Daniil Rodin gained wide applause as he came on stage in a bright style during the presentation of the teams back at the opening ceremony of the First student games in the format of the Games of Future. He is a future military doctor studying at the First Medical State Medical University names after I. M. Sechenov, and carting is one of his hobbies. He made a breakthrough to the leading position before the final race, winning first the qualifications race and then building on this success took gold in the finals. And the award ceremony he reminded of himself again with his signature appearance on the stage.
Daniil Rodin
Daniil Rodin
— What do you make of the competition hybrid format?
— Yes, this where eSports and real sport meet. It is wonderful. First we tried our hand at car simulators, then at carting. You grasped some specific details after you rode a kart and then you implement them on the simulator and vice versa. It is interesting. The rivals are tough, so it is exciting to race with them. It feels nice that such an event was organized, so thank you very much.
— What’s the main difference when you switch from the simulator to the real kart?
— Well, the simulator cannot reproduce the longitudinal overloads you feel at the turn, nor can the simulator shake like real kart or make you feel the heat of your seat behind coming off the engine.
— And are you passionate about karting in your day-to-day life?
— Yes, I am a big fan of motorsport but I’ve never done it professionally. That is, when I have time and money it’s a must to go to the karting club. I am riding karts improving my skills. I installed car simulators on my computer, but there is no steering wheel, so I am content with a joystick, therefore of all real sensations I have only the accelerator and the brake which I can control (on the simulator).
— And if take other disciplines which today are represented at the student games, which events would like to enter as a participant?
— As a matter of fact, I entered the basketball tournament as a substitute but the guys somehow did fine without me.
— Do you think such hybrid disciplines uniting the classic ones with digital ones have a potential?
— Sure, all of this has a bright future. On top of these games there are other leagues, for example, SimRacing. All Formula-1 teams have lined up a long time ago at least one active pilot who participates in the competitions in SimRacing [racing simulation – authors note]. It would be fun to include all sports disciplines in one such event.
— What’s in it for you in computer games?
— Typically I kill time sitting at computer. I play it all: the shooting stuff, the strategies, the car simulator. Besides, I play the car simulator because I want to become a part of my big hobby – motorsport. It feels good to sit at the wheel of a racing car riding in circles.
— Were these your first competitions in karting?
— No, I did participate before with no success.
