Just had a major scare! Game kept freezing when I changed car (tried 5 times). So decided to take the cover off my ps3 and de-dust inside. When I did, I noticed black burn marks all over my disc drive.... it has been a little reluctant to load the game sometimes.... anyway, took everything out, blew out all the dust, re-assembled and it appears to be working better. Loading times seem dramatically improved aswell. Luckily for me, its my birthday on Thursday and the wife will now be getting me a brand new disc drive.
Panic over, see you later for the race!