More suggestions

Lots of turns on some tracks, making it about piloting skill. Hitting walls should slow you down

Put up and down bumps/small hills on the tracks to manage flight control. Have the ship come off the track when going off bumps, then pitch control to determine where you land

I also dislike the overuse of blur. The older games didn't need it, and you could tell you were going much faster when using turbo without it.