Cheating in Second Life Racing Part 1

Hi readers and racers, this article is the first one of a series of articles that will talk about cheating in Second life racing. Just like real life racing is heavily tested and looked upon for cheating, keeping an eye opened for cheating in Second Life racing is a must. As such, the series of articles will talk about how it is possible to cheat in Second Life racing, what must be done to prevent cheating from occurring, and how to detect someone that is cheating.

Cheating in races

Cheating in a race can be done in multiple ways that will be presented here:

Using a speed script: A script can be used to “push” your avatar or vehicle faster than what the vehicle script would allow. These scripts can be found at various locations and may require some tuning to allow the car to still drive correctly. It is easier when races are made on feet, such as snail races, as multiple scripts already allow an avatar to walk/run faster without any tweaking required.

Using a modified vehicle script: This option is opened for races where cars have modifiable scripts, which is pretty rare nowadays. It means changing the script values to allow someone to have a faster car. While this option remains closed for most racers now, it is still opened for one type of racers: The vehicle creators who are racing. As they created the script and the car, it would be possible for them to modify the script so they can be advantaged.

For cars that allow you to add or remove scripts, it is also possible to delete the script within the car and create one that would replace it, renaming it to the same name of the previous script, to have it go unnoticed. The script will need to mimic the normal script for a better effect.

Using a modified car body: For races that allow someone to bring their own car body, or modify the existing one, it is possible to cheat by modifying the car body to make it larger, or give it weird shapes with the goal of sending other opponents flying and off-track. For better results, the modifications should be done with invisi-prims, so that unsuspecting racers receive the surprise.

Wearing a different avatar shape: Some vehicles will behave differently (and go faster) depending if the avatar is small or big. While not technically cheating as it is simply modifying the avatar you're wearing, it is still not really sportsmanship to abuse this possibility. In any case, when you drive a new car, testing different avatar shapes could show you whether it will have any effect on the car handling and speed.

Driving around the gate: A pretty simple trick: For races that don't use checkpoints, pass the starting gate, go around it and drive right through it. You'll be able to complete a lap in no time!

Using shortcuts: On poorly designed tracks, or multi-level tracks such as at 2Raw, it is possible to use shortcuts by avoiding turns and as such getting faster laps. On multi-level tracks, it is possible to fall down from a higher part of the track to a lower one, and shortcut the track in the process. Simply keep an eye opened for the shortcuts and use the opportunities. As for falling down on a multi-level track such as 2Raw, while one can hope to fall automatically after hitting a bump on the track , the most sure option remains to edit the car so it falls down at the desired location.

Cheating in Time trials

The same as above applies, but a special type of short-cutting can be done: As time trials are typically made with invisible checkpoints around the track, you can press control-T to make them appear (They will be appears as gates on the track). From there, you simply need go through all of them in any fashion. The fastest way to go to point A to point B is in a straight line, in which case using a hovering vehicle can make you reach the checkpoints in no time. Even better is a script allowing you to fly faster as handling while flying is usually better than a vehicle. This will allow you to easily top the leader boards for time trials!

Special ways of cheating

Second life being Second life, it is possible to use its limits to your advantage. To do so, you can put the sim or the racers under stress.

Putting the sim under stress: There are typically two ways of doing that: You can rez objects, which will create lag spikes. The more prim-heavy the object is, the larger the lag spike will be. The limitation of this technique is that you can't do this while you're driving, for obvious reasons. It however makes it perfect for qualifications, as small lag spikes will prevent the racers to do good times. On a creative basis, if you need to reach out someone in the standings, it may be preferred to lag out only that person so that person may end up starting further back, increasing your chances to finish in front of that person as that person will then need to deal with other racers first.

The other way to create lag spikes is to attach and detach objects with a very high rendering costs (like very high quality textures). The sim will struggle to bring everything up in a timely fashion and will have heavy lag spikes. The benefit of this method is that it can be used, even with build turned off.

Another special but effective way of cheating is to create horrible video lag to the other racers. The computer needs to keep in memory what the user is seeing in Second life to ensure a smooth experience. A way to make the others struggle is to make your memory cost (Avatar rendering cost) huge. A typical avatar will be below 100 000 ARC. By wearing attachments with high quality textures, and keeping them on, it is possible to rez that value to the millions. This will cause a very large drop of FPS (easily 33%) to anyone looking at the direction of your avatar. Anyone with a medium computer or slower will have a very hard time to drive, thus causing them to miss their turns and do very slow times.

This concludes the part on how to cheat in Second Life racing. This post is not one to incite people to cheat, but to raise awareness on how it can be done. The next posts in the series will show you what can be done to prevent cheating, and how to detect cheating. Until next time, readers and racers!

10/27/12 Racers Island - Stock Car Series - Round 9

Racers Island Pro Stock series went into round 9 on October 28th, the day after Racers Island hosted a big Halloween party. Ten racers showed up for the race at the Sunset Oval, a large track that makes it hard to pass other racers. Jahbith Laville managed to grab the pole position in a very close qualifying session, 0.003 second in front of Mystic Upshaw.

