Wipeout Pulse for psp- WHY CAN'T I DO ANY BETTER THEN LAST PLACE!!!?

Other then sucking at it. I normally have no problem placing first in every racing game i ever play but i can't even catch up to anyone in that damn game! They p me twice. I tried turning off the weapons because there a little distracting. That didn't work. I tried using the acceleration pads to help me catch up. That landed me on the walls dragging at the pace of a friggin snail. I started doing good in one game and i got completely bombarded with missiles, bombs, and mines. Then i got a shockwave right up my *** and got last place again! I watched videos on youtube of people that got 1st place to see if i could learn something from them and i didn't. They were driving the same way and blowing by everyone! Is my psp possessed. What did i do to the psp. Rofl! Anyone else have this problem. I've been at this for a week and my best place was 7th! That's 1 before last! I even went as far as changing the soundtrack to one that i like to get me more into it. One time i was getting close to 2nd place and my craft exploded. Lol.