Rudy van Buren: "A real driver doesn't just drive P1 on a sim"

Rudy van Buren is currently in the unique position of being a professional simracer and since 2019 also a professional racing driver in the Porsche Supercup. In his debut year he already drove three races.

Best of both worlds

According to van Buren, simracers need time to get up to speed in the real world, just like real racing drivers need it when they go from real racing cars to sim racing cars. "I have the best of both worlds", says van Buren to The Race.

“Obviously, you can’t replicate everything in the sim including the sensations in the car, like the g-forces, but absolutely everything up to that point", says van Buren, who works for McLaren and Mahindra among others. "The biggest thing you can prepare is just to be sharp, analyze your sessions, figure out what you can improve, what the car can do – your work ethic."

"If you’ve got that sorted, you’re going to be fine in the car as long as you get seat time", continues van Buren. "Just a few test days so you’re not being rushed so you can be good in it and be comfortable in the machine."

From car to sim

"But it’s the same the other way around, if you take a real-life driver that’s never been in a sim, you can’t expect him to be P1 straight away", says the Dutchman. "You see it in both directions, it takes time. But, if you have the raw talent and you know how to work through problems, you’ll move towards the front quickly."

Van Buren says he uses the sim to be as ready as possible for the real thing. "I’ll take all the knowledge I’ve gained over the years from that, and be ready to apply it as soon as I get behind the wheel of the car.”