by Dean Chapman, Northern New Jersey Region PCA
Hello, racers! I wanted to relate a quick summer story in this edition of Dean’s List. After the season 8 dust settled, I was left with a hankering to make use of all the 992 Cup car skills I’d picked up. I asked Gary Reiss, Lee Binkley, and Dante Tonello to join forces for the PCA team races-competing under the Team Spanners flag in the 992 and as a side benefit, we decided it’d be fun to carry on racing together in the weekly iRacing Porsche 992 Cup Fixed series.
We practiced and raced together, logging on and ‘joining’ at the same time every Wednesday evening. We ran discord as our group chat platform and even if we were not in the same split, we were all racing together in the same ‘race’. This casual but racy methodology worked so well. Helping keep us relaxed, sharing our live trials and tribulations and sometimes a few squirrelly moments. As is the way with the open platform – we all lost safety ratings! but mostly gained iRating. The adventure continues! 4 more weeks to go.
The Dane racer Mads Johansen who is featured here is one of the Porsche Cup racers too… while we were at Knockhill he came sailing around, lapping the field except for P2 and P3… but he almost got them too. I was amazed, I thought I was giving it 9/10ths…doh! I reached out offline and asked him some questions, I thought it’d make a good installment.
Yes, there are real people out there that have such skill on the sim platform it’s truly remarkable… for what it’s worth Mads is new to sim racing but has an iRating over 6000! Wow!
And now, the questions!
“Tell us a little about yourself?”
“My name is Mads Johansen, I’m 19 years old, and currently studying at business school. I have run sim racing since February 2021. I drove karting for 5 years before covid when I decide to stop. I am currently racing for an English team (Apex Racing academy).”
“Accolades and favorite achievements in racing?”
Mads Johansen: “I’m still new in the sim racing world but it would be winning the Porsche Esport Carrera Cup Denmark 2021. I’ve been karting for 5 years and made some F4 tests. I’ve run 10 test days in the Legends car but Covid stopped me from completing the full season. If I am motivated and have the talent I will probably try full-time sim racing after my education.”
“What is your favorite car-specific movie or documentary?”
Mads Johansen: “Rush with Lauda and Hunt.”
“What equipment do you use for your Rig?”
Mads Johansen: “Sim-Lab P1-X / 32″ 144hz Triples / Simucube 2 Pro DD / Cube Controls CSX2 Wheel / Asetek Invicta Pedals.”
“If you could, what real-life car would you like to drive? (any era, any value)
Mads Johansen: “Porsche 911 Supercup”
“How long have you sim raced?”
Mads Johansen: “Since February 2021.”
“How did you get into sim racing?”
Mads Johansen: “I saw the Danish Porsche Supercup esport on TV and I decided to buy a rig because it looked fun.”
“You have a 6000 iRating. What do you think you have or do that 99% of other racers don’t have or don’t do?”
Mads Johansen: “I think most of the drivers can get a 6000 iRating. People just need to use the time to look at the telemetry and make setups for their own driving style. It’s not about winning the race, it’s about being consistent every week, practice is the biggest point in sim racing.”
“How many hours per week do you train?”
Mads Johansen: “8-15 hours. I am very busy outside sim racing.”
“How many hours racing per week?”
Mads Johansen: “4-8 hours.”
“Do you have seasons/ months where you race more / less?”
Mads Johansen: “Wintertime is my most active time. Less when the weather is better and of course also more before events.”
“What do you drink in-car during longer multi-hour race events?”
Mads Johansen: “Yep, I am drinking 1L mostly to stay hydrated and probably also some snacks.”
“Favorite Cookies? Candies? Do you eat at the rig?”
Mads Johansen: “popcorn”
“What’s your favorite non-Porsche iRacing car?”
Mads Johansen: “Lamborghini GT3 or the Audi GT3.”
“What’s your favorite iRacing Porsche ?”
Mads Johansen: “Porsche 992 Cup car.” (hahaha, of course! -DC)
“Do you have favorite iRacing circuits (why)?”
Mads Johansen: “Hungaroring, because it’s only not about driving fast it’s also about managing your tires well for the whole race so they don’t get overheated.”
“Shoes, socks, or slippers when you drive your rig?”
Mads Johansen: “Socks give me the best feeling.”
“Gloves (what brand?), au-natural, or mittens when you drive your rig?”
Mads Johansen: “I am driving without gloves but I have Sparco gaming gloves if I want one day.”
“Is there another sim car race platform you’ve tried? (Like?)”
Mads Johansen: “rFactor 2”
“What are your most used steering wheel hot keys (mapped buttons)?”
Mads Johansen: “Pit limiter, brake bias, tow button.”
“What’s your favorite tipple (drink)?”
Mads Johansen: “Pepsi Max or a Danish energy drink called Faxe Kondi Booster.”
“Given a few hours locked away, what would you prefer to watch? NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1, Rallycross, GT racing, other…?”
Mads Johansen: “Formula 1”
“Does sim racing ‘scratch your itch’ for car racing? or would you prefer to race in real life?”
Mads Johansen: “I will prefer real racing but for me, it’s not worth it, my family has the money but for me the future is a priority.”
“Where do you see sim racing heading in the next 5 years? The next 10?”
Mads Johansen: “I see sim racing on a higher level compared with other popular games like Fortnite or Counter Strike.”