My Corvette Is Going to the Nürburgring. Podium 1 Gets Me Ready.

I crashed my Corvette a while back. It's fixed now, but I'd prefer to never do that again. Before shipping it from Nashville to the Nürburgring, I stopped by Podium 1 Racing for one very specific reason: I needed my simulator to feel as close to the actual car as possible. This episode is the beginning of a plan set in motion nearly nine months ago. The C6 Z06 was headed to Vulcan Alpha in Germany for the development of a first-of-kind active DRS aero system. After the engineering work is complete, Misha Charoudin will test the car at the Nürburgring. Then I'll fly over and drive it myself. In the mean time, the simulator becomes my primary training tool. Using the actual car for reference, the Podium 1 team helped dial in the small details that matter from the driver’s seat, steering-wheel position, seat angle, distance to the pedals, pedal resistance and overall driving position. My P2 SIM RIG also received an upgraded motion system and seatbelt tensioner to make the experience even more physical and immersive. But this episode is about more than upgrading a racing simulator. I sit down with Podium 1 CEO and co-founder Steve Paladino to hear how the company got started, why they built their business around a turnkey, white-glove customer experience and what goes into delivering a serious simulator that works properly from day one. That approach is why I chose Podium 1. I didn’t want to research every individual component, assemble the rig, configure the software and troubleshoot the entire system myself. Their team helped determine what I needed, built and tested the simulator, delivered it preassembled, carried it upstairs, installed it and showed us how everything worked. Investing in a way to get more seat time, without having to rebuild the car again, made a lot of sense. Special thanks to Steve and the entire Podium 1 team for opening their showroom to us and spending several hours helping us tell this story. This is Episode 1 of Blind Rhino Racing. Helmets instead of faces. Stories instead of selfies. The simulator is ready. The Corvette is already in Germany. Now I need to practice. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: Misha Charoudin tests the Corvette at the Nürburgring. FEATURED IN THIS EPISODE: Simulator - Podium 1 Racing ‪@podium1racing‬ Engineering and active aero — Vulcan Alpha   / vulcan_alpha   Nürburgring testing — Misha Charoudin ‪@mgcharoudin‬ Driver suit — LVRY ‪@lvryco‬ Film production — DS Creatives   / ds_creatives   FOLLOW BLIND RHINO RACING: Website: https://blindrhinoracing.com Instagram:   / blindrhinoracing   Facebook:   / blindrhinoracing   #Corvette #SimRacing #Nürburgring