Here are the qualifying results:

P 1. Jahbith Laville  8.088
P 2. Mystic Audion,  8.091, -0.002
P 3. Eddie Mathieson,  8.133, -0.045
P 4. Doll Kabuki,  8.134, -0.046
P 5. David Wetherby,  8.159, -0.071
P 6. Nella Boccara,  8.199, -0.111
P 7. miller Tomcat,  8.200, -0.112
P 8. wildrose Bijoux,  8.202, -0.113
P 9. Upshaw34 (Kert) Resident,  8.222, -0.134
P 10. Miss Cedarbridge,  9.200, -1.112




As there were ten racers today, the racers were grouped in 2 races, with the racers from 6th to 10th place racing in the 75 laps B race with the top 2 moving to the main event. After the start of the B race, Tomcat and Kert managed to do well, moving up to second and third places, while Wetherby kept his first place. Kert would unfortunately get into an accident on lap 5 which moved down to P5. Meanwhile, Boccara took Kert's job in chasing Miller for the last transfer spot. However, like him, she faced a similar fate on lap 10 and fell down far behind to fifth place, relinquishing third place to Bijoux, who was now tasked to chase Tomcat. The chase was on and, while she couldn't quite get to pass Tomcat early on, Bijoux had to keep an eye on Kert that stayed close to her. Bijoux managed to be the first person to pass Tomcat in second place, managing to do so on lap 22. The battle was far from over, and, on lap 25, Tomcat hit the side of Bijoux's car, making her spin and crash into the wall, bringing Tomcat down with her. This allowed Kert to move pass them far in front and secure the crucial second place.

At this point of the race, Wetherby was far in front of everyone and leading the race. Kert, in second place, had a significant lead over Bijoux who was still fighting with Tomcat for the third place. Boccara was in fifth and far behind, mostly explained by her being a good sport and yielding to the leaders to prevent accidents with them. Lastly, Cedarbridge, a new racer, was far behind, obviously still learning the car and trying to make consistent laps. The battle between Bijoux and Tomcat became the main interest of the race and lasted between lap 16 to lap 50. Each driver passed each other and was closely battling, however Miller managed to shake her off on lap 50 and then never looked back. Thus ended the race, allowing Wetherby, who is still chasing Kabuki for the season standings, and Kert to move up to the main event.

Results:

1st. David Wetherby, 75 laps. Total Time : 622.325
2nd. Upshaw34 Resident, -8.489 seconds.
3rd. miller Tomcat, -1 laps.
4th. wildrose Bijoux, -2 laps.
5th. Nella Boccara, -3 laps.
6th. Miss Cedarbridge, -12 laps.

The main race had high stakes: Indeed, Kabuki, Wetherby and Upshaw all are looking to grab the end season title, and all were involved in this race. Any position gain in a single race is crucial, but don't think others will yield to them so easily! At the start of the race, Mathieson moved up to first place for a single lap, before yielding it back to Laville. Kert was the winner at the start, moving up to fourth place, while Kabuki missed her start and found herself fighting for fifth place with Wetherby. Upshaw managed to grab second place from Mathieson, and the early standings looked like this: Laville, Upshaw, Mathieson, Kert, Kabuki and Wetherby. This order remained a few laps, when, on the 13th lap, Laville crashed, bringing Upshaw with him, allowing Mathieson to grab back the lead. The same happened on lap 15th, this time Upshaw bringing Laville with her, allowing Kert to move up to second place, while she and Laville found themselves in third and fourth places. Meanwhile, Wetherby had distanced himself from Kabuki in fifth place. This wasn't the end of the problems for Upshaw, as, on the 23rd lap, a mistake allowed Laville to move up to third place. Again, on the next lap, another mistake allowed this time Wetherby and Kabuki to move up in front. At this point, the three leaders in the championship were now in fourth, fifth and sixth place!

As seen from the previous race, accidents between racers were very damaging, and Wetherby and Kabuki had a reminder of it when they crashed together, allowing Upshaw to move back up to fourth place on lap 28. Positions in the front were stable for several laps, with Mathieson leading the race, closely followed by Kert, who himself had a cushion on Laville. Upshaw, Kabuki and Wetherby were staying close together, but at a distance from the leaders. Unfortunately for Kert, an accident on lap 41 allowed Laville to go through. Upshaw, meanwhile, was slowly closing in to these two racers. Just like what happened earlier with his lover, Upshaw, Kert made another mistake shortly after, on lap 47, which allowed another person to pass him, who ironically was Upshaw. Mathieson, meanwhile, was far in front of Laville for the lead of the race, and Kabuki slowly built up a lead in front of Wetherby for fifth place.

Racers once again distanced themselves, that is until lap 58, where it was Upshaw's turn, who allowed Kert to move back in front of her. This mistake had another undesired effect for her, however, as it allowed Kabuki to close in on her. A very entertaining battle ensued, and, on lap 67, Kabuki managed to make it in front of Upshaw, for fourth place. Kabuki slowly catched up to Kert afterwards, but wasn't able to make up the gap on her own. It took a mistake by Kert, on the 88th lap, to allow Kabuki to make it through him and off to the final podium step. The positions remained until the end of the race.

