Nice, thank you. I was having the same problem.
You can use the notification screen and the control center before the starting procedure begins. After the 1:30 or the 1:00 signal it throws you out of the race.
Also this is not a bug. If you pull up the control center and slide it back down before the starting procedure begins, you'll notice that your boats stops for the time that you spend in the control center and then fast forwards. Last year, before it threw you out of the race, this could be used to not having to swerve around others for giving them room. You could effectively run through them without getting penalised or losing speed.