When you are starting out you should absolutely be focused on increasing your SR (sportsmanship rating) first. Staying away from trouble, prioritising staying on the circuit will inevitably see you gain in both SR, and DR as a direct consequence. You will be gaining positions like crazy early on.
Do everyone else a favour and make sure you get enough practice yourself before you hit the racetrack.
This is true at all levels. Because your rating doesn't go down by not playing, there are drivers out there who only get on at weekends etc (much like IRL). They will be the most desperate and you have to learn to watch out for them as best you can. Certain people will try and overtake at every corner and usually it's best to let them, especially early on in a race. Learning to anticipate behavior is key, but that will only come with practice.
Ghosting will happen more liberally at lower DRs. It's best to try and ignore it for the most part and genuinely race. The ghosting system will prevent a lot of accidental contact, until you start progressing. Once you get to DR B, for example, you'll mostly only see it after an incident, and you need to be especially wary of cars "becoming solid" at any time. Steer well clear of ghosts (much like IRL).
