Tobias Dauenhauer: ENES a good way to quench the thirst for motorsport
Tobias Dauenhauer is still waiting for his debut in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series with Hendriks Motorsport – Currently the German is practicing in the EuroNASCAR Esports Series
Due to the global coronavirus pandemic, it will take some time before the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series (NWES) will start its 2020 season. As a replacement program, Team FJ has created the EuroNASCAR Esports Series (ENES) on the iRacing platform. Tobias Dauenhauer, who will make his NWES debut for Hendriks Motorsport in 2020, welcomes the series’ push to position itself in the virtual world.
“First of all I find it impressive that the NWES organisation has created such a great series in such a short time,” Dauenhauer told ‘Leadlap.net’. “I really enjoy taking part in the ENES races – especially at a time when real races cannot be held at the moment. For us drivers, but also for the sponsors and fans, it’s a great thing to quench our thirst for motorsport at least a little.”
Sim racing has also benefits for the real world
Dauenhauer has set high goals for the first ENES season in the history of the official European NASCAR series. In the upcoming races at Zandvoort, Indianapolis, Brand Hatch, Charlotte and Zolder the German wants to improve constantly and attack at the top. Dauenhauer also believes that he can learn something for reality in the virtual world.
“In my opinion, sim racing has come very close to reality these days,” he explained. “It is particularly useful for training mental strength and concentration. Sim racing also helps to get to know new tracks.” However, the Hendriks driver still has to learn some of the tricks of the sim racing pros in order to gain another important tenth of a second.
The fitness programme
Despite his participation in the ENES, Dauenhauer still has to prepare himself for the start of the season in the real NWES, because sim racing alone does not keep a racer fit enough. The German has therefore set up a training programme to be in top physical condition when the NWES season finally starts.
“I go jogging regularly and I also have a plan for my strength training,” the German revealed. “Thanks to ENES, I have also really enjoyed sim racing. This is certainly also a good preparation for the NWES season, because this way I can train my behaviour in battles as well as my racing intelligence and generally keep on racing.”
When racing is finally back, Dauenhauer is especially looking forward to his home race at the Hockenheimring: “I live not far from the track and have been here to drive other race cars before. I’m very curious to see what it will be like in the NASCAR car and I’m looking forward to driving in front of the German fans”.