Results:

[19:16] Racers Island  Sunset Oval Gate shouts: 1st. Eddie Mathieson, 100 laps. Total Time : 829.770
[19:16] Racers Island  Sunset Oval Gate shouts: 2nd. Jahbith Laville, -1.633 seconds.
[19:16] Racers Island  Sunset Oval Gate shouts: 3rd. Doll Kabuki, -2.662 seconds.
[19:16] Racers Island  Sunset Oval Gate shouts: 4th. Upshaw34 Resident, -4.638 seconds.
[19:16] Racers Island  Sunset Oval Gate shouts: 5th. Mystic Audion, -5.594 seconds.
[19:16] Racers Island  Sunset Oval Gate shouts: 6th. David Wetherby, -7.485 seconds.565

This race has allowed us to see a very important racing notion. While it is very tempting to try to force one's way past another racer, doing so can have unfortunate results. In this race, Tomcat attempted a pass that couldn't have worked on Bijoux, making both of them crash, which let another opponent take the opportunity to move pass them without a battle. As long there are plenty of remaining laps, a sometimes good strategy is just to put pressure on the opponent you want to pass, so that person makes a mistake on his own, giving you the opportunity to pass. No one is perfect, and pressure will eventually get to your opponent. If, as unlikely as it is, your opponent resists without making any mistake to the very end, then there is no option but to congratulate that person and try to qualify in front of him so a pass may not be required next time! On this, readers and racers, enjoy the tracks and be careful!

10/18/12 Racers Island - Drift Car Series - Round 7 @ Nitro

Zeustorm, Laval and Yuni321 battling

Mid-season break was over at Racers Island and racing was back for the drift series! Round seven brought racers to the Nitro track, a circuit with plenty of sharp, slow turns, offering drivers opportunities to pass each other and make mistakes. Will anyone stop Brave Ashbourne on his quest for a fourth victory in a row? Ten racers made it to the race on that day. Biggs Braham managed to get pole, in front of Doll Kabuki.





Here are the qualifying results:

B Race starting grid

Pole Position. Biggs Braham  22.057
P 2. Doll Kabuki,  22.140, -0.083
P 3. Yuriko Nishi,  22.149, -0.092
P 4. Brave Ashbourne,  22.244, -0.187
P 5. Shaft Laval,  22.365, -0.308
P 6. Eddie Mathieson,  22.582, -0.525
P 7. ZeuStorm Resident,  22.717, -0.660
P 8. Nella Boccara,  23.116, -1.059
P 9. domilyon Resident,  23.306, -1.249
P 10. yuni321 Resident,  23.753, -1.696

Mathieson trying to pass Laval
in front of Zeustorm

The 25 laps B race went underway and saw a lot of intense action right from the beginning. Zeustorm managed to eek out from the group and take the lead. A newcomer to this series, Yuni321, did surprisingly well on her first lap and moved up from sixth place to fourth place. The positions would however not hold, and on the second lap, a first group made of Laval, Zeustorm and Mathieson battled for the lead while Boccara, Domilyn and Yuni321 were fighting for fourth place. On the fourth lap, Boccara was able to detach herself from the second group but remained far away from the leading group that Laval was leading. Laval at first detached himself, but was caught up by Mathieson on the 7th lap who overpassed him after a few small mistakes. Again, this wouldn't hold as this time, on the 9th lap, Mathieson was the one making a mistake, bringing Laval with him, which allowed Zeustorm to take the lead, albeit not far enough to run away from the two others.

Incoming crash for Zeustrom
and Laval!

While the main group kept on fighting in front, Boccara tried to use the opportunity to catch up but couldn't do so at a rate that would allow her to compete with the leading group. On the 15th lap, while Zeustorm and Laval did an accident together, Mathieson took the lead and left the other two behind him. Laval and Zeustorm would keep on the battle, which Zeustorm seemed to win after Laval crashed on his own on lap 18. Laval was however faster and he managed to pass back Zeustorm on the 22nd lap with fast, consistent laps. The order would stay until the end, with Domilyon passing Yuni321 for the 5th place near the end of the race. Mathieson and Laval moved on to the A race!


Results:

1st. Eddie Mathieson, 25 laps. Total Time : 572.482
2nd. Shaft Laval, -3.030 seconds.
3rd. ZeuStorm Resident, -4.710 seconds.
4th. Nella Boccara, -9.057 seconds.
5th. domilyon Resident, -1 laps.
6th. yuni321 Resident, -1 laps.

A race starting grid

The 30 laps A race went underway with the top 4 from qualifying plus Mathieson and Laval who made it through the B race. Very close driving ensued after the start, where Nishi was able to improve her position to second place while Ashbourne was clearly the loser by moving down to sixth place. Ashbourne wouldn't remain there and moved to third place right on the second lap, while Laval crashed far behind everyone in sixth place. The groups would start to form, and by fourth lap, we would see Braham with a small lead, in front of Nishi and Ashbourne fighting for second place, Kabuki and Mathieson fighting for fourth place and Laval trailing far behind the field. Ashbourne, looking to keep his winning streak alive, passed both Nishi and Braham on the sixth lap on a very fast lap. His speed however fell him and on the next lap, he got into an accident, allowing Braham, Nishi and Kabuki to pass him, with Mathieson close to him.

