Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe's Garage
I think I saw a beemer in there drifting right along in a straight line on a wet road. Shows the level of control that can be achieved. Begs the question on what kind of hot lap times "the computer" could get vs. a human in the same car provided the software was dialed in for the track.
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At dinner tonight a friend asked me for advice regarding a project his college students are undertaking. They've been challenged to predict what a Le Mans race car of 2045 will look like. I told him the hard part of answering that question is knowing what the race rules will be then. They've already limited what cars can do automatically in F1 and Le Mans racing so the driver will have some impact of the outcome of the race. In less than 30 years it will be possible to field an unmanned car that can go faster than any human driver provided the rules allow it. So the design of the cars then will depend more on what race organizers want to allow than what technology is available. .... I can also imagine a time when race cars become so safe that there is no appreciable risk to the drivers. My guess is that much of the appeal of racing will diminish when the risk is gone and the rules leave little room for drivers to affect the outcome.