitting in my dressing gown with an F1 legend apologizing to me. It was absolutely insane. There have been a lot of moments like this where I’ve thought, “Is this really going to happen?” Because among them I’m still a huge racing fan. “

However, this fan was so well known that this month he launched a campaign with the works team from the Czech company Praga in Britcar, the best endurance championship in Great Britain.

“Praga’s UK executive called me and I thought he wanted me to advertise,” says Broadbent. “When he asked about races, I asked if he would wind me up!”

Broadbent is by no means the first sim racer to hit the track. As of 2009, Nissan trained several top Gran Turismo players; and that year the winner of the world’s fastest player competition, James Baldwin, triumphed in his debut in the British GT Championship. However, Broadbent describes himself as “the first sim racing driver who entered racing without having previously been a racing driver”. He explains: “I only competed in a kart race when I was 26 years old. My first car race was about a month ago and only in a 130 hp BMW 116i. “

So he had to take the preparation for the Britcar campaign very seriously. “The main thing is to get fit,” he says. “I lost about 10 kg. The interesting thing is that my arms are fine because I’m using a direct drive play wheel that is so strong. In fact, the best of it can produce up to 22 lb ft of torque.

Broadbent also stepped up its simulation efforts, learning the 380hp Praga R1T and Britcar as all top drivers do these days. With the help of sponsors, he built a £ 7000 rig. “We actually built a car from scratch in the Sim to try and emulate the Praga as closely as possible with real-world data, which was really cool” he enthuses.