yea, PD nerfed the AI's ballziness when your car is near partially in response to complaints that they would turn into you... that was their fix. DOH!
I'm not sure if I like it better this way or not.
but, I'm sure they are a bit wiser about such things since the last release and hearing lots of criticism about the AI.
that is to say, there is going to be SOMETHING better about it, but what that is, and how much better, is anyone's guess.
We won't see much of a hint in the GT Academy demo either, because those challenges will be of the "Chase the rabbit" variety (phrase coined by Feldynn) where you start out last and have to pass all cars by the end. The cars will likely react very little as you pass them, but they probably won't give as much ground as the typical GT5 race because I recall the 2012 Academy demo being okay in that area... they'd probaly keep it similar.