Intense battle

On the next lap, Kabuki faced a similar fate, however her accident allowed Mathieson and Ashbourne to catch up with her for a furious three-way battle. In front, Braham was distancing himself a bit from Nishi for the lead. Starting lap 11th, an order started to be seen, with Braham having a cushion over Nishi, who herself had a cushion over Kabuki, who was fighting with Ashbourne, while Mathieson trailed a bit behind them and Laval remained far behind. Braham gave himself a scare after a few bad laps starting on the 15th lap which allowed Nishi to catch up. Braham held on in front and Nishi eventually pushed a bit too hard, causing her to get in an accident and fall behind. On the 19th lap, Ashbourne finally passed Kabuki, who however remained close to him in an attempt to get the final podium step.

Ashbourne, Mathieson and Kabuki

One who had been all but forgotten, Laval, slowly gained time after his initial big crash and was set to challenge Mathieson for the fifth place on the 21th lap. By the 24th lap, the gap between Braham and Nishi was big enough that another battle would be unlikely. Nishi herself was far enough in front of Ashbourne and Kabuki, who were literally tied to each other and were almost passing each other on every turn. This furious battle kept on until lap 29, where Ashbourne finally was able to shake off Kabuki after she made a small mistake. Behind them, Laval managed to overtake Mathieson. The positions would remain that way until the end of the race.



Results:

Kabuki stopping Ashbourne

1st. Biggs Braham, 30 laps. Total Time : 676.120
2nd. Yuriko Nishi, -3.799 seconds.
3rd. Brave Ashbourne, -8.828 seconds.
4th. Doll Kabuki, -11.754 seconds.
5th. Shaft Laval, -16.179 seconds.
6th. Eddie Mathieson, -17.400 seconds.

Ashbourne paying back the favor

This race, after the mid-season break, allowed us to see a new winner this time, Braham, who also happened to be the last person who won a race before Ashbourne started his streak. This win will allow him to get closer to Ashbourne, but having missed a race, is there still hope for Braham to catch up Ashbourne in the standings? Stay tuned! For now, racers and readers, race fast and safe!





A few more pictures! :)

Close battle between Braham and Nishi

Braham, Ashbourne and Nishi on the podium

9/30/12 Racers Island - Stock Car Series - Round 6

Racers Island Raceway blog

Racers Island in-world (+TPer to all tracks)

Grid positions, final results and racers' personal stats are available here: Racers Island Stock Car Results blog


I have to say that: GOOD TO BE BACK =)
With RL issues I'm going through now, I barely can find time to write. So, sadly, I can't guarantee you to post articles as frequently as I used to.
But the race we had on Sunday, the last race before the mid-season break, was something I could not skip. It was spectacular. It was intensive. It was full of moments. It definitely is worth to write about.
Enough babbling, though! Oval tracks are something you, as a racer or a spectator or a reader, must be very familiar with. In attempts of making narrow turns, racers make piling up inevitable. The cause and the result of them always differ, though - some end up being small accidents that just distract drivers a bit, but some change the whole competition.

Wetherby attempts to pass DeCuir

We had both and, I dare myself to say, even more. As it usually happens, all began with the qualifying round - let's take a sneak peek how it went!
Times of the first drivers were close, and that was like this until Grosmanteau DeCuir got a huge lead over others - his time seemed to be unbeatable. However, most of the best racers of Racers Island were qualifying after him and were getting closer times, but none were faster than DeCuir's one. The last one to qualify was Miku Hatsune (Doll Kabuki), and that was the last hope for all of us to have something changed... and yes, she's got the closest time to DeCuir's one, just 0.038 second behind. So, positions were determined, and it's time to move to the event itself, especially with the fact that both races had something to impress us spectators!

