Yes...There are some absolute freaks of nature, like
@WhoosierGirl, who can use an Automatic transmission and post a Top 10 time, but she's literally one in a million. There are probably a handful of others too, at that level, who use automatics, but I don't know their names so I can only mention WG. Trust me...If she could get comfortable with the Manual Transmission her times would improve. For how little she actually plays the game, that's pretty scary!
Current issue of Car & Driver (Jan '15) which tests the new Corvette Z06 says:
"We tested both the automatic and manual Z06, the latter returning lower numbers than expected." (Pg. 037 sidebar)
Another snippet from pg. 034:
"The Z06 we photographed was fully loaded with the Z07 package, Stage 3 carbon aero trim kit, and optional carbon-kablooey interior. As you can see, there's a Z06 for, well, if not exactly everyone, then a wider swath of humanity's more impatient drivers, all of whom will be swamped by admirers at parties. Prepare for the eager smiles of your audience to droop slightly when you say you bought the automatic as up to 70 percent of Z06 buyers are expected to do. This is a natural, instinctual disappointment, conditioned by the expectation that real sports cars have sticks, mounting evidence to the contrary notwithstanding."
(Emphasis mine)
We have been conditioned by those who like stuff engraved in stone, whether commandments or otherwise, to always believe what is safer to believe; what is believed by the majority and what is to be believed so as to be 'in the know.' (Back to the whole 'self-esteem' syndrome.)
This hampers innovation - the thought-controlled Foxbat is no idle dream - and soon cars will not only be self-driven (you'll be racing 'real' bots on the track so as to endanger only your life and not anybody else's with your shenanigans) you'll be able to 'think' yourself through the course.
The loss of time between neuronal impulse and muscle response activating reality in no way compares to a bunch of 1s and 0s doing the same electronically.
Automatic
can be faster.
To match the latest automatic transmission a human will have to have split-second responses, and never,
ever, miss a shift.
Never mind the score of possible types of manual tranny to mess-up the manual users.
Having said that . . . I'm old skool. I drive manual.
I'm not here to
train for anything . . . I'm just here to enjoy a driving game.
I can't stand this
I'm at 53.122 and I can't do it with a DS3, it's not fair that PD does these for steering wheels and not for DS3 and not for the average player
Have you tried ASM - it's there for DS3 players.
_____________________
As for me - I said, the last time I was in here, that I was .070 off Gold.
Well, no one was going to cheat me out of my free Jag. Went back, and hammered at it (with my usual settings TCS1, ABS1 - and yes, I play manual with a G27) An hour later I had it.
I'm thinking it was an hour well-wasted; after all it is a 20M car.
Apart from that I don't see a point in having my name up in lights on a vanishing Leaderboard.
So I'm done with this event.
A tip for those still trying: the trick is to pass the 2D and Ford as quickly as possible. That gives you time to overtake the Ferrari well in advance to set yourself up for the final run at the finish line.
One has to calculate where the cars will be
even as you accelerate towards them - sometimes it seems you are going to be in their path and ease off on the accelerator, which tends to puts you into trouble. Confidence and patience is key - both important in driving, anyway.
Good Luck guys - may you snag that free Jag.