Certina F1 simulator: The Live Blog

JOE is here at Arnotts in Dublin's city centre to live blog the Certina F1 Simulator, so if you're in the area make sure to drop in for a gander.

Oisin Collins

1605: We’re about to wrap up the Certina F1 Simulator Live Blog here on JOE.ie but you can tune into 98FM’s Dermot and Dave as they’ll be bringing you their show from the Certina F1 Simulator in Arnotts. Make sure to check out JOE.ie over the weekend for an up to date leader board.

If you wanted to come out, but for whatever reason couldn’t then fear not as the Certina Simulator is open all weekend:

Saturday June 2: 9.30am to 7pm
Sunday June 3: 12pm to 5.30pm
Monday June 4: 11am to 5pm (followed by an awards ceremony)

We’ve had a really great day out and you should definitely have a gander at the simulator if you get a chance over the weekend. Sadly, it’s goodbye for now.

1540: As we round the final bend in the Certina F1 Simulator Morgan Purcell is still sitting pretty in first place for the lads at 43.958 while the fastest women so far today has been Louise Gonje with an extremely impressive time of 54.726.

The trick to a good time seems to be all about staying on the tarmac… and off the grass. Just remember that whenever you get a chance to take a spin.

1519: We’re into the final hour of the Certina F1 Simulator’s first day here in Arnotts on Henry Street. If you’re on your way down for a spin then you’d want to hurry up as they’ll be taking their last driver of the day shortly. Make sure to check out the lifelike simulator over the course of the weekend whenever you can.

1440: So our top five has seen a little bit of movement over the day, but it’s still being dominated by some really fast times. Still sitting comfortably in first place is Morgan Purcell with 43.958, 2nd is Wojciech Rabsztyn with 44.800, 3rd is David McGrath with 44.859, 4th is Keith Dolan with 45.521 and 5th has gone to Doug Lynch with a time of 45.771.

There’s still loads of time for a spin in the Certina F1 Simulator if you’re in the Arnotts area, so drop in and see if you can take the top spot.

1413: We’ve already had over 120 people come down to Arnotts today for a go in the Certina F1 Simulator and there’s still just under two hours of track time left!

If you’re thinking of stalling it down for a go in the simulator but you don’t want to wait for hours then don’t worry. The queue time is roughly 20 minutes, which gives you plenty of time to watch everyone else and to get an idea of the track. See… it’s all about tactics.

1338: There has been a great response to the simulator so far, especially on Twitter (as you can see below).

There’s still plenty of time to have a go in the car today so make sure to drop into Arnotts on Henry Street when you get a chance, and don’t forget it’s here for the whole weekend!

1323: So we know you’ve been dying to see the prizes that are up for grabs at the Certina F1 Simulator so here they are:

A third place finish will get you a Certina DS Podium Watch worth €315.

Second place also gets a Certina DS Podium Watch worth €315.

And whoever sets the fastest lap (and it could be you remember) will win a gorgeous DS Podium GMT Watch worth €545. It’s worth dropping by just for a gander at the watch.

1251: There’s been a good few ladies taking part today too, so don’t be afraid to bring the missus along. Jean Kavanagh from Dublin just posted a respectable time of 1 minute 04.544 seconds.

1157: The crowds have already started forming here in Arnotts, but that’s just a part of the whole experience when you think of it. You can pretend they’re all cheering you on.

1147: We’ve had a fair bit of movement at the top of our leaderboard here in Arnotts so here is how the board currently looks: 1st Morgan Purcell 43.958, 2nd Wojciech Rabsztyn 44.800, 3rd Keith Dolan 45.521, 4th Ciaran Martin 46.984 and in 5th is Stephen Carthy with a time of 47.824.

1122: Just a word of warning folks, the queues for the Certina F1 Simulator are getting pretty long and places are filling up fast. As we already said, the closing date to register your name for a go in the simulator is 10pm tonight (June 1), so you must send an email to Certinaf1Arnotts@ir.swatchgroup.com before then. Otherwise you’ll be left at the back of the grid.

1118: Not content with second place Morgan Purcell has been back in the seat of the Certina F1 simulator here in Arnotts and he’s certainly got his sights set on first. On his second go around the Silverstone track, Mr Purcell clocked a time of 43.958 making him our new leader.

1035: Curse of the commentator: as soon as we posted the last post a Polish man by the name of Wojclech Rabsztyn has set a new lap record of 44.800 seconds. Fair play to him! He well on his way to securing a lovely prize.

Make sure to check back in over the day to see how things are getting on.

1030: So an hour into the event here in Arnotts and we already have a quite competitive leader board. Morgan Purcell is still holding a comfortable lead with a time of 45.539, 2nd is Stephen Carthy with 47.82, 3rd is David McGraith with 49.305, 4th is David Taylor with a time of 52.141 and 5th is Tom Deane with a time of 51.587.

Remember, there’s three class prizes for the top three times (but more about them later). So it’s worth your while coming in on lunch.

1017: JOE’s Marketing Manager David Hewitt has proved that business heads can unwind a little bit too today by having a go in the F1 simulator. He posted a time of 1 minute 05.391 seconds. According to David ‘he spun out’, but that’s just an excuse – unlike Oisin’s tyre problem.

1010: JOE’s Oisin Collins had a go in the simulator and managed a time of just 59.042 seconds. But apparently, the tyre pressure was a bit low… yea.

1000: The Certina F1 Simulator has been running strong for the past half hour and already we’ve had some pretty amazing times (both for being good and being… not so good). Our leader at the moment is Morgan Purcell with a time of 45.539 seconds. Well done him.

Preamble:

For the entire weekend (Friday 1 to Sunday 3 June) that Bavaria City Racing hits the streets of Dublin, the menswear department here in Arnotts will be home to a full-scale F1 simulator hosted by watch brand Certina, official partner of the Sauber Petronas Formula One team.

The closing date to register your name for the Certina F1 Simulator is 10pm tonight (June 1), so you must send an email to Certinaf1Arnotts@ir.swatchgroup.com before then if you’re to be in with a chance to get behind the wheel.

The Certina F1 Simulator takes place at the following times:

Friday June 1: 9.30am to 4pm
Saturday June 2: 9.30am to 7pm
Sunday June 3: 12pm to 5.30pm
Monday June 4: 11am to 5pm (followed by an awards ceremony)

Click here for more information

Now, the Certina F1 simulator in Arnotts is much more than your average run of the mill simulation. The car isn’t some sort of hollowed out shell designed to look like the real deal – no, this is the real deal. Sitting on regulation Pirelli P Zero tyres the simulation car looks like it’s getting ready to tear out the door of Arnotts like it’s the first car on the grid.

So on that bombshell, lets kick things off…

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