Koch is enthusiastic about the iRacing platform: “There are official races, series with different cars – a lot of different cars. You start off as a rookie and then you can [upgrade your license] from D to C to B to A, driving different cars along the way. You can test, but it’s more beneficial to be out there with others, go car-to-car and learn racecraft. You can really get the whole picture, build a whole skillset on that.

“And, it’s funny, the people you race in real life are online, and in the sim you’re like, ‘I’m literally driving behind the same guy doing the same things!’”

Their setup

Unlike the multi-million-dollar simulators used by Formula 1 teams or even the $50,000-$100,000 sims commercially available, both Koch and O’Gorman are able to compete in the major sports leagues with setups that seem, in comparison, quite primitive. Both have added pieces as they’ve gone along, though neither added anything new for the “major league” virtual Sebring event in March.

Koch says VR headset and headphones were real performance boosters. Image by Dani Koch

“I didn’t get everything all at once like some people do,” says Koch. “I have the same shifter from 10 years ago, the same pedals from eight years ago; you update things as you go and as you need to. All in all, to put a number on my setup, probably in the neighborhood of four grand. But it’s been over a long period of time; I certainly didn’t drop four grand yesterday.”

O’Gorman’s sim setup is even more basic. “Yeah, mine is even more ‘ghetto fab’ than Kenton’s,” O’Gorman laughs. “A metal frame and wood from Home Depot that my dad helped me build probably 12 or 13 years ago, with a TV set on top.

O’Gorman’s set up is even more basic … Image by Tom O’Gorman

“I have a Logitech steering wheel from about 10 years ago,” he continues. “I don’t have a shifter, so it’s all paddle shifters – even if I have to use a clutch. But the Sebring race was the first time in a long time that I’ve really wished I had better equipment, because I really put a lot of effort into that race.”

What’s needed

As the equipment goes up in cost, so does the realism, although not as exponentially as one might expect. Experience, coupled with quality basic equipment, makes a difference – just like real racing.

“You are removed from reality, so you have to make the best of what you’ve got,” Koch explains. “You get your ‘feel’ through different things. Your steering wheel – it’s super important to have force feedback back through that and be able to feel what’s going on through the wheel. Then visually: It’s important to have a very good screen or a virtual reality headset, and the frame-rate needs to be smooth.”

“Which requires a really good internet connection and a fast computer?” I ask. “Right, a good computer,” Koch continues. “And it’s good to have headphones because then you can hear the tire noise. You have to use all of your senses, rely on your ears and your eyes and your hands.”

“I experienced something similar as I was kind of getting back into simulators about a year ago,” O’Gorman agrees. “I was playing on a 25-inch monitor with the audio coming through the speakers, but when I changed to a headset, I could hear the car and the tires much better, and I got faster. Then I upgraded to a 50-inch TV instead and got much faster as well.

“As the scale changed, it felt more realistic,” O’Gorman notes. “But still, there’s only so much you can do. No matter how much you simulate the realistic aspects of all of these cars, no matter how many computer scans and models you take and make off of the real parts, there’s only so much you can do with a simulator. Going back to the Gran Turismo and Forza games, all of those games do a good job of representing reality up to about 80 percent. The last 20 percent is always some aspect of the physics of those games that you have to learn how to exploit, both how to drive the game and how to set the cars up for the game.

“That’s where some drivers really excel [in the different games]. So, for example, in Gran Turismo 6, the cars had, I believe, zero camber and you could do some tricks with the diff; and then there was a driving style that was very specific to that game. You could get pretty good, but until you learned how to exploit those unique characteristics, you were never going to be one of the fastest.”

An online pro?

Is online sim racing something that either O’Gorman or Koch would consider doing professionally? “Heck yeah, of course I would if it turns into something where I could make a living,” Koch is quick to say, humbly adding, “I would have to get better first. I think I’m all right, but there are people out there who are really good at this. There are things in the sim world you have to learn to be able to go quickly – not everything translates [from the real world to the virtual world] one-to-one.”

Spectacular technology in today’s pro sim setups gets one closer and closer to the real thing. Image via CXC

And, just as in real life, teams and car setup are crucial. “There are teams online, and you kind of have to be a part of a good team to be able to get [the cars] set up,” says Koch. “If you’re not on a team, you have to be good at setting cars up yourself. I found out during the Sebring SuperSaturday iRacing event that if I was two clicks off on [shock] rebound, one way or the other, front or rear, I could lose two to three tenths or gain two or three tenths. I was like, ‘I could really screw this thing up.’”

In that race, Koch served as his own crew chief and race strategist. “Yeah, I was my own,” he admits. “I had a fuel calculation spreadsheet on my laptop, and I would scream to my wife in the other room while racing, ‘Hey, put this number in!’ She did, and she’d tell me how much fuel I needed to take it to the next pit stop. And, you know, my pit stop was among the best of all the Porsches, so I was pretty happy with that.”

“Another aspect of the simulator is that you can actually access way more information than in a real car,” O’Gorman adds. “You can grab the mouse and scroll through your head-up display, and you have a lot of data available. It takes some practice, though.”

When racing returns

At the time this was written, racing worldwide was at a standstill – and most of it still is. When racing resumes, O’Gorman and Koch will be back at the real-life racetrack. But that doesn’t mean Esports will go away. Rather, this moment could become a turning point for the entire motorsports industry, opening more real and virtual doors than anyone ever thought possible – and regardless of the opportunity, both of these drivers will be ready.

It should also be noted that if you’re interested in either online or real racing, Koch and O’Gorman are both enthusiastically available as Esports and real-world driver coaches, or even to help in the development of larger motorsports or performance programs. Koch can be found at kentonkochracing.com, while O’Gorman is at tomo.racing@yahoo.com.

This story originally appeared in the June 2020 issue of SportsCar magazine, the official publication of the Sports Car Club of America. A SportsCar subscription is just one of the many benefits of membership in the SCCA.