I don't think it's random, since I can see a pattern. As an example, there was one night where in almost every ocasion I would be always the last Nissan, and Slicecom the 1st Ferrari.
One other pattern is that, when ENERGIYA is racing (GTR, like me), 99% of the races he starts behind me.
I think maybe it has to do with your connection, or the timing of you hitting "X" (Start), don't know ...
A few things worthy of mention. Since the update, I notice many more "strange" things happening in the start of races. Mostly they make me laugh, like once last night when Southslider (I think it was him) came all the way from the back at maybe 300 km/h,
on the grass, completely without control of his car, and passed the entire field (I just imagined what his face would be like at that moment, like "whooooaaaaaaa ....."
).
The strangest thing also happened to me (and this one didn't make me laugh
) and it was beggining the race - with a GTR - at the back of the field, behind maybe 10 Ferraris. It was a nice race, slipstreaming all the way and finishing 5th or 6th (I guess it was 5th, because sausages stopped just before the finish line, don't know why).