[bri3d]

I'd say it's a combination of both. Just like in auto racing, some people are really good at flying "seat of the pants" or "reading the course" and adapting to a new layout gate-to-gate, while other pilots are better at a course with practice and memorization. At the top, it's about both together. Most races are conducted with analog video at a very low output power to reduce interference between racers, so the visuals are pretty weak and most pilots do rely on a fair amount of memorization. But, there's also a not-inconsequential conditions angle that comes in when flying outside, so pilots need to be adaptable.

In terms of "fairness" to the computer, I think this approach isn't up to snuff with a human pilot until it can fly an outdoor course in changing conditions. Still, I find this particular approach very interesting since it's inside-out (self-contained) flying once it's trained, with guided learning to start. I found the earlier purely outside-in guidance approaches to be rather ho-hum as they weren't very practical and basically skipped the "hard parts."

[tcoff91]

In auto racing (other than rally), pro drivers typically know the track incredibly well, down to every bump that could possibly affect traction. Often times there are blind crests where they have to know the track perfectly to be able to go through a corner at maximum attack. F1 drivers know the tracks like the back of their hand except for the times where they go to new tracks, and even then they can practice in the simulator.