In Project Gotham Racing 4, there was the Kudos system (which works similar to skill chains in Horizon) - but if you earned enough Kudos, it would bump you up in the standing for your current tournament.
For example: Coming in 1st would give you 2000 Kudos, 2nd 1600, 3rd, 1400, and so on. But earning Kudos during races would then be tallied on top of that. So if you earned more than 200 kudos than your opponent while racing, you would be placed above them in the standing for the tournament. The fun of this is that it challenges the racer to engage in ‘risk v reward’ racing. Do you aim to drive as efficiently as possible and win the traditional way? Or rely on drifts, close overtakes, and other stylish moves to get ahead (points-wise), but risk being overtaken while doing such stunts.
I believe this is a mode that can be adopted by Horizon using its Skill Chain system. It can theoretically be used in any race event. Potentially giving each event two ‘lives’ (traditional and skill-chain versions) before it is totally completed, adding extra replay value. This could also be applied as a multiplayer mode too.