I agree, WipEout isn't Mario Kart.
And an other & recent exemple, Gran Turismo 5. The skills are more important in GT5 than in WipEout where weapons can palliate level's difference. In GT5 if you are just 1 second less fast than your opponent, you'll never catch him unless an accident. So imagine if your opponent is an hardcore player !
But GT5 is very famous and lot of players, good or not, have bought it & play it.
All games can be fun when you play it with opponents who have a near level than you, you don't need to have WR for that.