How do I get good?

[Zakyr]

Every time I play, I feel like I'm not going fast enough compared to others. Other times, I can't drift without bumping into walls or falling off, especially when a lot of turns are so strict that they punish you if you're not perfect. Even if I brake, I hurt my chances by not going fast enough. And using speed items is a massive gamble with all this in mind, it's too fast-paced.

How are people so good at this obnoxiously difficult game? Is there some trick I'm missing, but I don't see it when I practice. I feel like everything needed to get good is high level at minimum.

 

[c4rb0n0x]

It just takes a lot of practice, if you are having fun the skills will come naturally as you play. If you are talking about Gear 3, the description even says it's not as tightly balanced and I'm pretty sure the CPU cheats since I've seen it making insane 90 degree turns at 500% speed without even braking.
You should probably take the time to learn the tracks at lower gears or maybe try time attack, even if they are forced Gear 3 you can still focus on the track more since there is no CPU to bother you and it's less chaotic.
I've played quite a lot of racing games and I can tell you this one ranks near the top when it comes to difficulty, especially if you play on gear 3-4, and even more especially if you try to get the platinum medals.