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Local dealership gets wheels in motion for fundraiser

Things are expected to be fast and furious during a fundraiser at a local car dealership this weekend.

Things are expected to be fast and furious during a fundraiser at a local car dealership this weekend.

As part of the inaugural fundraiser for the David Foster Foundation, the Porsche Centre Victoria is holding a 24-hour race on a race car simulator.

Porsche clients will have the opportunity to compete in an endurance race, with each racer taking one-hour time slots on the VRX Z-55 iMotion race car simulator. Similar to a walkathon, drivers will get friends, family or businesses to sponsor them by paying for every kilometre successfully driven.

“The idea was to do a drivathon to raise money for the David Foster Foundation,” said Paul Rossmo, general manager of Porsche Centre Victoria, who originally came up with the idea.

“It's hard to drive a race car for that long and this is a race car simulator, not a video game. It's going to be hard to put in the extra time, believe it or not. Each lap is really exhausting.”

The full-motion simulator includes a panoramic view, an advanced motion system, hydraulic pedals with adjustable force, and a TSW 6-speed H-pattern shifter.

“Everything you feel in the motion simulator is basically 99.9 per cent of what you feel in the race car on the track, in terms of the track texture,” said Declan Dinnadge, sales and marketing manager at VRX. “It's a technical course and it's quite complex.”

Racers will get to experience what it's like driving on the Le Mans track, the oldest endurance race in the world in France.

After the race, awards will be given out for the farthest distance driven by a team and individual drivers, fastest lap, ugliest crash and most money raised.

All the proceeds go towards the David Foster Foundation that provides financial support for non-medical expenses to Canadian families with children in need of life-saving organ transplants.

The event kicks off on Saturday, June 13 at 5 a.m., with a pancake breakfast followed by the race which begins at 6 a.m. Throughout the day, there will be food, indoor and outdoor camping available for those watching the race, and pit stops by donation which includes a car wash, vacuum and setting of tire pressures and fluid levels.