I
saw my first self-drive car the
other day. It was waiting at a
junction as heavy traffic rum-
bled past. Then, a break, and it
soundlessly and slowly googled
its way out across to the oppo-
site lane to join in.
But, oh no: A motorcycle
was approaching, fast. It was
a "sorry mate, I didn't see you"
moment. Except it was a self-
drive motorcycle. Each vehicle
immediately and automatically
took the appropriate avoiding
action. No harm done.
I was asleep at the time and
it was a dream. But it triggered
an immediate thought. If drivers
and riders will in the foresee-
able future no longer be con-
sidered necessary on the road,
are they necessary in racing?
Or is it just really last-century
and old-fashioned?
You can imagine the grid:
25-odd riderless 1000cc Mo-
toGP bikes, balanced by gy-
ros, awaiting the wireless start
signal to trigger their "full race"
programs. And they're off!
How well they start would
depend not only on the grip on
their particular part of the track
but also on how their engineers
had fiddled with the algorithms
(electronics, of course, being
standardized), the gearing cho-
sen and the courage of the ECU.
No, wait. They'd all be equal
on that point. Machines are nei-
ther brave nor cowardly.
But they do have self-preser-
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
WHO NEEDS THE RIDERS?
P98