And first one to go is the Race B. Here's the starting grid:
P 6. Mystic Upshaw (Audion), 7.219, -0.118
P 7. TechBadger (01010100), 7.231, -0.130
P 8. Eddie Mathieson, 7.232, -0.131
P 9. wildrose Bijoux, 7.276, -0.175
P 10. Nella Boccara, 7.393, -0.292
P 11. miller Tomcat, 7.417, -0.316
Number of laps: 75
Huge mess right after the start (when it's a tradition that someone cracks up at the first turn and takes a bunch of drivers with him/herself), in fact, was the one that helped with setting the positions straight. Mystic Upshaw, though, had a nice headstart, and that helped her to avoid it; Eddie Mathieson, who got injured the most, had dropped to the last position. On the next lap, the same story happened with Wildrose Bijoux who, as a consequence, found herself side by side with Mathieson. The rest got busy with battling each other, where Nella Boccara showed a great performance by leading the pack (therefore, being 2nd).
Lap after lap, racers kept on spreading out. However, the gaps weren't big enough to be totally sure in their positions - one mistake could cost one to any driver. That's why Boccara, after a few not the best laps, got Miller Tomcat tailing her and, after a couple more laps, overpassing her. Right behind them, the action took place as well - a certain accident had put TechBadger at the last position, where he and Mathieson began battling each other, letting Bijoux make her way up - she became 4th.
On the 15th lap, Boccara made a little mistake, which turned into an opportunity for Bijoux - and she took it.  Next one to advance was Mathieson, thanks to another mistake Boccara made on the next lap. Here, I'd like to do a stop here for a very quick remark - before the race, I've watched Bijoux practicing a bit, and have to say, the counter of her laps was showing over 1000 laps of practice. And there, it was perfectly paying off!
Up to lap 24, the positions remained - but on this one, wild traffic appeared on Upshaw's way, causing her 2 bad laps, and that allowed Tomcat to get closer to her. Nevertheless, after a few laps, once Upshaw overpassed the traffic, she could enjoy driving with a clear road ahead of her again.
Lap 40 was pretty much the one that changed it all. How? Oh, that was a huge accident (and this time I mean it!) that Mystic Upshaw managed to break out of - and the only another driver who got lucky was Eddie Mathieson! What happened? Lapped drivers (being TechBadger and Nella Boccara), battling hard, got stuck at the inner side at the end of the turn, and Tomcat simply slammed into them. That great piling up cost all the involved drivers about from 1 to 3 seconds - and I'm not the one to tell you what a loss of time at the oval track it is. From that moment on, Mathieson kept on going 2nd - and, even though he was very close to Upshaw and could, in theory, battle for the lead, he didn't do that. The race was close to its end, and indeed it was best not to risk the position your luck brought to you so generously.
However, that was not the end yet - and certainly, we couldn't get along without wild traffic. This time, represented by lapped TechBadger, who began battling Eddie for nothing and was slowing him down. Despite that, Mathieson remained driving firmly, due to the fact that Tomcat was 2 second down from him. But at the lap 61, it happened. It just happened. No one was injured, but Mathieson. Being flipped over, he lost no less than 5 (!!!) seconds to get back to the track. That is obvious that he lost his 2nd position and a chance to compete in the main race along with that.
Miller Tomcat moved up to the 2nd position, and so did Wildrose Bijoux (3rd). The gap between them was not big enough to guarantee the 2nd place to Tomcat - and Bijoux was eager to take that chance. Her efforts kept on taking place till the very end, but... apparently, there was not enough time. Tomcat finished 2nd, and so he and Mystic Upshaw were the ones who have moved up to compete at the main race!

And what a race it was! The grid, first of all:
Pole Position. Grosmanteau DeCuir 7.101
P 2. Miku Hatsune (Doll Kabuki), 7.139, -0.038
P 3. David Wetherby, 7.156, -0.055
P 4. Yuriko Nishi, 7.166, -0.065
P 5. iasos, 7.185, -0.084
P 6. Mystic Upshaw (Audion)
P 7. miller Tomcat
Number of laps: 100
Grosmanteau DeCuir did his best move at the start to save his lead and avoid any chance of being crashed, gaining almost 1 second lead over David Wetherby (who became 2nd). Meanwhile, behind them, an intensive battle for the 3rd position between Mystic Upshaw, Miku Hatsune and Miller Tomcat was taking place; Yuriko Nishi and Iasos were less lucky and dropped far behind.
A few laps after the start, DeCuir's crash up the wall cost him a bit of time, but that still was enough for others to get closer - especially Wetherby, who now was dangerously close. His hope, nevertheless, didn't last too long - DeCuir is not the one who is easy to overpass. The pack had spreaded out (with Upshaw keeping up at the 3rd position, Hatsune at the 4th one, Nishi being 5th and Iasos with Tomcat going side by side at the end) - only Wetherby kept on being the sword of Damocles for DeCuir that was ready to fall any moment now.
That moment had to be postponed, though - since the 26th lap, Wetherby began losing touch with DeCuir. His time came again once the wild traffic appeared on their way, being represented by Iasos and Tomcat. And Iasos kept on tailing DeCuir, allowing Wetherby to get closer again. Wild traffic was left behind after a while, but hasn't left two competitors completely - Wetherby was the next one to be crashed, and that put him 1 second behind DeCuir yet again. Meanwhile, wild traffic kept on fulfilling their task of changing the course of the race - Yuriko Nishi almost wasn't injured by them, but Mystic Upshaw and Miku Hatsune were the ones who got it. What, however, didn't break their competitive spirit - they still had each other to battle for the 4th place!
Experiencing all these adventures, they made it to the halfway. And who could suspect that... no, David Wetherby still wasn't able to overpass Grosmanteau DeCuir. But what kind of race it would be if there wasn't something? That "something" was none other but Iasos. Once DeCuir got close to him and Tomcat again, there was a short series of unfortunate crashes that turned out to be crucial for DeCuir's lead. Meanwhile, Wetherby and Nishi overpassed those three without a single effort. The Top 3 had changed.

Lap 70 - crusial for David Wetherby's
2nd position

But still, the race wasn't over - and now, we had Yuriko Nishi being intended to close up to Wetherby. That goal has been reached pretty soon, not without a little help of external forces (being wild traffic, of course). Let's not forget about DeCuir who kept on closing up to David after that - and, after a great accident for Nishi on the 70th lap, when they were going three-wide for a while, he managed to leave Wetherby behind. They've battled for a while, but then the wild traffic did its job for separating them. Even though Wetherby was closing upon DeCuir from time to time, even with occasional battles - that is never an easy task, to compete with Grosmanteau DeCuir, and doesn't matter at which position he is. And that was the order the Top 3 has finished.

