I am not familiar with festivas but a racing motor sounds like it just injesting too much air. Inspect the throttle body linkage, throttle plate sticking, throttle stop screw set incorrectly, or intake air control valve (if it has one) not functioning properly. The brakes are usually helped by the brake booster which uses vacuum assist. If the motor is racing, there is low vacuum which means the brakes don't work well.
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