Ta wapo

It has a really nice car selection, fun tracks, competent AI, and simple progression. Although the way cars are unlocked relies on RNG.
Really wanted to like this but the way cars keep "engine inertia" when releasing the accelerator to turn, making you very easily lose control and spin out unless you're slightly accelerating or pressing the clutch to kill power to the wheels, turned me off from the game.

Great simcade racer that could have had the potential to compete with Gran Turismo if Konami released it before GT4 or on a different platform. Physics are on point, solid vehicle lineup and very stylish music. While it does not have as much content as GT4 and also loses some steam the further you get into the career mode due to how messy or random the progression can be with the calendar and rankings, it is still recommended to give it try if you are a fan of this genre of racing.

It’s brave to go up against an established franchise, but that’s just what Konami tried to do with Enthusia Professional Racing. In many ways it’s a better game than Gran Turismo but that wasn’t enough to take any substantial market share.

https://blog.gingerbeardman.com/2011/02/01/enthusia-pro-racing/

konami literally goated and no one gave a fuck

An also ran in the fight between Gran Turismo and Forza in 2005, but one who matches GT in the style department with a piano black, jazz club aesthetic. A very well curated car list with some cars that are now mainstays making first appearances to racing game vets, a Dance Dance Revolution style mode, and a career mode where credits are going the way of the dodo.

Forza Motorsport 0
They really understood the assignment about making a really fun simcade racing game

unbelievable car list. me and my storia x4 against the world

This was never going to compete with GT (especially coming out after 4) but it's probably the most competent attempt at it on the PS2. i kind of get the idea behind the career progression but it's just lame to play through (especially the car change penalty) and the CPU are so painfully slow. i beat it in like 20 races and those difficulty issues put me off of attempting to unlock everything else after the fact

Los Porsche turbo y los coches de la carrera final del Enthusia Life son el jodido demonio sobre raíles (literalmente)

konami really were top notch of everything back then.
https://youtu.be/LwtK8dUjgSY

Underrated game that definitely beat out GT4 in some important ways (driving physics, challenges, etc), but just didn't have the popularity to get a sequel. All the same, I've heard that Polyphony Digital eventually scooped up some of the people that worked on this.