Vitantonio Liuzzi, a Formula One race car
driver for the Red Bull team in Italy who has raced in the European
and Monaco Grand Prix races, inaugurated the first Grand Prix
driving simulator on a cruise ship July 7 on the Costa Concordia.
It is the best
simulator I ever tried, said Liuzzi, during a test-run in front of
Carnival Corp. CEO Micky Ariosn, Costa Crociere CEO Pier Luigi
Foschi. The braking and acceleration is similar to a real car. You
have to be prepared. Its tough, he added.
The simulator
features real-time vehicle modeling using the same technology that
Grand Prix drivers use during training.
The simulator, with
top mock speeds of about 200 mph, will be located in an enclosed
glass box on the outdoor, top deck on the Concordia. Guests 16
years and older can see if they have what it takes to be a Formula
One driver on the simulator and can record their performances to
compete with other guests.
Rides on the
simulator start at about $6.50 (5 euros) for a test drive and range
up to about $48 (38 euros) for a longer, championship-mode
drive.
The simulator cost
$1 million to build, according to Hans Hesselberg, Costa dir of
hotel operations.
To
contact the reporter who wrote this article, send e-mail to Johanna
Jainchill at [email protected].