"Tiny F1" Online: The Web's Best Testing Ground For The Electric Karting Track

My physical condition is not going to allow me to participate in motorsports, or at least not in the conventional sense. But it's not good to use the word, "impossible." Goals are difficult to achieve; not impossible. When you have a condition like arthrogryposis, the language is not, "You can't do this/that," but more like, "Yes, this can be done, but it must be done with the right equipment."

It seems like we can pretty much agree, at this point, that hardware/software integration is not only here; it's our inevitable future. Under the umbrella of arthrogryposis, this is how I've been able to successfully develop my own race simulator, and really I'm not creating anything new, but using someone else's platform, and wrapping it around my own condition.

So if you are physically-challenged, like myself, then I do recommend visiting MB2 Raceway in Sylmar, California. They are not a disabled-exclusive venue, but they are very friendly toward our community. Even if you can't physically get into a car, being on the kart track is an experience. All-in-all, MB2's facility is a progressive, go-karting event, and disabled or not, I endorse their business. I also strongly recommend visiting them, when you are ready to try a hand at karting, and with or without a disability, Gary and crew will set you up with everything that you need to get racing.

In the meantime, Silvergames.com presents an online racing game, and of all the little "slot car" looking things that you can play online, Silvergames' Tiny F1 feels the most realistic.

You can use your computer's keyboard to drive the F1 car, either in race or practice mode. The on-screen console features a gauge panel, along with a small track overview, track time and other performance stats.

Really, it's just not the same as hitting the track at MB2. But for myself, I never raced go-karts until this year, and from the spring of 2013 till this year, Tiny F1 was my testing vehicle. That's because I've never raced cart professionally, and so the concept of track time was one that I desperately needed to learn.

This was true at MB2 Raceway, and though not a real, F1 car, Silvergames.com's Tiny F1, especially when linked via Bluetooth, feels like a lot of the faster slots of the '90s did: fast-and-nimble, yet very easy to crash! The last time I ever raced at MB2's, my 3-year-old nephew was watching, and I ate it on a side barrier. It was embarrassing, but in the future, it's good to know that I'll be able to train on Tiny F1.

Be sure to check it out on the website, and I recommend running the car in "practice" mode first, just because it makes it easy to record track times, along with other vital statistics that you may wish to record. From there, you can race against other F1s, or my preference: run the car on "practice," earn credit toward performance upgrades, then keep repeating that motion, until the F1 is dialed-in at about a 4:2, motor-to-grip ratio.

With that particular setup, I was able to run a track time of 2:25:13. That practice run was just this morning, and it was a dramatic increase over my previous track time of 2:25:28, recorded on October 25th of this year.

Because your smart device or keyboard links itself, electronically to the tiny F1 car, it makes your device part of the car itself. It has the reflexes of a traditional slot car, but without the motor heat. Also, you'll never have to worry about cars jumping off of their tracks, because with the Tiny F1 application, it's all-virtual!

Check out Tiny F1 when you can, from Silvergames.com, and if you did grow-up in the time of large-scale slots, then as soon as you drive Tiny F1, you'll know what "reflex" I am speaking of! Needless to say, it's a beautiful thing!