There are three difficulty levels including rookie, pro and elite with each step up in difficulty level resulting in a faster race pace from fast for rookie to faster for pro and even fastest for elite which applies to the quick race and local multiplayer game
modes, although the career
mode definitely has a noticeable difficulty curve that gradually incrementally increases after every few events which is balanced by upgrades made to the hydro jet and
learning new skills to improve
maximum potential of your own race pace.