DRIVE THE ROCK ISLAND GRAND PRIX ON WAGNER KART RACING SIMULATOR If you have always wondered what it is like to race the street course that the Rock Island Grand Prix follows, now is your chance. Wagner Race Products will have its Kart Racing Simulator as this year’s event. The simulator features a computer reconstruction of the Rock Island Grand Prix course. The simulator has proven to be a valuable training tool for racers who want to keep their reactions sharp during the non-racing season, but it is also popular with gaming aficionados too. Development of the simulator began four years ago when the Wagner’s, who live in Minnesota, realized that their son was at a disadvantage when the racing season began in December in Daytona, Florida, because of the prolonged absence from the track. Driving instructor Steve Welk suggested that racing video games would help in learning the racing lines, brake and throttle control and keep hand-eye coordination sharp. What began as an old kart chassis hooked up to a Playstation has evolved into a state-of-the-art simulator on which you can “race” many different tracks, formulas and track formations. There are a wide variety of options available ranging from cadet to full-sized and a from bare-bones setup to a simulator with a 27-inch screen and infrared headset that changes the view on the screen when you move your head. Simulators come with a Logitech G25 racing wheel and also play both PlayStation and PC on-line games. Additional information can be found at www.wagnerraceproducts.com For the Rock Island Grand Prix, Wagner Race Products will have a simulator set up on Saturday in the paid pit area and on Sunday in the Grand Prix Marketplace. For a fee of $5.00 you can drive the course and compete with other “drivers” for the top lap times of the day. Half of the entry fees will be donated to the Dispatch Goodfellow/Argus Santa Fund which helps out needy children and senior citizens in the Illinois Quad-Cities during the holidays. The remainder of the entry fees will go into a pool that will be distributed each day among the drivers with the fastest three lap times. The more people who drive the simulator, the bigger the pool becomes and the more money are donated to the Goodfellow/Argus Santa Fund. Information on purchasing a simulator can be found on the website at www.wagnerraceproducts.comfor more information on the Rock Island Grand Prix, visit www.rockislandgrandprix.com
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