It is not supposed to be easy, it is supposed to be a driving simulator.
All be it a glorified arcade style sim.
I have been popping on the overhead view, getting a feel for how the car handles and then going into first person and hammering the same tracks.
I soon started to get the feel for how the backend is acting.
Some of the cars are no good for drifting anyway.
Just enjoy the game, see it as a challenge, don't let it beat you. It is a tough little nut to crack. The ne-on-one races are really frustrating. 1 error and your out of there. 'Pause - RESTART' is your friend...
Save you crucial c'mon, I wanna race again time...
Good game, better than the others in the series, way better.
Still, if you want a driving sim get 'DRIVEN'. This 'SHIFT' is about as realistic as mario world really.