I have a similar problem with the Japanese version of Naruto. When i insert the game in and it is about to start everything getting black and the wiimote does just nothing. Anything i have tried didn't work!
Why Nintendo to do something like that? The Mario Kart sold 300000 discs in Japan and most of Nintendo's money are coming from Wii's sells.
Without a doubt, this is fake!
First of all, a wiikey clone and an original wiikey are the same! So you have to check what is going on with the game. I write my games in TDK discs with imgburn with 4x speed and never had any problem.
Just like some other games of Nintendo Mario Kart Wii is a remake with some updates such as online, better graphics etc. That means one importand thing. If you want to test your driving skills Mario Kart is the worst option.
As far as i know the only way to avoid a red shell (if you don't have...
btw i feel this a good time to remind you guys that sea of thieves was made by rare, who also made DKC1-3 and DK64, alongside banjo kazooie and conker's bad fur day