NASCAR star Corey LaJoie has called for a new type of racing to 'die a swift death' after a clip posted on social media.
The finale of the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League showcased six driverless cars, piloted by computers, facing off for the sport's championship.
Quoting a tweet which claimed to show a 'brilliant overtake' [fact check: one of the most pedestrian overtakes possible, a car simply driving through an undefended gap on the inside into Turn 1] and a 'disastrous crash' [fact check: yep], LaJoie explained why he wants no part of automated racing.
The short version? The 34-year-old believes that the human element is the key to what makes motorsports special.
LaJoie opens up on AI racing
"Incredible tech," he wrote. "But this can die a swift death. Motorsports is a human putting fear in the deep corners of your mind and driving a machine beyond its limit of possibility."
As difficult as it is to say that someone calling for a 'swift death' was pulling his punches, it's possible that LaJoie was being kind on a second viewing of the clip.
The 'disastrous crash' mentioned saw three cars approaching the first corner, with the lead car simply slowing up and coming to a complete halt on the outside line of the corner.
One of the two cars following several car lengths behind then turned into the natural line of the corner, and hit the stopped car with its front-right before straight-lining into the tire barrier.
When you only have six cars on the track and they're still stopping on the track and running into stationary cars, your tech may need some refinement.
