Our first race was 2 weeks ago, and although I did not enter, I went to the field to watch. I left with the impression that the secret to success was in making tight corners, and flying a smooth and level pattern.
Those two sentences alone may show you the difference. There's a fine line between being tight and too tight. If you're pulling too hard and turning too tight, you'll slow down too much. Most new racers use way more control than they need. Any excess deflection will slow you down.
I'd be willing to bet that the top racers aren't cheating. Usually it's the guys just behind them, that don't want to believe that they're flying's not up to the task, that would start to cheat if they felt they could get away with it.