Ju5tin wrote: it really just has to do with how much you're willing to thrash your car
I think needs a tad bit of clarification.
Thrashing our car - in a serious race naturally you'd rev it to the point where you get the most power, then change gears. "Thrashing" it beyond that is just pointless.
And naturally your opponent will do the same, so it doesn't matter how bad you thrash it.
What does make a considerable difference though is your driving style, I agree with you there, HOWEVER this isn't sufficient enough to beat a Type R.
If you were talking about two cars which are very closely matched, but one has a better driver than the other then yes, it would make a big difference.
I love my FTO, and there's nothing wrong with admitting when another car is faster than mine.