Well, I've made it up to this point, going through all the license tests through Inter-A.
For now, I'm finished with the tests. I'll do the super licenses later.
So. I didn't really have trouble with much on these tests. I only went for silver through the tests, but there was still consistent difficulty for me. On Inter-A, oddly enough, the most trouble I had was... On the coffee break. I spent about half an hour on that, trying to get past all of those damn cones. Finally got a silver on it. Anyway.
IA-15. This was what I was really worried about. I've never made it around the Nurburgring without going off, so I seriously had doubts as to my ability of getting a silver this time. After about another half hour of whizzing around this track (I actually really like the 190E, I'm saving up to buy one) sliding off onto the grass on some tries, crashing into the pace car on others, when I finally completed the lap, I got a comfortable time of about 9:09. I know I can cut out a lot of time and get a gold, but I know that this test is a time sink, so I'll leave that for another day.
IA:16. Not much trouble here. Since I was still only going for a silver, the only thing I had to really work on was throttle control. That car has so much power, those last few corners are a pain. I had to switch to the right analog stick to get the amount of throttle control I needed, even though I'm pretty good with the button. This is another thing I'll wait on to gold for now.
But at this point, I'd like to talk a little about all the license tests. I have a simple thing to say: They did what they were meant to do. It was slow progress, but I've become a better driver after getting all my licenses. I was never going to force myself to a gold, but I also would never just settle for a bronze. This little bit of challenge was what I needed, I tightened up my line, became smoother, and progressed leaps and bounds in car control; I'm no longer completely murdered by GT4's snap-back. Around Tsukuba, I've taken three or four cars around that I've lapped before, and I cut around one or two seconds on each one. I hated most of those tests, (mainly due to aids) but I will be the first to admit that they did their job admirably.
Soon, I will see if my new-found abilities will show themselves in other games.