TrackMania steering issue

[paradigm]

Seems my computer has developed a hatred towards TrackMania. I fired up TrackMania Nations this morning, had a quick blast on an online server, and then messed up so hit "reset", back to the start I go; 3... 2... 1... GO!

Go indeed, except now my car automatically shoves on full right steering lock. I can stop this by tapping either left or right as soon as it starts to turn on its own, but it is becoming an annoying flaw (also means that I cannot set off perfectly straight, which is a requirement for some courses).

So I do what any sane person would try with a USB keyboard; remove it, and plug it back in. This resulted in the same issue. OK, i'll try using a different USB port; same again!

So I uninstall the game, and reinstall it. Gah the problem is STILL HERE! Rather phased by this, I assume my keyboard has issues, so go back to my (100% working tested ok) logitech PS/2 keyboard, reboot, and the problem remains!

Out of interest, I fire up TMSunrise Extreme! Its now happening in TMSunrise too.

As a last resort, I have done a system restore to a known working point, and the problem still remains.

Help! Any suggestions?

EDIT: Not doing anything similar in Quake4, CoD2, NFS:Carbon etc etc

 

[paradigm]

Happened to me on Trackmania Sunrise - if you tap left or right before the green light, it'll start in a straight line - a fault easily rectified.

Except you have to do that EXACTLY on the "go" sound, otherwise you dont head off straight. This then translates to you a) not setting off as fast as you could, and b) you not always setting off dead straight.

Both of which are very annoying, especially when your online on nations and trying your damndest to beat someone with a lower rank than yourself (and there aren't many of those people left now!).

I have both a gamepad and a wheel, but neither are plugged in