Is there some kind of universal script that riceboys read from when they lose?

Standard excuse one: "I spun my tires".

Standard excuse two: "My car is not running right".

And no doubt, had you raced and beat him a third time, standard excuse three would have been offered: "I missed a shift". Did he have an automatic? Well, it doesn't matter if he did, he still would have missed a shift.

If you see him again you should tell him that he is lucky that you had removed your VTEC else you would have really wasted him.