BMW M4 GT4 set to debut via iRacing sim race

MANILA: The BMW M4 GT4 will be having its digital premiere on the sim racing platform iRacing this month after almost half a year of rigorous development. To ensure that the BMW M customer racing car is close to reality, BMW Motorsport engineers and iRacing developers are working closely together in the same manner they work on a real racing car.

The BMW M8 GTE also had its racing launch on the iRacing platform previously. Sim racing is considered to be one of the foundations of the BMW Motorsport range. The people who are behind it had championed the possibility of virtual racing before it became popular amid the pandemic, in turned cancelled real-world racing events.

Rudolf Dittrich, head of vehicle development, handles the area of sim racing at BMW Motorsport. He confirmed the significant customer focus that supports the BMW M4 GT4 initiative.

Maximum validity requires the digital vehicle to be close enough to its real-life counterpart, which is one of the main reasons why iRacing and BMW Motorsport have collaborated for the design of the BMW M4 GT4.

Senior Art Manager of iRacing Brian Simpson explained that three things are needed for the development of the BMW M4 GT4: computer-aided design (CAD) data, photos, and laser scans to serve as a reference.

Dittrich also explained the BMW M4 GT4 journey. According to him, everything begins with the license agreement, which is the foundation for transferring confidential information. Then the developers receive two large data packets of multiple gigabytes each.

The focus of the first data packet is on the CAD data having specifications of the car components, which is approximately the same information that a supplier obtains to generate the real thing. iRacing also performed the scanning of an authentic car, the Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4.

The second large data package consists of all the details on driving dynamics. The same data set has been used to perform a lap time simulation or to activate the BMW Motorsport simulator, for instance. The information includes figures that have been calculated for the car that has been passed on to iRacing, such as aerodynamic values, weight distribution, axle kinematics, engine performance curves, and damper curves.

Dittrich said that iRacing is currently knowledgeable in terms of car specifics similar to the customer teams. The more authentic vehicle information is acquired, the closer that they get to the real driving dynamics.

Steve Reiss, the senior vehicle dynamics engineer of iRacing, said that for the BMW M4 GT4, the initial responses from people who have experienced driving the real car are positive. Driving dynamics play an essential part in the satisfaction of users, and even small details are vital for realism.

After the continuous development of the BMW M4 GT4 for six months, BMW Motorsport inspected the virtual car, which has no apparent difference from the real one.

According to Dittrich, this can be attributed to the physical appearance and essential details like texture or light of the dashboard, and the cable routing in the interior. He also added that they are responsible for the digital BMW M4 GT4 in terms of complying with all requirements that the auto company and its customers have set for a real racing car.

For digital customers, the H&R three-hour race in the Digital Nürburgring Endurance Series to happen on June 13, will be the first main event that they can compete in the BMW M4 GT4. Once the car has been rolled out on iRacing, the sim racers and BMW customer teams who are also involved in sim racing, may download it, personalize it with their designs, and systematically test it.

Photos from BMW

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