Ok, I've also analysed one race I selected at random from the lot. It was the Dream Car Championship Race 1, at Motegi. The lead car was in a Jaguar XJR-9 Race Car, @
Tenacious D was in a Lamborghini Diablo GT-1. So first of all let's look at the stats, the facts on those cars.
Jaguar XJR-9 - 749BHP, 894KG, 680PP
Diablo GT1 - 591BHP, 1200KG, 593PP
So right away we can see there is a huge performance gulf. TenD is giving away over 150bhp in power and is much heavier. So I look at the replay. First of all one further fact, looking at the data at the first checkpoint TenD is 14.5 seconds behind the Jaguar.
- So lap one and the main thing I notice is how cautiously TenD is driving, he's very smooth and not aggressive in his driving style. Little oversteer etc. Despite this he blows by the first AI cars, flying around the outside of many with ease and ends lap 1 from 14th to 8th, a 1.53.8.
- Lap two is more of the same, easy passes with no effort despite fairly cautious driving. 1.51, he's up to 5th.
- By the end of lap three he's made two more fairly simple passes and ends it in 3rd, a 1.53.7.
- On lap four he's again, very cautious with the throttle. As he was going around the outside of a Nissan I believe he backed off and hit the brakes when putting his foot down would have got him past sooner. Despite this he ends the lap in 2nd on a 1.52.9.
- Final lap is spent attacking the lead Jaguar, he loses distance on the straight but is able to easily outbrake into the corners to make a pass into the lead, at turn 11, the 90 degree right hander. He takes the last few corners in a normal manner but doesn't really defend and coming out of the last corner pretty slowly. The Jaguar uses it's superior power to pip him on the line by a tenth or so, a final lap time of 1.51.1.
Race Summary
TenD finished second because of two main reasons, his somewhat timid, cautious driving style and the fact the AI was significantly faster on the straights, because of the higher power.
My attempt
- Out of curiosity following this I decided to try the race myself. I hadn't played the game at all for weeks and I didn't own the Lambo, so I went and bought it. Did nothing to it, went in stock and blind. I drove with a DS3, all aids off except ABS1. I don't know how you drove. I made sure the Jag was in first but obviously the entire field wasn't identical. First lap was a struggle getting used to the car and track, ended with a 1.55.1 in 9th, so a little behind TenD at this point.
- Second lap got better into the flow, a 1.50.9 and I'm in 5th, same as TenD (but faster lap) and same experience, flying past the AI with no trouble, usually around the outside.
- Third lap is a 1.51.9 and I'm up to third, again matching TenD in position but faster lap.
- Fourth lap is a 1.51.5 and I'm 1st on the home straight but passed by the Mercedes (Which passes the Jaguar) in a very similar manner to TenD, outpowered, and just end the lap in 2nd.
- I very easily pass the Merc in turn 1 to take the lead and spend the rest of the lap defending fairly (IMO). I take a defensive line on the straight where he catches up but fly away in the corners. I end the final lap with a 1.50.1 and finish 1st, a few tenths ahead of the Merc. Final race time 9.19.
Of course it would only be fair to share my replay file, so here you go -
https://mega.co.nz/#!hUEyFbYY!SlK9YY5qBAxadwQWZh9859kNqyoBveI1-5HNpRrh8xI
I personally believe I drove fairly, there were a couple of bumps but nothing over the line IMO. If you have different thoughts on my race I'd be happy to hear them.
Final thoughts
So yes, I agree with you on one aspect TenD, the AI do not always let you win. Absolutely they wanted to win those races.
However I personally would not call that real racing and I do not find it fun. The only reason it was remotely close is because of the power advantage the AI had over us. They were painfully slow in the corners making any overtaking simple, with no challenge. I had to defend slightly on the final lap but the AI braked so early and were so slow in the corners it was no real challenge to keep the win, and I didn't find the experience particularly fun. I blasted past the AI with relative ease driving a new car for the first time in months and so did you. As I say you only lost because the Jaguar had so much more power and outdid you on the final straight, plus I personally thought your driving was a little timid. That isn't a slight on you before you think it is, I accept we're all at a different skill level and all drive differently. I'm certainly nowhere near the best drivers, and you're not awfully slow.
I did actually find that analysis and comparison very interesting though, truly, it does show how different people play the game and how their skill greatly affects the outcome when there is no difficulty settings in game. I may look at some others later.
EDIT: I realise I forgot to note the AI laptimes on my analysis. I will do that now and add it later. 
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