James Allen on F1 has published a very interesting article, following two Formula One fans as they got the rare chance to sample a professional-grade simulator.

Contestant winners Joe Consiglio and Sean Craddock got to visit Base Performance Simulators in Banbury, UK, run by Darren Turner. Darren is not just an active race car driver for Aston Martin Racing but he also has tremendous experience with simulators, being the man responsible for three Formula One team simulators, including the one from Mclaren Mercedes from 1999 to 2006.

While both contestants have experience with racing games, Joe is a full-blown sim racer and brought plenty of rFactor experience to the mix. After starting out with a Formula Renault, they moved to a Formula 3 car and finally the virtual version of the GP2 car in which Joe managed to get as close as four-tenths to Darren Turner’s time at Silverstone.

“It was a totally fantastic experience. It is totally different from what I feel at home,” Joe commented. “The forces you feel through the wheel and the mental concentration is another step.