I stopped playing Rivals mode because I see no incentive to do it (other than pure competition ofc). But there is a simple way to motivate players, and one that worked well in FM7: rewards for setting clean lap times in leaderboards.
There could be several thresholds, with varied payouts, e.g. 10k credits for reaching top 50%, 25k for 25%, and 50k for top 10%.
I think even such modest sums could significantly boost players’ interest in Rivals. At least I know I wouldn’t miss any challenge in that mode if I could use it earn some extra cash (especially since the game lacks any more creative ways to get money than simply driving, racing and leveling up) 
Rivals has been the same for too long. I agree that it needs a bigger incentive than just hop in and beat some players. Its a bit incomplete,not fully fledged game-mode. And it can feel more like an optional side thing, rather than something that stands on its own.
I would love to see it expand more. For example we currently have monthly rivals. How about a history page where we fan see how far we’ve reached each month. And say every 3 months, give us an exclusive reward based on how much xp we’ve earned. If a player unlocks the threshold. We can earn xp based on how further we qualify and how much we play. You could attach even ranking to it. It will be like ranked multiplayer but with rivals.
And im saying this because currently we’re doing these seasonal rivals and they’re honestly kind of meaningless. Outside of trying out the car what are they for? You know most of us arent going to get anywhere near top 5 or top 10% anyway…
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And then the leaderboard is gone in 5 days, leaving no trace whatsoever about what we’ve played previously and how far we reached
I agree, Rivals mode feels lackluster in general, it could be improved and expanded in several ways
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