The day after a race at Lonato marked by a brilliant performance in pre-final followed by a frustrating final, Arthur Rogeon reveals to you another facet of his route on the way to becoming a top-level driver. Since the beginning of the season he has enjoyed the reinforcement of Simumotion, Julien Abelli’s performance management and coaching company. The youngster from Mayenne has access to a range of competences and expertise from physical and mental training to work in a cutting-edge simulator to help him concretise his potential and prepare his sporting future.
A professional approach to racing means knowing how to pick the right entourage, not just in the choice of equipment and the technical team at the circuits. In the top category in karting the competition is so tight that not even the tiniest detail can be neglected. “Julien came to see me at two races that enabled him to advise me about driving and managing meetings,” explains Arthur. “I went to his training camp in Rungis in the Parisian region twice for a day devoted to mental preparation and two simulator sessions. I also do concentration exercises on the computer several times a week.”
Abelli raced in karting, single-seaters and sports prototypes. His company, Simumotion, collaborated with the current FIA Formula 3 driver, Victor Martins, the year he won his world championship karting title. This year, it is accompanying French hope, Theo Pourchaire, on his debut in the FIA F2 Championship, the final step on the ladder before F1.
“The central idea of the Simumotion concept is to supply drivers with all the backup they need off the track. I coordinate different services so Arthur is working with a physical fitness trainer and a mental coach. I can follow his evolution at a distance thanks to cognitive exercises on the computer. I’ve also developed a six-axe simulator, three in translation and three in rotation. That helps work on concentration, adaptation to different setups and preparation for the step up to single-seaters.”
This weekend, Julien will be at Spa-Francorchamps with his driver Charles Milesi who’s racing in the World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) in LM P2. Eighty-eight kilometers North West of there, Arthur will be at the wheel of his CRG-IAME in the OK category in the first round of the Champions of the Future series. Julien has planned to be there on Sunday to keep an eye on his protégé. “There’s too much stress at the races to provide an immediate solution,” says the Simumotion manager. “I just try to make a diagnosis to assess the corrections and the tools to put in place before the next races.”
Rendezvous this weekend on 1-2 May in Flemish territory on the famous Genk circuit for the preparatory event for the first round of the FIA Karting European Championship on 14-16 May on the same venue in Belgium.
Photo by Arnau Vinals