I had tried rally tires initially but the AI was always able to catch up and overtake. With stock tires I was able to stay ahead since it allows more power to be added. I passed the lead AI in the quarry and never had to look back.
It’s the same with the AI as far as them hitting debris in races. There’s fewer stone walls though so that part isn’t quite as bad. They seem to have much better offroad grip among all the other complaints people have posted here.
I think blueprinting those buggy and suv limited routes with a different car type counts for the exhibition. I didn’t enjoy buggies in the cross country races.
I enjoyed Fortune Island a lot. There’s some great routes and roads there. Hope you enjoy it.
Edit: I run manual so I did end up downshifting a lot to stay in the engine’s power range. That was part of staying ahead. When the engine bogged a bit I was losing a lot of ground until dropping down a gear or two. I don’t know how this would compare to your race but thought I’d mention it.
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