This might be my first serious post about GT, and one major aspect of it that divides the community evenly down the split.  Love them or hate them, License Exams are confirmed for GT5 and now they contain NASCAR, Rally, C, B, A, and S...and then the new F1 License with Vettel at the helm teaching you the basics of F1.   
 
I have a confession, I never finished S-License in any GT game.  If I got lucky, I could brush off the first two tests but fail every other.  The insanity of turns, and acute detail makes it damn impossible with a d-pad, and requires solid foundations of driving while having the reflexes of a cat.  
 
The highest I've gotten was A, and that was the minimum for Endurance Races.  I never got the chance to properly drive super cars, so I always missed out on the entire end game of every GT game.   
 
I was lucky.  I could pass A License.  I know the majority of gamers would be having difficulties with B License and would never see more than half the game.   
 
The problem people raise about them is that the game is locked out unless you can pass them.  It's a fair problem, and people have all the right in the world to bitch.  They buy the game and realize the majority of cars and races are locked out unless they can drive properly. 
 
I feel that Licenses, more than ever now, are needed.  GT5 is the first GT game to have this amazing online mode that is doing things most racing games have never tried (web browser mode, full 24 hour endurance with teams, unscripted Rally Races, fully featured F1 and NASCAR races, etc).   
 
C License should be a given to even get online.  It teaches proper breaking, turning, and doesn't dive into apex cornering or some of the more advance tactics.   I know some users might bitch, but GT isn't Burnout, you can't just pick it up and drive like you would in a video game.  Cars have limits, and it's good that people understand that now than later (and quit playing GT because the cars don't handle like a video game).  
 
B License should be the gateway for the beginners to get into NASCAR and Rally.  B should start to teach the driver the basics of Apex and drifting.  I also feel all of these should force a manual transmission.  Let's be honest, if you're serious about racing...you need to learn proper manual shifting.  So you can pass the B License, and then need to take the Rally and/or NASCAR.  That opens up half the game right there.   
 
A License should focus on apex cornering, and flawless drifting while staying under control.  This should be the glass ceiling for GT drivers.  If you're serious about driving, and serious about learning...should you pass this, you are given the Endurance Races as an unlock and the mid-top tier cars.  In older GT games you were also given F1 cars for passing A, but I feel that should be pushed back to the S License.   
 
Speaking of S License, so you passed C, B, Rally, NASCAR, and A.  Congrats.  You now use all your acquired skills and do it all over again with cars that have over 1000hp.  Think you mastered proper cornering...guess what, do it again in the F1 that Vettel uses and see what you're made of.  You're turning at near 200mph, and seeing the force that can be pressed down.  You'd understand the top of racing AND driving.  Your reward is the ability to drive the fastest cars in the world.   You earned it.
 
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Hard to believe, but if you own a steering wheel, I'm almost confident that the License Exams would better one as a driver.  Even if you play on a D-Pad, it helps better understand the racing community as a whole and adds more respect to people who do it for a living.  I know the game is locked out unless you do it, I know it's hard as hell for some people...and I know this is one of the biggest complaints of GT.  Kazu added them for a reason, and deep down I think he wants all of us to be better drivers.   
 
So love 'em or hate 'em, I think they help in the long run.  It's a shame the game's locked out, but would it really be good if you lost control every race and just quit because you couldn't complete a lap?   

For online mode, yes. But for offline mode, I really hope there are some races that doesn't require yuo to have a supercar license and you can still drive them in single olayer just so people can get the sensation and of the F1 car, and hell make that like a sunday cup race for 200 bucks prize money so even if one was never skilled enough to actually use them properly, we still can, since this is a game afterall.