Inside the glitz and glamour of London’s Royal Automobile Club

FormulaNerds spent a day at the historic Royal Automobile Club, getting a glimpse of motorsport’s future, speaking to the current British F4 championship leader and the founder of sim-racing company, Asetek SimSports.  

It is not every day that an invitation to the Royal Automobile Club on Pall Mall arrives in your inbox. FormulaNerds were highly honoured (although mainly shocked) to be asked to attend a special media event organised by Asetek SimSports and Diagonal Comms at this iconic venue.

The building is imposing. The stunning architecture harks back to a period of Georgian design with a hint of regality. Walking down Pall Mall, a top-hatted Doorman greeted us as we walked through the doors, with steps leading to the main foyer.

At the centre of this huge room, which spans all floors and has a glass dome, is a Ferrari 250 GTO. It is about to go under the hammer at Sotheby’s Auction House in London and is expected to sell for millions. One of only a few cars Ferrari ever produced, it is a stunning piece of automotive history.

We made our way up the equally grand staircase to the first floor, where we were greeted by a small gathering of people outside the set of towering doors that open into the Committee Room.  A Hitech Pulse-Eight t-shirt told us we were in the right place, and then we met the young Deagan Fairclough, who is the current leader of the British F4 championship.

Introductions were momentarily cut off as the British Grand Prix trophy moved past us, with Deagan confidently stating he will have his hand on it in the next five years.

Discussing the future of racing

Director of Diagonal Comms, and former Head of Communications for McLaren and Aston Martin, Matt Bishop then appeared and formally began the day. The group was called into the opulent Committee Room, and we were all immediately offered champagne. The Committee Room was set up for a dining experience, but also acted as the setting for a media roundtable.

After posing with the British Grand Prix trophy, which was an experience within itself, Matt introduced Andre Eriksen, founder of Asetek SimSports. FormulaNerds were lucky enough to interview Andre and hear his story of setting up his sim company prior to attending the Royal Automobile Club.

Thank you to @TheBishF1 and @diagonalcomms for the invite to the @RoyalAutomobile today for our @AbbyBathurst and James.

A fantastic day and an absolute privilege.

Brilliant to hear from @BritishF4 ‘s Deagen Fairclough too – with the whole event hosted by @AsetekSimSports pic.twitter.com/5zJ6FNZTee

— FormulaNerds 🤓🏁 (@Formula_Nerds) June 3, 2024

Asetek SimSports produces world-leading sim-racing hardware for a realistic racing experience – for more information, visit www.asetek.com/simsports. And what is apparent was the message that we all took from this day:

Sim racing and testing are the future of driver preparation.

After the excitement of seeing the British Grand Prix trophy, we took our assigned seat around the table. Matt kicked things off, and Deagan began to tell us just how realistic and authentic his Asetek simulator actually is, saying:

“Firstly, how I got into British F4 was via a sim-racing competition. I had the basic equipment at home, it wasn’t as high-end as what I’ve been given recently by Asetek.

“I’m very fortunate and Sim racing has helped me get to the position I am in now and obviously it’s on the way up the motorsport ladder that everyone actually wants to achieve and dreams of getting to F1.

“I’m very fortunate and obviously recently been given the new equipment by Asetek. It’s as realistic as you can really get, very similar to my car. I spent quite a long while actually setting it up and trying to fine tune it, there’s so many adjustability’s to the rig and to the equipment.

“I’ve got it pretty much identical and it’s really helped me get that eye in, say a circuit I’ve never been to like Zandvoort, I’m able to practice at home, many hours and then when we arrive, we’re fully prepared and ready to go and try and get that win.” 

Adapting to a new team

After Matt’s initial questions, FormulaNerds were straight in with the first question from outside media. We asked Deagan, who enjoys a 35-point lead, how he has adapted to racing for Hitech for his second season of British F4. Deagan replied with:

“A lot of preparation, a lot of training. Obviously going to the facility, it is a long distance away from me, about just over two hours from where I live, so I’ve made the most of their facilities.