I must say, this race happened to be the brightest example during my very short racing world experience. Probably, this one also can be one of a few most significant ones - at least for the current racing world of Second Life.
If you become traffic, what do you do, racers and readers? Let others pass you or struggle till the end? Just asking, nothing more :)
See you at the grid, guys - drive safe in RL, leave the competition for SL! 

10/04/12 Racers Island - Drift Car Series - Round 6 @ Timberline

Timberline track

Racers Island drift car's season entered its sixth round at the Timberline track, a twisty track with plenty of wide turns, where nine racers joined in to compete for the top march of the podium. Brave Ashbourne, on his quest to his third victory in a row, managed to get pole for a second consecutive week in front of Doll Kabuki, who was closely followed by Biggs Braham.





Here are the results of the qualifications:

Starting grid of the B race

Pole Position. Brave Ashbourne  25.323
P 2. Doll Kabuki,  25.570, -0.247
P 3. Biggs Braham,  25.597, -0.274
P 4. Nella Boccara,  25.855, -0.532
P 5. Shaft Laval,  26.110, -0.787
P 6. ZeuStorm Resident,  26.144, -0.820
P 7. Eddie Mathieson,  26.291, -0.968
P 8. 01010100 Resident,  26.804, -1.481
P 9. domilyon Resident,  26.921, -1.598

Early battle for the lead

The top four racers qualified directly to the main event, leaving Laval, Zeustorm, Mathieson, 01010100 and Domilyon battle in this order in the 25 laps B race for the top two positions to move up to the main event. The race started with everyone keeping their position, except 01010100 who managed to sneak past Mathieson. This wouldn't last long as Mathieson overpassed 01010100 and Zeustorm on the second lap, while Laval built a considerable lead in front. Mathieson would build up a lead while 01010100 and Zeustorm battled for the third place. Zeustorm managed to get away from 01010100 in third place on lap 4, a move which would prove to be greatly beneficial as a big mistake by Mathieson on lap 5 made him move to second place in the process. Mathieson proved to be too fast for Zeustorm, however, and regained the last transfer spot on lap 8. From there, Mathieson went far ahead of Zeustorm, but couldn't get closer to Laval. As the drivers distanced each other, no more change were seen until the end of the race.

Results:

1st. Shaft Laval, 25 laps. Total Time : 654.153
2nd. Eddie Mathieson, -3.344 seconds.
3rd. ZeuStorm Resident, -9.352 seconds.
4th. 01010100 Resident, -1 laps.
5th. domilyon Resident, -1 laps.

Starting grid of the A race

The 30 laps main event went similar to the B race: action-packed at the start then somewhat lacklustre once positions and drivers settled in. Nevertheless, at the start, two groups battled together: Ashbourne and Kabuki for the lead, Mathieson, Laval, Braham and Boccara for third place. The second group was so close to each other that, on the first lap, they all passed the gate within 0.2 second of each other!

Eddie Mathieson P 3 Lap 1,  28.438,  TBL -1.027
Shaft Laval P 4 Lap 1,  28.571,  TBL -1.160
Biggs Braham P 5 Lap 1,  28.593,  TBL -1.182
Nella Boccara P 6 Lap 1,  28.637,  TBL -1.226

Close racing in the A race!

On the second lap, Braham managed to take over third place and build a small cushion, however a big mistake moved him to sixth place, allowing Laval to take over third place. Mathieson, who was at the time fourth, experienced technical difficulties on the fourth lap which left him far behind everyone. This allowed the positions to start to settle in, with Ashbourne leading the race, Kabuki, Laval, Braham, Boccara and Mathieson following in this order. Braham managed to move back up to third place in front of Laval on the eight lap. His time in third place lasted a bit longer than previously, for two laps this time, until he made minor mistakes again which moved him back to fourth place, in a close battle with Laval in front of him. Boccara, with a clear road in front, inched closer but couldn't quite catch up the two racers. The battle would finish on the 13th lap, with Braham passing Laval for the third place, for good this time. The last battle of the race, but nonetheless an intense one, opposed Mathieson, who was still trying to catch up from his previous difficulties, to Boccara, for fifth place. Boccara held Mathieson successfully between laps 15 to 20, until Mathieson, who was clearly faster today, managed to slip by Boccara. With a clear track in front, Mathieson quickly distanced Boccara. For the ten remaining laps, as each racer had built a good cushion in front of each other, drivers remained careful to not make any major mistake and the race ended without any further battle. Ashbourne managed to extend his lead for the season standings with his third consecutive win.

Kabuki trying to gain an edge.

Results:

1st. Brave Ashbourne, 30 laps. Total Time : 776.607
2nd. Doll Kabuki, -7.953 seconds.
3rd. Biggs Braham, -9.445 seconds.
4th. Shaft Laval, -14.833 seconds.
5th. Eddie Mathieson, -21.812 seconds.
6th. Nella Boccara, -1 laps.

Podium! Ashbourne, Kabuki and Braham

This track shows a particularity of long, wide tracks: People's own speed matter a lot. In a small cramped track, cars hit each other, slowing each other down, making traffic management more important. On a track such as the Timberline track, traffic is not seen often and is more or less quickly disposed of. That means an open track to do fast times, and this is what we've seen today. Once drivers were distanced, the gaps, unless mistakes occurred, would slowly increase overtime. In other words, the raw driving skill of a driver will help him more on this type of track.

