The hotwheels addon is basically an experiment to see if the skill based progression system a segment of the player base keep asking for could work. Its deliberate that a lot is locked behind a skill gate. A departure from the current Horizon formula to be sure but not any kind of afterthought.
To be frank “highly skilled” isn’t that high a bar to set or aim for. It might be intimidating to a newer player but its pretty much the default setting.
If it helps Hotwheels races can be easily cheesed: off road suspension, crap tires and all the power will let you wall ride to victory with very little effort.
But in the end if its not for you then thats fine, you don’t need to worry about it.