I assume you're talking about the ones that were set up at the Long Beach Grand Prix.
I disagree with your overall conclusion. I'll probably end up loving it for its sheer number of cars, but it was a very frustrating driving experience. To sum it up, I couldn't get a feel for grip at all. The tire squeeling came in two levels: horrible and even worse. I understand that tires do squeel in reality, but it still seemed overdone. I just drove cautiously and never second guessed the dummy line (they copied Forza and had the super-imposed racing and braking line) and won with more than a 15 second margin over the second place finisher. Traction control was on that time, so easing on and off the throttle didn't seem to be very rewarding. Also, being forced to drive in manual mode (not GT5's fault of course) one a Virtua GT machine was sooo frustrating.
Nevertheless, I wanted to go back again (partially to to win a second F hat . . . they gave hats to the winner of each round.) This time, my competitors did not all overrun the first corner and were actually competitive. I drove with caution and was passed for being too careful. I got frustrated and began to be harsh with accellerator and steering inputs. There was just no "feel." Maybe it would have felt better with a PS3 controller, a less annoying car, and a "manual" transmission.
Anyway, I paid for my less precise technique and overran a corner where I then received a 4 second shortcut penalty. I ended up losing and finishing second about 7 seconds behind the winner.
About the "manual" transmission mode . . . why does GT5 (and Forza 2 for that matter) not have any sort of actual clutch system? Instead, it's all push button. That makes sense for a game controller, but not for any sort of simulator set up like a Virtua GT machine. If either Forza of GT wants to sell themselves as a simulator, they should atleast be made compatible for more elaborate setups. I was thinking this while watching them set up the Lexus GT5 display and then realized the Virtua GT machines don't have a clutch pedal anyway. Double dissappointment.
To make a long story short, Forza 2 seems to have a much better "feel," not to mention that oversteer exists in Forza. After playing the GT4HD demo, I thought the GT series was getting that sorted out, but oh well.
Conclusion: GTR, GTL, and GTR2 > GT5
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