TWO CHAMPIONS RACING HEAD TO HEAD IN A WORLD FIRST BATTLE AS REAL LIFE MEETS THE VIRTUAL DOMAIN
In a world first that fuses video games technology and real world driving skill, Castrol EDGE today premiered its latest Titanium Trial driving challenge – a head-to-head race between two global adrenaline junkies and international driving stars: Formula Drift professional Matt Powers versus UK racing & stunt driver Ben Collins (previously “The Stig”).
The thrilling race saw the young rookie, Matt Powers, go up against the more experienced driver, Ben Collins, on a groundbreaking track that pushed them both to the limits of their talent.
The pair raced for glory on the sunlit tarmac in LA in real world 2015 V8 Ford Mustangs lubricated by Castrol EDGE engine oil, while all the drivers could see was a perilous virtual reality track featuring an ever-evolving terrain of sheer drops and death defying twists and turns through their state-of-the-art Oculus Rift Kit 2 headsets.
Fusing video games technology with real world driving skill, the cars responded in the real world on the track. For Matt this was similar to the #VirtualDrift trial he undertook in May 2015, though this time he needed to pit his skills against the ultimate opponent as well as the hurdles of the futuristic terrain.
British race driver Ben Collins, famous for his role as ‘The Stig’ on BBC’s Top Gear and his stunt driving in the latest Bond movies (including the recently released Spectre), had to pull on his extensive driving experience to tackle this unchartered territory.
The full-length video showcasing their battle is being premiered online via http://castrl.co/TT3 at 9.00am GMT on 3rd December.
The ‘Virtual Racers’ challenge is the most recent episode in the Castrol EDGE Titanium Trials – a series of high-powered driving challenges that bring man, machine and oil together to push the boundaries of performance. The challenges are driven by the strength of Castrol EDGE boosted with Titanium FST™ – Castrol’s most technologically advanced and strongest engine oil yet. Previous Titanium Trials Blackout and Virtual Drift have been viewed and followed by more than 156 million people across the globe to date.
Describing his experience behind the wheel, Ben Collins said:
“I have taken on some extraordinary driving trials in my career, but this was certainly way up there. The hardest part was getting used to the VR world and truly letting myself go – putting my foot down and trusting my instinct over my rational brain. It’s hard when every bone in your body is telling you that what you can see isn’t real, but you know you’re still in control of a real car driving at speed. But with Castrol EDGE I knew the oil would be up to the job.”
Racing rival Matt Powers commented:
“I loved putting on my Castrol EDGE headset again and it was mind-blowing to race driving legend Ben as if we were on the same otherworldly racetrack. I was devastated to lose first place in the last few seconds, I’d certainly be up for a rematch, that’s for sure.”
The complex virtual reality code used to power the challenge was devised and developed over the course of 3 months by LA based technologist duo, Adam Amaral and Glenn Snyder. The duo said:
“The really exciting thing about this project is that Castrol EDGE are using the same technology that the big automotive manufacturers are utilizing for autonomous cars but taking this is a new direction by fusing it with the virtual world to create something totally unique and ground – breaking, pushing the boundaries of both gaming and racing. One of the biggest challenges of developing this live racing technology was to overcome the problem of latency and ensure that there is no need for recalibration when it comes to the racers tracking. What we have achieved is the closet VR technology can currently get to full immersion”.
Technology YouTuber Austin Evans commented:
“What’s really cool about Virtual Racers are the lengths Castrol EDGE have gone to make things real. It would have been so much easier to fake it to create a commercial but instead they developed brand new VR tech that could legitimately change the future of gaming.”
For more information visit: http://castroledge.com/virtualracers
