There should be public race lobbies like the FM7 hoppers where the players go straight to racing, and do not have to practice and qualify.
Most of the time I want to get a quick race in before going to do something else, and because of the practice sessions, I do not have the time to race. Having lobbies that go straight to racing would be helpful with those of us who want a quick “get in & get out” racing session.
This is what the open class racing should be in my opinion (with rolling starts enabled too). Leave the full race weekend experience to the spec/featured series.
Voted. 
With all the practice/qualifying time, intermission time, loading screen time, and post-race wrap-up time added to every race, featured multiplayer sessions feel as painfully stretched-out as recipes on websites.
I’d prefer it if pub hoppers only took up racing time, with practice & qualifying done solo & separately (the way Gran Turismo Sport did it).
In general, this game just really draaaaags everything out. It feels like trying to help grandma get her dot-matrix printer working on her dusty old Gateway computer that’s still running Windows 3.1 on dial-up internet.
I totally agree. Having public race lobbies similar to the FM7 hoppers, where players can jump straight into the action without practice and qualifying, would be a great addition. For those of us who just want a quick race before moving on to other things, skipping the extra sessions would save time and make it much easier to enjoy a “get in & get out” racing experience.
There should be two separate matchmaking queues: one for quick, casual races and another for competitive racing with practice and mandatory qualifying.
For the casual queue, adding a track voting system with three options after each race would be a great feature. The race length should be short, around 10 minutes, with timed races requiring players to finish their current lap or adding a “+1 lap” rule once the timer expires. Rolling starts would also ensure smoother race beginnings and align with the casual, quick-race vibe.
I, and my friends, still play 7 because of this. I can’t understand why they insist on trying to force more casual gamers to practice and qualify. Introduce open hoppers (or at least B, A, S class) where you go straight into the race with grid position decided by lap time at previous race and get rid of penalties - just ghost a car if there’s going to be a massive collision. I’d be willing to bet if they would hurry the fuff up and introduce that sort of mp mode it would be the most popular in no time, I mean let’s face it, on 7 not one person bothers with the race reg hopper, almost everyone is in A class.
Currently I feel like fm8 was a complete waste of money, which is a shame cos I love the handling ‘feel’ of 8… Swallow your pride t10 and give us what we want.