Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 03, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A12 SPORTS SPORTS EDITOR: STEVE LYONS 204-697-7285 ? SPORTS@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ? WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM SUNDAY MAY 3, 2020 CONNECT WITH MANITOBA'S BEST SPORTS COVERAGE A12? D OVER TOWNSHIP, Del. - The moment in the virtual sun has arrived for simulated racing and the thousands of gamers who always wanted to race like Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Jeff Gordon at NASCAR tracks from Dover to Daytona. Sports fans discovered over the last few weeks on national TV a not-so- hidden secret in the racing community: the NASCAR champs and IndyCar drivers wanted to compete like their fans - to hook up a simulator rig, grab a wheel and go head-to-virtual head with the best in the field without risk- ing a real slam into the wall at more than 320 km/h. The races have set viewing records, filling the yawning gaps in sports pro- gramming and helping make iRacing, headquartered in Chelmsford, Mass., a breakout company during the corona- virus pandemic. "I don't think anyone wants a pandemic as the reason why all of a sudden you're extremely successful," iRacing executive Steve Myers said. "The only reason why we've been able to do this is because we've put 16 years worth of work and time into making this platform capable of doing this. It's been massively successful for us to put these races on." The real hope is the iRacing boon can be sustained without Cup drivers to prop up the series. With NASCAR set to return May 17, the iRacing Pro Invitational Series will likely go away. The NASCAR-backed iRacing Series, featuring the best sim racers in the field, will continue to run on digital platforms; six races will air on NBCSN during the series' playoffs. The last race on Fox in the Pro series is scheduled for May 9. NASCAR's online competition has been the clear winner among other sports - such as tennis - that have dabbled in virtual gaming during the shutdown. At Dover International Speedway, the finishing touches should have been applied this week, the sponsor signage added, everything spruced up for what would have been a NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday. Instead, NASCAR drivers will spend the day on those simulators at virtual Dover. Blake Shelton is the grand marshal for the track that has been in the sim company's bank for years, and David Hasselhoff will sing the national anthem. Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron is the favourite for the fourth straight erace. There's no chance of rain. The real stars of iRacing are the 3D car artists, software programmers and engineers - in NASCAR parlance, the team back at the shop. They visit tracks with laser scanners on tripods to capture in perfect detail every bump, curve, crack and painted line in a digital point cloud. The crew takes up to 10,000 pictures of, not just the track, but any grandstands, bridges or other structures in the distance connected to the property. It can take four to six months from first photos to simulated finish. There are 98 licensed tracks across IMSA, World of Outlaws, USAC and other notable racing series and more than 2.85 billion iRacing laps have been turned since 2008. "We've always had a commitment to authenticity at all costs," said Greg Hill, who leads the art and production teams at iRacing. "That's a lot of hard work. In some ways, it puts you in a niche, but as we've found with this CO- VID-19, having had that commitment to authenticity has led to outfits like NASCAR and all these drivers going to us and bringing us this attention." The numbers - even some real-life bumps, like Kyle Larson's racial slur that cost him his NASCAR ride - bear it out: iRacing, formed in 2004, has added roughly 70,000 subscribers (at up to $55 per year) over the course of the pandemic and become a ratings hit on the weekends. Fox Sports says five pro events - keyed by the star power of today's top Cup drivers and retired greats - have averaged 1.135 million viewers, topped by 1.53 million for the Texas virtual race. The virtual series, which skews to- ward the coveted 18-to-34 demograph- ic, passed 100,000 active customers in January and hit 170,000 this week. "Our theory was always, if the racers like it and they find it useful, then the rest of the general public that enjoys this sport is going to enjoy it as well," Myers said. Gaming, of course, and social platforms have been a major acces- sory during the pandemic. Games like Fortnite, once a nuisance to parents, are now de-facto babysitters. Twitch recently reported a 17 per cent in- crease in hours watched compared to the previous quarter. YouTube Gaming and Facebook Gaming also saw spikes in streaming traffic in the first quarter of this year. TimTheTatman, DrLupo and Ninja (ask your kids) are this generation's Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. Simulated drivers haven't seen their Q score peak just yet - perhaps they should try dodging turtle shells or dodge a thunderbolt - but the ques- tion is often raised: Is iRacing a video game? "People get so hung up on the term simulation versus a video game," My- ers said with a laugh. "I like to say, we are what you want it to be." Whatever the genre, it's entertain- ment for fans across the globe to race like their favourite drivers at tracks they may never visit or have always wanted to tame. - The Associated Press PAUL KIZZLE / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES NASCAR fans get all the action without risk of a crash in the virtual game. The iRacing boom has attracted thousands of competitors. Events are setting viewing records with fans wanting to go head-to-head with their heroes Virtual racing a serious business DAN GELSTON TimTheTatman, DrLupo and Ninja (ask your kids) are this gen- eration's Michael Jor- dan and Tiger Woods A luxury face mask by Mathieu Caron MONTREAL - A Quebec fashion designer has launched a line of high- end designer masks inspired by the costumes of the Olympic fi gure skaters he dresses. Mathieu Caron has been designing and manufacturing outfits for several years, including the spectacular outfits worn by Canadian Olympic champion Tessa Virtue and world silver medallist Shoma Uno of Japan, among others. The profits from the mask sales go to the World Health Organization in its fight against the coronavirus pan- demic. "We took the same materials as the skaters' costumes, the same decora- tions, the same design, but we com- pletely recreated the form to make masks," said Caron, who also designs dancewear, gowns and wedding dresses. "My primary goal was to make sure that the artistic side could come to help a little, raise funds to make a dif- ference and at the same time make a collection item a little more glamorous than an ordinary mask." The limited-edition masks are not for all budgets - the eight models cost between $150 and $300. Japanese customers were not deterred, snatching items inspired by Uno's costumes, which retail for $200 to $250. Initially, the idea was to design a maximum of 15 masks for each skater, but in Japan, they sold 70. "I was surprised," Caron said. "In times of crisis like this, I honestly didn't think people had so much money to buy a mask." Caron says his goal was not to heighten his brand. "It was more an artistic contribu- tion to do our part with some members of my team who also got involved in the decoration," he said. "But with everything we have sold, we will not be unemployed for the next few weeks." The masks are made of cotton and polyester fibres. The fabrics come from the same materials as the skat- ers' outfits. The material is breath- able, with padding to give shape and structure. "Now, is it something medical? Not at all," Caron said. "We would rather call it a fashion accessory, a collector's item." - The Associated Press Ooh-la-la designer face masks all the rage for the rich ? MORE MOTORSPORTS ON A13 A_12_May-03-20_FP_01.indd A12 2020-05-02 8:18 PM ;