Mathieson and Boccara fighting it out

This is also the start of the mid-season break, which is a welcome rest for drivers, owners and spectators. While it is important for someone to rest at times to be able to perform at peak status, it is nonetheless important for the drivers to hit the track once in a while to not lose focus. On this, rest well, readers and racers!

9/27/12 Racers Island - Drift Car Series - Round 5 @ Garage track

The Racers Island drift series continued at the Garage track, a narrow track with plenty of wide and sharp turns. Ten drivers showed up and were ready to test their skills on this difficult circuit. Brave Ashbourne is leading the overall season standings in front of Yuriko Nishi by 20 points, but not all is played yet and there is plenty of time for the drivers to catch up! For today's qualification, Ashbourne managed to grab the pole in front of Yuriko Nishi who trailed him by 0,094 second.

Mathieson and Braham

Here are the results of the qualification:

Pole Position. Brave Ashbourne  17.649
P 2. Yuriko Nishi,  17.744, -0.094
P 3. Doll Kabuki,  17.821, -0.171
P 4. Shaft Laval,  17.892, -0.243
P 5. Eddie Mathieson,  17.903, -0.254
P 6. Biggs Braham,  17.955, -0.306
P 7. ZeuStorm Resident,  17.998, -0.348
P 8. domilyon Resident,  18.275, -0.626
P 9. Nella Boccara,  18.412, -0.763
P 10. 01010100 Resident,  18.454, -0.805

Starting grid of the B race

As there were ten racers, the decision has been taken to do two races, with the top 4 racers automatically qualified for the main race. The 25 laps B-race started with few changes, but that didn't last long as Braham took the lead on the second lap in front of Mathieson, while Zeustorm, Domilyon, Boccara and 01010100 fought together for the third position. These two groups battled each on their own for several laps, and the first development came on lap 8 as Boccara was able to detach herself from the group and take a bid for third place. Meanwhile, Braham stayed closely in front of Mathieson for the lead of the race. The order wouldn't stay for long, as Boccara, after a costly mistake, gave up third position to Zeustorm who had previously managed to let Domilyon and 01010100 fight each other behind him. The last position change of the race came on lap 17, where 01010100 shook off Domilyon for good to secure fifth place. Despite pushed hard, Mathieson didn't manage to catch up to Braham for the first place, but it was good enough for these two to move up to the main event of the day!

Close battle for the B race

Results of the B race

1st. Biggs Braham, 25 laps. Total Time : 454.778
2nd. Eddie Mathieson, -1.280 seconds.
3rd. ZeuStorm Resident, -12.969 seconds.
4th. Nella Boccara, -1 laps.
5th. 01010100 Resident, -1 laps.
6th. domilyon Resident, -1 laps.

Main event starting grid

The 30 laps main event was ready to take place, and even before all drivers crossed the start line to officially start their first lap, action happened! Indeed, Ashbourne suffered from a brain cramp and forgot to start at the same time than everyone, which made him lose the lead to the benefit of Nishi who finished the first lap leading the race, in front of Ashbourne who managed to come back to second place in front of the other four drivers, Mathieson, Braham, Kabuki and Laval, who battled with each other for the third place. Mathieson made a bid to keep the third place to himself as he managed to shake off the three other opponents behind him on the second lap. Ashbourne, despite missing the start, definitely didn't seem to have any problem on the track once he got started as on the fourth lap, he passed Nishi for the lead. On the 7th lap, Braham became another element that broke from the battle from the back and reduced the gap between himself and Mathieson for the third position. Unfortunately, his attempt to reach Mathieson caused him to do a few mistakes and brought him back into the battle for fourth place with Kabuki and Laval. Meanwhile, Ashbourne continued to expand his lead in front of Nishi.

Close racing in the A race

Close to the halfway point, on lap 14, Braham managed to get away again from Kabuki and Laval. He remained however far behind Mathieson, who himself got engaged in a battle with Nishi for the second place. The battle would rage on for several laps and Mathieson became victorious on lap 18th. At the same time, Kabuki managed to fortify her position on the 5th place, only to lose it two laps later due to a few costly mistakes. Nishi found herself to have trouble keeping up the pace at the end of the race and effectively lost third position to Braham on the 24th lap. Her problems wouldn't stop here, however, as a few other crashes on lap 26th brought her down to fifth place, which was previously regained by Kabuki over Laval. A close battle would ensue between Kabuki and Nishi until the end of the race, however the positions remained unchanged. Ashbourne crossed the finish line for his third victory in five races this season.

Ashbourne, Mathieson and Braham on the podium

Results of the main race:

1st. Brave Ashbourne, 30 laps. Total Time : 536.649
2nd. Eddie Mathieson, -7.626 seconds.
3rd. Biggs Braham, -11.437 seconds.
4th. Doll Kabuki, -12.929 seconds.
5th. Yuriko Nishi, -13.463 seconds.
6th. Shaft Laval, -15.820 seconds.

