Car damage gets worse between stages

Product: EA SPORTS™ WRC
Platform:PlayStation 5
Summarize your bug Engine and other car damage as well as tire wear get significantly worse between stages. You can finish a stage with a well running car, but at the beginning of the next stage the car barely runs at all, and the engine stutters badly.
How often does the bug occur? Every time (100%)
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? Finish a stage with minor damage to the engine (or other car parts). Or with moderately worn tires.
What happens when the bug occurs? At the next stage the car damage has gotten significantly worse. In case of a mild engine damage, the car now barely runs. Tire grip has also gotten significantly worse all of a sudden.
What do you expect to see? For the car to be in the same condition I finished the previous stage in.

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This issue makes it impossible to make good repair decisions or tire strategies, since you have no idea what condition your car and tires will be in on the next stage. Minor engine damage can suddenly turn critical etc.

 I’m not sure if it’s exactly the same between stages with and without a service break, but both do exhibit the issue in some severity. If you don’t have time to repair a minor engine damage, the car might barely run at all.

 This makes online championships unfair since the participants can’t make proper repair decisions and tire tactics. (Excluding the magical car repairs by quitting to the main menu, of course, but I expect that bug to be fixed in the Dec 14 patch.)