After a bit more play, the side-by-side driving speed of the lightcycles makes this play completely different then any of the homebrews. I'm guessing what they went for here was to recreate the effect in the movies of the cycles speeding past and then falling behind as they drove next to each other. They way it works is that if a cycle is driving next to anothers wall, it creates a speed boost. So if you're in the lead and aren't actively moving in to block off the opponent they can shoot right past and cut you off. Dangerous indeed.
I do wish there was a quick look for the sides, although I'd imagine that'll be implemented in the full version. The first-person locked view is my favorite, but leaves me unable to see to either side if anyone is closing in, whereas the manual camera is slippery and fairly unwieldy.
