This game got panned on release back in the day for being mindless, but I have to say thats exactly why I like it. Its nice to just zone out and work on memorizing the turns. It handles well, and isnt too unfair, allows you to focus on improvement. And by and large I really enjoy top-down racing games. Also interestingly only the Japanese version of the game seems to have the World Series and Paris-Dakar game options, the Export release forces you to get a first place in each World Series race to unlock the Paris-Dakar game mode. And to play the Japanese version of the game you just need to load it with a Japanese bios selected in MAME.
Part of the Gotta Run Em All Arcade series - Game #615
Start World Rally (Car Selected) - 00:22
End World Rally (Time Stops) - 09:56
Total World Rally - 9:34