Even though you say cant get online often, you obviously have access to it. I assume you are fighting others for a single wired connection or something like that.
Anyway, I strongly reccommend getting your hands on the interweb cable for an hour or so and doing the other 4 events. That will give you a truckload of EXP. Just start at the 4th one and work backwards if time on the net is an issue.
I also worked out that once the race has started, you dont need to be connected to the net. I plugged back in to finish the race though, so not sure if you need to be connected at the end.[/QUOTE]
No you don't need to be connected at the end of the race, you just can't do any more of them if you are not.