i managed to do the focus st event without using skid recovery, but it took me 40 attempts.
at first i was just litterally flying into the corners, not concentrating on my speeds, my lines, my brakes..
after a couple of attempts i started consiously learning the track and watching for braking points and the times started to drop.
i did mine by hitting the RS on that last chicane and sent him crashing into a wall, so i stole 1st place and won by about 3 seconds.