Okay, finally got it to go forward by changing my controller settings (thanks for the tip). Turned out that "paddle up" is not "shift up" for the 1600 car. You have to assign "stick up" to the shift up button on your wheel and it will work.
My first impressions are not really too positive. The track surface indeed looks too shiny, so do the tires. Other than that I could get little feel for the car (mind you, I don't use FF, just as in LFS). As many around here I haven't yet figured out a way to enable the hud or the speedo, so there's hardly a way to tell how fast you're going. Other than that there's a little controller lag for the wheel, doesn't make it easier. Shifting doesn't always work and is often delayed by 1-4 seconds. It seems I have to hold down the upshift button on my wheel for it to work properly every time.
Going into a corner too fast and hitting the wall, the suspesion broke and the wheel fell off. I was quite surprised with the suspension damage even though the safety chain on the wheel makes it wobble strangly when the suspension is broken.
Btw., I agree with the comparisons to rFactor. Somehow this feels similar :/