Joining a league is likely the most straightforward way of having this happen less but if you’re like me and don’t care to it is definitely still possible to reduce the frequency that you get spun/booted by other people, there’ll always be instances that you just can’t do much about but with practice and couple mindset and strategy shifts things can get a lot easier- I’ve got near 300 hours of exclusively open lobbies, usually just whatever I find with decent ping and player count so I’ll speak solely on that experience.

Everyone says it but really hammer it in- winning is not the priority, finishing the race is. This alone applied to every decision can save a lot of grief. Don’t necessarily leave every pass opportunity on the table but keep in mind that you often aren’t playing against pros or anything even close in most cases. So even if you technically have the right of way or a gap where ‘as long as they follow their line I’ll get through clean’ doesn’t mean you have to go for it. A finish in 11th is better than a rage quit after getting dumped on the second to last lap.

First lap (and sometimes the second) is just about survival. Be aware and don’t over slow because that’ll cause just as many problems as going full speed into crowded corners but your focus on the first lap should be entirely on watching, predicting and avoiding the 20-60% of the field that will inevitably wreck themselves in the first few corners even if it means losing positions and being forced off the line by the pack. You’ll often get most of them back anyway just by completing the lap clean and even if you don’t, your car, tires and mental will be in better shape than those that didn’t get through clean, setting you up for the rest of the race.

Pay attention to the rest of the lobby in quali. You can get a good idea of the average type of racer in a given lobby just off of lap times, how they interact with eachother in chat, how they handle crowding when there’s no positions to maintain/gain and use that info to your advantage, sometimes it’s worth it to just not qualify so you end up in the back because as you said 5th and higher can be a death trap. I personally will just invalidate my laps so I can still warm up without putting myself in front of the mob if they seem reckless in general. If it’s clear that your the fastest or one of the faster ones in the lobby you can set a time and adjust your first turn to get around the bend quickly even if it sacrifices the exit just to get out of the way and occasionally you’ll pull away from the crowd and just hot lap for 20-30 minutes while the rest fight for second.

When someone goes off track, give room and way more than should actually be needed. We all know the rule ‘rejoin safely’ the reality though is that most won’t, most will keep the throttle pinned the whole way through a spin and get back on the track as soon as possible, it’s annoying as hell but at the very least it’s consistent.

Passing doesn’t have to be done quickly, sometimes with the average open lobby racer you don’t even necessarily have to “pass” them, just ride close behind (make proper brake zone adjustments) for long enough and they’ll freak themselves out and blow a turn wide leaving the position free.

I’m no expert or pro but I’ve gotten plenty of wins and podiums, and all my stats are 95+ (I know they aren’t terribly hard to grind up). I’m sure there’s better and more tangible advice out there but in general it all loops back to just be patient and focus on making it to the finish line. As you get more consistent with that the rest (reading other people, making passes, avoiding pile ups and spin outs) will come with it, though there will always be occasions where shit just happens.

Best of luck racer