#fromvirtualtoreal: 3DRap Triumphs in Its First Formula Predator’s Race

After making a name for itself in sim racing, the digital prototyping company will support the SimRacingZone team throughout the championship. The team is a community of young talents from the world of virtual racing who are now competing on real tracks too. From March 29 to 31, the engineers from Irpinia were at the Cremona circuit, where more than 160 cars took turns on the track over the weekend. Following a stop at Mondiale Racing Srl to visit Alberto Ticchi, the official tuner for the SimRacingZone team, the team fitted its Formula Predator’s race cars with the first steering wheels created by 3DRap.

Practice and Qualifying at Cremona

Then everyone took to the track for free practice, which allowed them to test various aspects and make preliminary assessments ahead of qualifying. From sim driver Amos Laurito to the famous YouTuber Blink46 and Adriano Albano, all the SRZ team drivers got behind a 3DRap steering wheel for the first time and confirmed the strength of the project, which will also be presented at Smau London 2019, an international platform dedicated to Europe’s most innovative companies.

Albano Wins the First Race

The qualifying sessions produced excellent results for Albano and Laurito, who each placed second in the pc010 pro and am categories respectively. “Our support for the team went well beyond developing the steering wheel,” said Beniamino Izzo, Project Manager at 3DRap. “Thanks also to discussions with Mattia Gatto, the team’s telemetry specialist, we were able to suggest improvements to driving style that helped Alberto Naska in particular qualify third in the pc015 category, despite a serious injury to his ribs and collarbone that disrupted much of his preparation. We have also identified further developments for the car, which we will reveal soon.”
On Sunday, March 31, in perfect weather, Albano won the first pc010 race. Although he started second, the young driver from Nardò made a mistake at the start and dropped to fourth. But the Ferrari Driver Academy talent’s skill enabled him to pull off a series of incredible overtakes, the last just a few corners from the finish line, which he crossed first.

Spectator Success and Next Round

“The thrill of seeing a single-seater cross the finish line in first place with one of our steering wheels on board, the result of a decade of know-how gained from digital applications, was incredible,” said Domenico Orsi, Additive Manufacturing Director at 3DRap. Meanwhile, Naska secured two top-five finishes and brought home crucial points, as did Laurito and Blink 46, both competing on a real track for the first time.
The event was also a great success with spectators, both at the track and online, with more than 10,000 viewers. It was a rewarding result for the work done by the 3DRap team in recent months, and they will be back for the next round at the Varano de Melegari circuit on April 27 and 28, when the engineers will have returned from the British capital with more important news.