Knuckles/Sonic/8: items can be anything from mildly irritating to doomsday style. Most are either avoidable or easy to deal with. Though there's the occasional unavoidable item like a blue shell on a narrow straightaway or a red shell on a straightaway where you have no items. But eh, skill tends to help there.
And no, RPG, you're not out of it yet. Observe the woders of...the score!
THE SCORE (Version 2, Not Beta I promise)
Genus:27 (12 courses left, max score 63)
Psy:15 (16 courses left, max score 63)
RPG:12 (8 courses left, max score 36)
Groudon:3 (20 courses left, max score 63)
Mike:3 (20 courses left, max score 63)
Turbos:0 (24 courses left, max score 72)
Thorn:0 (24 courses left, max score 72)
If I were you, I'd root against Mike. Seriously.
Oh and just because you're out, doesn't mean your out~