Yeah my connection isn't all that stable to I don't do a lot of online stuff, but have seen enough dumb kids ruin the race for everyone.
I don't have a problem with people accidentally tapping into the back of someone else's car... that can easily happen when you just miss your braking points. My problem is with those who are, say, on the inside of the turn and with you on the outside, they deliberately go wide and shove you off the track and onto the grass. That's just dirty. And of course, there's also those who just blatantly ram you off the track.
The practice drive, indeed, is a cool feature. Kinda like a track-day I suppose.
I dunno if this can be done, but I hope the host can set rules, like no Skid-recovery or active steering. The advantage with and without skid-recovery is just too big and unfair.