Yeah, this game can be like krack sometimes. lol (not that I would really know). I would just be glad to to clear the novice skill level as this issue is proving it to be very difficult with reduced available points. As far as elite skill level, well I'm not there yet. I must say, in my frustration, I have been neglecting my other PS3 games, so I may not have the patience to try and try again, although I have already tried many times on the same races. I am just surprised we are not seeing more of this. I'm wondering if it's limited to newer PS3s or a certain model? I would think the issue has gotta be software, but then it seems it should have a higher occurrence among players. Maybe WO HD may have a smaller population than some more popular games, so we only see a few instances of this (or maybe people just get pi$$ed and don't try to resolve)??? I was looking forward to racing a buddy online, but he has reconsidered buying it after hearing of my heartache