Wait hold the bus... did I miss something. Nitrous, jumps, time bonus, has GT become the Arcade Driving Simulator? 
I'd say it more like this. They took a good idea from more arcade-style games, and made it more sim-like. They used it for a specific instructional purpose rather than the main focus of the game, so that's not very arcadey either IMO.
This rally event just reinforces my belief that "chase the rabbit", leaving you out of Online until you pass one of the licenses, and making you start at the back of races, is all part of a planned strategy for instructing the player as they think thye are merely "playing".
