Roborace, the autonomous racing company and car, has recently competed in the Goodwood Festival Of Speed. I am a huge proponent of autonomy in the automotive sector as a whole, but sporadically following Roborace's public outings make me wonder if autonomous racing will ever be a thing. Watch the hillclimb first:

A few questions answered first: Do I think this is impressive? Absolutely. Massive props to the team of engineers that got this car speeding up that hill. Do I think this makes sense? Totally, those outings push forward the state of autonomous driving for sure. So this post is not at all a bash on the achievements or intentions of Roborace at all.

But can I imagine myself watching a race of autonomous vehicles, should it ever happen? Hard to tell, but it sure doesn't get me to the edge of my seat right now. Reflecting on why I dig watching F1 or AMA Pro Supercross, the "human" parts (the odd errors, emotions, sense of danger ...) are most certainly a factor. Let's see where this goes, and make a call once we actually see an autonomous race on real racetracks.

Bonus, the onboard: