What’s next for motorsport in the era of autonomous cars?

Autonomous cars are coming, and they are safer and more fun, especially if you believe Elon Musk, a tech mogul and the richest man in the world. However, there are other considerations – if autonomous cars are fun, will autonomous car racing be as fun as F1 and NASCAR?

After all, the last two test human ability and determination whereas autonomous driving – well, that also tests human ingenuity, of course, but fans do not quite relate to algorithms bearing down the raceway in the same way they vie and back professional drivers.

So, while innovation is undeniably a driving force, the question remains: how much of it can truly be transformed into entertainment? As Roulette 77 UK highlights, automated roulette games offer numerous advantages, such as convenience and accessibility, which were readily accepted in the roulette world without much objection. However, taking automation to a much higher level, the case of self-driving cars racing in NASCAR or F1 might be a bit different.

1. Will the Machines Take Over?

Let’s get several facts cleared first before we dive in. First of all, self-driving cars racing is a thing – or at least it’s in the works by gear heads who want to push the limits of what is known and possible.

Self-driving car racing though need not be an antipode to traditional car racing at all! In fact, it’s emerging as a vertical of its own and people are exploring and interested in seeing how machines can fare against one another.

After all, machines have the exact technological specifications which will make any race they embark on quite fun and entertaining to watch – there will be no statistical edge, nothing that would suggest that one self-driving car is better than the rest.

However, the important thing to take away from here is that self-driving cars will not be coming for your jobs any time soon if you are a professional race driver! For starters, fans will not really cozy up to the idea of watching automated races (although they do tune in as a sort of guilty pleasure).

But condoning this over traditional races – well, that’s blasphemy right there, and you cannot expect it to be made available at large any time soon at all! In other words, there are cultural and ethical reasons for why fans will not accept self-driving cars into formats such as NASCAR or the Formula 1.

Of course, there are money considerations that play a role. After all, no league would want to lose money by alienating fans. However, there is a “but.”

2. Autonomous Vehicles Will Play a Role After All

A lot has changed in the world of AI and autonomous driving, and there are many car makers that are worth mentioning today that specialize solely on developing self-driving cars and technology. Here is a quick table.

All of these manufacturers are actually very serious about developing self-driving cars – much like Tesla is, of course, and what this means is that they have been pushing the envelope of what is possible in terms of technological feats.

Self-driving cars may also replace human drivers when it comes to racing, but the truth is that the technology that is being developed right of this moment is more intended for the commercial mass market. However, races can really prove a good testing ground for cars that drive on their own and that are blamed for otherwise avoidable car accidents (which have a fatal outcome).

So, what is next you may wonder? Well, self-driving cars are already here. Teslas are teeming all over the place. Chinese counterparts are catching up, if not – outpacing Western developers in battery technology, which makes it possible for them to quickly adapt and push forward in a sustainable and reliable manner.

But when it comes to racing, these cars are still some time off, here are some of the reasons once again highlighted for your convenience:

• People do not want to see self-driving cars much like they don’t want to watch chess played by AI algorithms
• Fans are skeptical of the joy and value that self-driving cars can bring into the equation – after all, professional racing is dangerous, and this raises the stakes
• There aren’t enough competitive bidders just yet, as companies would need to develop advanced self-driving racing cars

As you can see, automated racing is hardly unlikely to take over the professional racing scene! Roulette 77 likes to say that every new piece of tech or knowledge is an opportunity to achieve something greater – even if it’s scary at first.

Yes, autonomous trucks, for example, will be soon the norm much over the world – perhaps in the next two decades or so. However, for the time being, NASCAR and F1 fans can release a collective sigh of relief, because nobody is coming for their favorite motorsports format. Time will show if the human kind of racing can resist, however.