“Obviously, they’re in the likes of F3 and F2. I’m not able to get there every single day, so I’ve got my simulator at home that I’m constantly training on when I’m not at an actual race circuit. But I’ve made the most of their facilities and the people around in that building.

“So I’m very lucky to have them behind me and helping me, and we’ve put a lot of hard work and we’ve done a lot of test days and we started off the season very strong so far, and we’re hoping to just keep this momentum throughout the throughout the season.”

What is clear about Deagan is how grounded he is. He has serious ambition of making the jump up the motorsport ladder, but was quick to point out how his simulator training is more than an adequate replacement for testing.

Ensuring success this season

FormulaNerds asked Deagan about how he can ensure he wins the championship, not only for himself but for Hitech as well, given Rodin Motorsport’s competitiveness this season. Speaking to FormulaNerds, he said:

“Win some more. The team, we’ve already got a 1-2-3 so early on in the season, but it’s just staying so consistent.

“We always push each other at test days, finding them thousandths and tenths against each other, because there’s so much technology nowadays that we can use, we can compare data, see whoever’s quicker in a session.

“So you use that as much to your advantage. But us boys are normally in the training rhythm; we always go in on the same day to hit the gym and on the simulators, so we’re just fully prepared and focused going into a race weekend.”

Prompted by Matt, Deagan elaborated further on his training, admitting that “as you go up the ladder, it only gets harder”. The young British F4 driver said that he completed a two and half hour gym session followed by an hour and a half run on Sunday.

However, whilst this is intense, Deagan did say “you want to always train and prepare yourself for the next step, so when you get into, say, an F3 car, you’re physically ready and you can do a stint.” He also said he has “a lot of fun on the Sim” and he actually enjoys training as it’s “indulged in [his] life”.

Beating Fernando Alonso

With discussions underway, Deagan admitted he had beaten two-time world champion, Fernando Alonso, in a Sim race. He confirmed he has been in the same session before as Lando Norris, which was “very cool to see”, and that Max Verstappen is “very quick”, not just on a race track but on the sim.

However, Deagan then went into detail about his victory over Alonso. He told those seated in the Committee Room:

“So, Alonso. It was actually a funny story. I was very young, I think I was 13 or 14, and we were at Daytona in an LMP car. We were both starting dead last.

“I was like, my main target is just to beat him. We both came from last to P1 and P2; I actually beat him and I was so over the moon… I was very happy that day.

“But nowadays, it just makes you quicker each day. Obviously, like Andre said, you can’t constantly go out testing, flying the team out to a circuit like Zandvoort and just go and put multiple laps and tyres on… It’s very difficult and so expensive, so having that ability to have that sim gear and push the limit on there is so crucial and helpful.”

Sim racing masterclass and hot lap competition

With our stomachs firmly lined with exquisite food, it was soon time for the journalists in attendance to have a go on the sim. It’s safe to say that Abby has a disadvantage wearing heels, but it was fun nevertheless.

The track which we all raced around was none other than Silverstone. You may think that driving a sim isn’t all that hard, but the amount of pressure you need to apply to the brake is immense.

Deagan showed us all how it was done, clocking a time of 54.561 seconds. After all six journalists had had their turns, Deagan’s spot in British F4 was safe as he beat everybody. However, the timings were close.

FormulaNerds finished in P5 and P7. James had a time of 58.594, which he replicated on his second go, showing some strong consistency. Abby, however, was the slowest overall with a time of 1.07.485 (caveat for heels).

Our experience of the Royal Automobile Club will, we feel, always be a pinch-me moment. The historic building, the grand interior, and the enjoyment of speaking with Matt Bishop, Deagan Fairclough and Andre Eriksen was such a privilege.

But the main takeaway from our time at the Royal Automobile Club is that the future of motorsport will revolve around sim-racing for preparation, especially for junior drivers.

Headline image: FormulaNerds

*Written collaboratively by Abby Bathurst and James Phillips*