MyControl Speedway was a famous race track for virtual motorsports in the online virtual world Second Life.
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The track was managed by the team of residents Seph Swain and MrG Freund and was sponsored by German company MyControl Internet Engines, who hosted the track on their simulator.
MyControl Speedway differs from other race tracks in Second Life as it hosts races with no entry limits on cars. This is referred to as 'open-formula' racing and allows competitors to create a car that is capable of racing at incredible speeds, unlike in the limited entry races elsewhere.
The track
The track has 14 corners. It is a point of ridicule that all of these corners are left-handers with the exception of a small bend making up part of the chicane following the first corner. Nevertheless, it is a very difficult and technical circuit, billed as 'the hardest race track in second life'.
The design of the track was developed with the goal of creating a course that is tight, technical and difficult to drive on, both for poor cars and poor drivers. It ties difficult series of corners together and complicates it further with elevation changes and 2 narrow tunnels for drivers to negotiate. The track has one long straight, on which the start/finish line resides, but cars that have high speed at the expense of cornering suffer badly at MyControl Speedway.
To bring a new element to the racing experience, Seph Swain has permitted the beginning of work on a track extension creating a second course. Mishi Rossini has designed the extension and begun to build it. The first new section has been built and is being tested thoroughly before work begins on the second new section. The extension already built is the hardest of the entire track, consisting of a very tight chicane dubbed the 'Mishicane' as well as a third tunnel. The new course will also add lengthen a straight section of the track to the same length as the main straight, and will use existing road sections in a reverse direction, meaning that there will be seven right turns and 5 left ones.
There are some rails placed at the side of the road in some sections to help drivers stay on track, but in most areas it is easy to crash onto the grass. This is made to be costly for drivers by the fact that the road surface is slightly raised, making it difficult to get going again. Staying on track is vital, as the track utilises a checkpoint system developed by Seph Swain. This system ensures that drivers remain on the road all the way round to successfully record a lap, and alerts drivers if they have missed a checkpoint.
Statistics are stored for drivers, who can retrieve these statistics by clicking a sphere in the pit lane. If they consent, drivers' stats are also published at the track's website.
Race events
MyControl Speedway is the only Second Life race track to hold official races with no limits on the vehicles that may be entered. This provides a unique spectacle, as the most successful cars have evolved to reach huge speeds, often around 400 km/h, and turn corners very tightly. This means that top drivers have to be very skilled. They must know how to drive their cars effectively as well as utilise precise timing and concentration to lap consistently fast.
Recently, the official open-formula races have been accompanied by support races which are one-make events. These have come in the form of a single race for drivers of the MR Blitz built my Mishi Rossini and the newly released sculpted RamRod F2007 F1 car.
To date, all prize money for the open-formula races has been supplied by race sponsors PLUSX.de, a German web design company.
The nature of these unlimited races has tended to be inaccessible to many regular drivers at the track, who do not have the required expertise to develop a competitive car. There are plans for the track's first points tournament to be started for these people to have a chance to compete against the track's best. The Blitz Cup is a one-make race tournament between racers driving the MR Blitz, built by Mishi Rossini, who is also organising and running the tournament.
Ranks and titles
The statistics taken from the performance of drivers is used to create a rankings table so drivers can see where they stand compared to everyone else. This is accessible at the MyControl Speedway website [1]. These are based on the drivers' fastest lap.
In addition to this, drivers who have joined the MyControl Speedway group earn titles (shown above their avatar's name) based on their fastest lap. The ranks, and required times, are as follows:
Teams
The pit lane has 4 team garages, built because the track management planned for competitive team racing from the conception of the track. This provision allows for teams to be established, not only to compete against one another but also to give teams' car creators to show off their cars and advertise where they sell those cars. Teams must have at least 2 drivers to be eligible for a team garage, as well as a car they have full modifying rights for. Team drivers must also have a track rank of 'semi-pro' or better.
These are the teams currently inhabiting the garages:
RedLine Racing - Founded by Mishi Rossini and Will Szymborska, RedLine Racing was the first team created at MyControl Speedway, following the first official open-formula race at the track in which they occupied the top 2 positions. Will Szymborska subsequently left the team, leaving Mishi Rossini to run it alone.
RedLine has enjoyed huge success at MyControl Speedway. Most of this success has been achieved by Yetrates Bates, who still drives for the team and who was made team co-owner by Mishi Rossini not long after she joined. Kandy Tomorrow was also an important driver for the team, winning their most recent gold trophy in the last open-formula race. Kandy has since left the team, though, to form KC Motorsports, casting doubt over the continuation of RedLine's undefeated streak.
Mishi Rossini has driven for the team, with reasonable success, but currently occupies a team manager role.
Pixel Props - Founded and run by Peldon Cordeaux, Pixel Props have had a long-standing rivalry with RedLine Racing since they started competing. Pixel Props differ from other teams in that they all drive the same car: the 'V8 Roadster' made by Peldon Cordeaux and based on the real life MG MGB
Cordeaux is the main driver of the team as well as their manager. Suzy Cuddihy, who has built a reputation for herself at other Second Life race tracks, also drives for the team. Caine Beresford was the Pixel Props second driver since the team was established, but has recently left to join Kandy Tomorrow in creating KC Motorsports.
KC Motorsports - KC Motorsports is the newest team at MyControl Speedway, recently founded by Kandy Tomorrow and Caine Beresford who left their previous teams to run KCM together. As yet the team has not entered an official race, but both drivers have established themselves and they look likely to achieve considerable success.
Team Ramrod Racing - This is a team that has only recently appeared, after Ramesses III Pharaoh, creator of the popular RamRod F1 cars, hosted a one-make race at the track to promote his new release of a new Formula 1 car made entirely out of sculpted prims. The team is yet to compete, but the switch of their garage from advertising space to team garage indicates that this may happen in the future.
Though these are the current teams occupying the track, there have been other notable teams who have competed in the past but since closed:
Team 777 League Racers - This was a team representing the 777 League Racers track, and was led by Wilton Beaumont, who fought a long rivalry with Yetrates Bates for the lap record at the track, which Bates eventually won. Commitments at the 777 League Racers track meant that Beaumont could no longer race at MyControl Speedway, though, and the team eventually closed.
Team Double Impact - An unusual team in that they raced motorcycles, Double Impact were the first team to challenge RedLine Racing for dominance in open formula races. They came close, but then mysteriously disappeared as the drivers never returned to the track.