Great to read an almost entirely positive and occasionally funny thread for once!
I'm lucky to race with a group of evenly skilled friends so for me these great moments happen all the time. We can trust each other and run close enough together that almost all the races are competitive and thrilling. We also find we can do this in almost any of the recent/current racing games, certain car and track combinations are best in each but they all provide a great experience plus changing games give others who prefer that game more of a chance to show their skills. For me, there is no more 'difference' between the driving experience in the latest sims than there is between changing between real cars on road and track and having to adapt to how they drive. As we've known each other for years no one gets upset by the occasional mistake and accident. The banter and the often crazy moments mean we often laugh so hard which makes it all the more fun. It's fun to win but even more fun just to take part.
In my view, sim racing, especially in VR, is now as thrilling as the real track time. No, ultimately it can't fully replace real experience but it's close enough and costs a fraction of the time and money. Use a track car often enough and you soon spend either a lot of time repairing and replacing parts or paying someone to do that, personally I prefer driving to making repairs. What sim racing offers over the real track is the endless opportunities right now to 'drive' and race cars that would be as good as impossible otherwise.