Indeed, in that case "rubberbanding" doesn't quite describe it as it involves giving a boost to the laggards (e.g IIRC in Sega Rally 1v1 second-ranked car max speed would get a very obvious +20kph plus a slight boost to grip).
Instead it might be the most egregious case of quantum tunnel rubberbanding: you could cut a ton of corners and they would still be right behind you, I presume the opponents don't run the course at uncapped speeds but are instead hard-warped right behind you every so often, with the illusion preserved as you can't look back when you move forward (although there's a map but it's mostly a progress bar and most of - all? - the time it shows only you).
Would be interesting to rev-eng the code implementing it or even have some PoV hack to witness it first hand.
You can outrun them on GBA though, the opponent is visible on the map:
Instead it might be the most egregious case of quantum tunnel rubberbanding: you could cut a ton of corners and they would still be right behind you, I presume the opponents don't run the course at uncapped speeds but are instead hard-warped right behind you every so often, with the illusion preserved as you can't look back when you move forward (although there's a map but it's mostly a progress bar and most of - all? - the time it shows only you).
Would be interesting to rev-eng the code implementing it or even have some PoV hack to witness it first hand.
You can outrun them on GBA though, the opponent is visible on the map:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltO5KjWsFd4
EDIT: looks like I'm wrong, crazy custom tracks have the opponent still run the course, e.g:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toumKYIqnss
... or maybe not entirely wrong!:
- this shows buggy warping https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR7hIo-s-KA
- there's just no way the IA can navigate this track, yet at ~2:38 suddenly the opponent is right behind! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-ba7wrrxFk