From Simrace to racetrack
Robert Heger belongs to the Junior Squad of the successful SIM Racing Team BS+Competition around Laurin Heinrich, Alexander Voss, Philipp Eng & Bruno Spengler.
Robert Heger belongs to the junior squad of the successful Sim Racing Teams Bs+Competition around Laurin Heinrich, Alexander Voss, Philipp Eng & Bruno Spengler.
Robert Heger
In the digital Nürburgring endurance series, the son of DTM driver Altfrid Heger will compete together with Smudo, Matthias Beckwermert and Thomas Kiefer for Four Motors and lead the team with his sim racing know-how
We had the chance to talk with him personally about the differences and also the similarities between these two worlds.
How did you become involved with Sim Racing?
Through my good friend Laurin Heinrich I started sim racing at the end of 2019. We got to know each other at the Porsche Sports Cup and that's how I came across sim racing later and couldn't let it go.
You train with the Sim Racing Team Bs+Competition. Who is the better driver in SIM —Bruno Spengler or Philipp Eng?
That's right. It was a great pleasure for me to train with a team like BS+Competition and to ride and train with drivers like Bruno Spengler and Philipp Eng. I don't want to judge who is the better of the two, I think both have shown this year that they are both very fast and successful in the sim as well as on the real racetrack.
What Sim-Setup do you use?
I had the luck to be advised by Laurin Heinrich for my setup. For my steering wheel, I decided to use a Fanatec DD1. The pedals are the sprint pedals from Heusinkveld. I drive with a curved screen from Samsung.
All this is fixed on a rig from Simetik.
I'm very happy with my setup and I think it's important to have good equipment to be successful in the long run.
What experiences have you had with real motorsports?
I was inspired by my father Altfrid Heger, who has been successful in motorsport for over 40 years.
Because of this early passion and the early reference to motorsports I started doing kart racing as a child.
Up until today I have gained most of my racetrack experience on different GT and race cars.
What do you think are the iggest differences between SIM and real races?
For me, the biggest differences are the lack of centrifugal forces, the indirect feeling to the track and then the lack of danger in the sim; by that I mean the risk that is always associated with real motorsport. The feeling for speed is much more intense in real motorsport.
However, I think sim racing is the perfect introduction to real motorsport.
Are there skills you learned in SIM racing that you can reuse in real races?
Due to the realistically displayed racetracks in sim racing, I was able to improve in position battles.
In terms of vehicle setup and tuning I could gain helpful experience. Apart from that, the virtual learning of racetracks helps me in preparation for the real sport.
If you had to choose - SIM or real racing?
If I could take a pick, I would prepare myself for my favorite real motorsport using sim racing.
How did you get to join Four Motors?
The contact to Thomas von Löwis, team boss of Four Motors, was established through the team BS+Competition. As racing driver colleagues, my father and Thomas von Löwis have known each other for over 30 years.
After we contested the first races in the DNLS together, we noticed that we work well together as a team and can learn a lot from each other.
What do you like about Four Motors?
Through alternative fuels, oils and materials, Four Motors sets standards and impulses regarding sustainability in motorsport.
This has convinced and inspired me from the very beginning.
I'm also enthusiastic about the team atmosphere and about my teammates with whom I got on well right away.