Kabuki and Laval

It may sound cliché, however this race is another example of why races are not set after the first turn. Nishi, despite leading the race early on, fell down to fifth place by the end of the race. Braham, who was battling at the back of the pack, managed to move up to third place over the course of the race. While having multiple people fall behind in a race is uncommon, it is nevertheless possible and as such a driver should never lose hope. Those steady laps made behind the racers in front could end up paying dividends if a major crash happens to one of them, or even better if they crash together! On this note, racers and readers, stay positive and never give up in your endeavours!

Eagle Clawtooth interview - exclusive for Compete With Me!

Eagle's impressive race trophy collection

Patrons of Rubbing Is Racing - aka R.I.R. - should know Eagle Clawtooth very well. If he's on the track, usually that means that whatever position he's on - it will be defended till the very end. You might overtake his position, but it won't be too easy, that's for sure.

And, now, it's my big pleasure to inform you that Eagle Clawtooth - winner of numerous Grand Prix, and what's more interesting, winner of the summer Build Your Own Car series at R.I.R., also the owner of his own racing venue - came over to my small office at 2RAW to share a bit of his racing experience with Compete With Me! readers. How it all began? What helped him to get to the top? Let's find out!

Eagle Clawtooth

This Summer, he won his very first series at R.I.R., the Build Your Own one, and this turned out to be the most significant achievement in his Second Life racing career. Despite his rich experience, this win didn't come to him with ease - due to the fact that many racers can be very tough opponents when it come to racing, it took him a lot of determination along with hours of practice on the tracks. Everything was counting - planning the strategy to use, practicing for feeling easy on the track, and, certainly, being able to change plans mid race. But even when you got the lead - there's no time to relax. "No one wants to be last or go a lap down so the whole field itself is the toughest", Eagle says. "As the leader, you wear a target, and a good racer will do what it takes to get pass the target."
Eagle himself loses the lead at times. However, this never was a reason to give up the fight, or even quit the battlefield right away. "No matter where I am, I remain focused on what's ahead". And that's not the only secret for making it to the top - "Being considerate and clean helps the other racers return the same". 

Eagle Clawtooth's racing career, in fact, dates from his real life, consisting mostly of dirt races, also offroad races and motocross - as his favorite, he named high bank dirt tracks. Retired from the real life racing just a couple years ago, he joined Second Life racing world, which became a good fix for him. "Being a RL race also fuels the drive to compete here", he admits. 

Eagle Clawtooth's RL race car

And how much does the real life racing experience help him in second life? "I understand the principles and fundamentals as well as the physics involved in racing which helps a lot" - and then he adds: "Oh, and I know how to curse quietly... haha makes me a dangerous opponent". 

Not being a really emotional person and understanding his own faults, he, nevertheless, won't let it go if people around him were the reason of his unsuccess. "If I am the cause of my own misfortune, then I say nothing, same thing if it involves someone else's actions. If I get verbal in either predicament, it's of no help or benefit." But, certainly, emotions are not the best helpers at the race. "If you let yourself get distracted, then your focus is jeopardized."

His Second Life racing experience originates not in a way we see him racing today. "I tore a freebie car apart and built a prim race truck and a race track and ran races against myself on a freebie budget :)". Something close to the serious racing in Second Life began for him with SMC (Silver MotorSports Complex, which is gone from the grid up to date): "Then I discovered a place called SMC and saved enough to get a car there and I was off on my racing career". Certainly, no one becomes the best right at the start of the career, especially with the competition that was around the racing world back then - and Eagle wasn't an exception. His first win was possible more thanks to the circumstances: "In fact, the first race I won there was 6 months after I started, and it was because I was the only racer that showed up that race". However, even the fact that he got a lot of opponents - way more experienced than him in racing - wasn't able to prevent him from keeping on racing. Competition happened to be the thing that drives him, competing with others - his nature.

Eagle Clawtooth at a race event
(RIR Nationwide Series, 8/11/12)

Second Life racing progresses, apparently, was in help as well. Maybe it's not as easy to win as it was back then (if you knew certain secrets), but, as Eagle remarks, today's SL racing world is getting more and more adapted. "Back in the day, all you had to do is jump in get up against a wall and haul butt. Now, if you do that, it's not possible, as the cars can get damaged or make you slow down." Physics today are not only more realistic, but more customizable as well! "The cars now are more realistic driving and looking, and some quite adjustable to one's driving, meaning now you can set the cars up to suit your driving ability and style."
For sure, this doesn't matter that people can just grab a car and go fast being guaranteed to win the race. "It can still be easy for the beginners to have fun with, but, to be a front runner, it will always require time and understanding settings and conditions as well as a decent amount of ability." 

Eagle's cars from old racing associations
(Some do not exist on the grid any longer) 

And today we have him, one of the top racers - although he does not rest on his laurels, he does his best to help others have fun (not without having fun himself, of course!). "If you help someone learn and they beat you, that means you did your job really well :)", he says. Indeed, who but him knows what the real competition is - with both results, beating someone or being beaten himself! 

And that's followed by his advice to all the beginner racers. "Don't be afraid to ask for help and watch what the fast ones are doing. Learn the lines and limits, stay clean, and if you're racing with people, remember - what goes around comes around, so be considerate. And that's the key to in SL racing..."

I, myself, would like to thank Eagle Clawtooth for his time that he generously shared with us, and wish him a lot of success in both RL and SL - and not only in racing, for certain!