© Jesper Gronnemark

Frede To Go From Simulator To CircuitFrede Rasmussen to drive Gen2 Formula E car at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia on Friday.

Red Bull Racing Esports driver Frede Rasmussen will step out of his rig and into a real Gen2 Formula E car tomorrow afternoon in Valencia at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo.

Last month Frede was crowned the Formula E: Accelerate (Formula E’s Esports series) winner and part of the prize was the chance to drive a Gen2 Formula E car on the track. So tomorrow afternoon, in Spain, Frede will get his chance to see what it’s like to get behind the wheel of the real thing.

The Danish driver is known for being ice-cool and even though he’s never raced on a circuit before, he’s taking it all in his stride. “I’m really excited and not really nervous yet, but maybe I will be when I get to Valencia,” he said, adding that he’s eager to experience the one thing you don’t get in the simulator. “I’m really looking forward to the feeling of the speed and all the forces, I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like. Also just being in a real race car and driving it around a circuit is pretty amazing.”

This weekend is the DHL Valencia E-Prix and on the Friday it will be Frede’s turn to take to the track. His experience will begin with one lap in the safety car, followed by him getting in the Gen2 car and following the safety car. When the organisers and Frede feel comfortable, the safety car will pit and Frede will be released for five laps around the circuit.

The Scottish driver then went on to explain that Frede just needs to take his time. “One piece of advice would be for Frede to not go and send it too quickly. You’re going to get a few laps, just get a feel for the pedals, the brakes, the wheel and slowly build yourself up. There’s nothing worse than making a mistake on the first half of a lap and scaring yourself. This isn’t like a sim where you can stop it and reset it after you’ve taken the front corner off the car. This is the real deal and building up in a real car is so much more important than going out in the sim and going flat out.”

Frede's Tested At The Red Bull APC© David Robinson

Although Frede has a lot of experience in the sim driving Formula E cars, he’s not been so fortunate when it comes to learning the Valencia track. “I haven’t done much practice at the track, although I’ve learned it as best as I can. There’s no official release of the track in any of the games, which isn’t unusual, but it’s not perfect.”

Having his teammate previously driven a Formula E car, Frede was grateful for the advice given. “Apart from Graham’s advice all I’ve been really told ahead of Friday is that the steering is light and the brake pedal is light,” explained Frede. The light brakes could be interesting as Frede has a very light brake pedal when he races in his sim. “My brakes at home might even be softer than the real thing,” he added.

The last bit of advice from Graham was for Frede to have fun. “The main thing though is to enjoy it and don’t go into the experience and be scared of it. I know he can drive a car – he drifts his mum’s car in the snow, the guy is a talent! He’s an awesome driver and I have no doubt he’ll pick it up quickly. It’s just the fear factor when you have a big moment like this, it’s not like the sim,” said Graham.