Acanfora: Virtual Spectator is a great learning tool

Tuesday 22 July 2008

The #38 Baia High Performance team scored an impressive podium finish in Tunisia

#38 Baia High Performance SuperSport pilot Stefano Acanfora has said he’s found a novel use for the Virtual Spectator software that has revolutionised fans’ viewing experience of Powerboat P1 this year. He says that watching the races after each weekend gives him a greater insight into how his team performed, and how they can improve themselves for future events.

Virtual Spectator is a new computer simulation software that records every movement of the boats on the course via telemetry from the GPS transponders that are mandatory for all crews. This allows fans watching at home to follow every aspect of the race, live on the internet, or watch back old races as replays at any point of the year.

It’s the closest that Powerboat P1 has come to Formula 1-style telemetry – an aspect of track-based motorsport that has revolutionised a race car drivers’ role, allowing them to spend hours poring over every turn of the race during debriefs with their engineers.

“The introduction of Virtual Spectator this year was a remarkable effort,” Acanfora said. “It’s fantastic for the fans, but it’s also a great opportunity for us pilots to review stupid things that we do in the race. After every weekend, I use it to watch the race again – calmly, trying to understand if I took the right path. I look at every moment of the race to understand what happens, because you can better understand if every decision you took was right or not.”

To download Virtual Spectator to watch the best of the season’s action so far, or to watch the remaining races from Spain, Portugal and Bahrain live, click here.