What kind of clientele attracts the center, you might ask?
“Forty percent of our clientele comes from the Rhone-Alps region, then Paris, Marseille and Switzerland”, caries on our guide. “We organize an average of 4000 races a week and during our first year alone, we held 50 000 races”. We also cater to 850 companies from multinational groups like Michelin to more modest ones like the corner garage, for instance.
Incidently, I-VENT has developed a unique concept intended for companies that have a motivation and reward system for their employees, clients, suppliers and partners, adds Pierre Nicolas.
“Our goal is to democratize car racing. Consequently, most part of our engineering budget has been invested in the simulators’ performance rather than on their graphic design. Many other video games present much more realistic designs than ours. Again, our goal is not to create yet another video game, but to give our clients the closest impression to what riding a race car feels like. This is why we also provide them with a hood, a racing suit, a helmet, shoes and gloves in order to make the experience as realistic as it possibly can”, says Nicolas.
Sure, the entrance fees are high, but karting fees are roughly equivalent. The company offers three different packages: a one-race package, a five-race package and a ten-race package. Fanatics can also take part in a four-hour long endurance event during which the drivers relay each other at the wheel of a Pescarolo.
I-WAY also holds monthly competitions after which the winner gets to attend a racing internship at AGS Formula 1. Last year, I-WAY organized a major competition that allowed thousands of participants to race against each other. The final race was held during the weekend on all three types of simulators and the big winner, Morgan Valverde, walked away with the keys to a brand new Porsche Cayman!
Plus, all year long, the I-WAY Prevention Group holds driving points recovering seminars. The French company also offers racing classes on their Citroën models during which participants can modify their driving conditions, like racing in the rain, for instance.
Let’s get down to business… Here’s my verdict after having tried the simulators. In the course of my career, I’ve had the chance of driving well over 40 race cars, from karting to Formula 1, not to mention rally (WRC) and sports prototypes. I-WAY’s simulators are, and let’s be honest here, awfully close to reality. We get tossed around just like in a real race car, we have to fight the accelerations, handle the steering which can get very stiff in the corners, and activate the pedals. Needless to say I sweated a lot too!
The circuits’ design isn’t very realistic, but we get used to it. After all, the circuits are custom-made for I-WAY because the licence of the actual F1 and Le Mans circuits would have been ridiculously expensive.
The qualifications are short: no more than three minutes, which barely gives us time to get familiar with the circuit. Then, it’s racing time, quick and intense. In order to simulate the negative accelerations of braking, the platform tilts forward, it rears up when the car accelerates and tilts sideways when the car corners. Frankly, I had a hard time withstanding the moving and shifting. Most people can stomach quite a bit of time in these things, but not I. I was a queasy after as little as three minutes in the car. Just like being seasick! I reckon my inner ear didn’t perceive the same things as my eyes.
Too bad because this experience is quite fascinating, and the Hexatech activators system is so sophisticated, though a little on the slow side, that it is currently being used in a few simulators by actual racing teams. I must admit that it provides a very realistic experience that allows us to get a clear picture of what real racing is all about. It’s worth a try! Good luck!
www.i-way-world.com/
“Forty percent of our clientele comes from the Rhone-Alps region, then Paris, Marseille and Switzerland”, caries on our guide. “We organize an average of 4000 races a week and during our first year alone, we held 50 000 races”. We also cater to 850 companies from multinational groups like Michelin to more modest ones like the corner garage, for instance.
Incidently, I-VENT has developed a unique concept intended for companies that have a motivation and reward system for their employees, clients, suppliers and partners, adds Pierre Nicolas.
“Our goal is to democratize car racing. Consequently, most part of our engineering budget has been invested in the simulators’ performance rather than on their graphic design. Many other video games present much more realistic designs than ours. Again, our goal is not to create yet another video game, but to give our clients the closest impression to what riding a race car feels like. This is why we also provide them with a hood, a racing suit, a helmet, shoes and gloves in order to make the experience as realistic as it possibly can”, says Nicolas.
 |
| Morgan Valverde, winner of the Porsche Cayman with Pierre Nicolas of I-WAY and Le Mans winner Romain Dumas. (Photo: I-WAY) |
Sure, the entrance fees are high, but karting fees are roughly equivalent. The company offers three different packages: a one-race package, a five-race package and a ten-race package. Fanatics can also take part in a four-hour long endurance event during which the drivers relay each other at the wheel of a Pescarolo.
I-WAY also holds monthly competitions after which the winner gets to attend a racing internship at AGS Formula 1. Last year, I-WAY organized a major competition that allowed thousands of participants to race against each other. The final race was held during the weekend on all three types of simulators and the big winner, Morgan Valverde, walked away with the keys to a brand new Porsche Cayman!
Plus, all year long, the I-WAY Prevention Group holds driving points recovering seminars. The French company also offers racing classes on their Citroën models during which participants can modify their driving conditions, like racing in the rain, for instance.
 |
| The simulators feature real cockpits. (Photo: René Fagnan/Auto123.com) |
Let’s get down to business… Here’s my verdict after having tried the simulators. In the course of my career, I’ve had the chance of driving well over 40 race cars, from karting to Formula 1, not to mention rally (WRC) and sports prototypes. I-WAY’s simulators are, and let’s be honest here, awfully close to reality. We get tossed around just like in a real race car, we have to fight the accelerations, handle the steering which can get very stiff in the corners, and activate the pedals. Needless to say I sweated a lot too!
The circuits’ design isn’t very realistic, but we get used to it. After all, the circuits are custom-made for I-WAY because the licence of the actual F1 and Le Mans circuits would have been ridiculously expensive.
The qualifications are short: no more than three minutes, which barely gives us time to get familiar with the circuit. Then, it’s racing time, quick and intense. In order to simulate the negative accelerations of braking, the platform tilts forward, it rears up when the car accelerates and tilts sideways when the car corners. Frankly, I had a hard time withstanding the moving and shifting. Most people can stomach quite a bit of time in these things, but not I. I was a queasy after as little as three minutes in the car. Just like being seasick! I reckon my inner ear didn’t perceive the same things as my eyes.
Too bad because this experience is quite fascinating, and the Hexatech activators system is so sophisticated, though a little on the slow side, that it is currently being used in a few simulators by actual racing teams. I must admit that it provides a very realistic experience that allows us to get a clear picture of what real racing is all about. It’s worth a try! Good luck!
www.i-way-world.com/
Article Gallery