I'm actually pretty disappointed at how this game unveils. I though the entire concept of a cross country race would be some cinematic action and some strategy influencing the races. But so far I could not read anything about that. The only things I've seen were classic races and qte...
Cross country races mean taking decisions. I can understand how hard And frustrating for both player and dev to figure out: loosing too much time and you don't win the race. But beginners and bad players will wine while pro will think it's to easy to win within a certain given time. I'm not asking for a persistent like race through the entire game.
But some decision making giving perks, limitations... For exeme, take route A or B ? A is more tricky ( mountains) but B is more straight forward, faster but as cops patrolling.
If you win A, you can obtain better handling skill, while if you win B, you win random evade item or nitro boost.
You could build a character profile and every Run would end differently depending on players style and skill.