I mean the way i see it, your not competitively racing in a class, so the automatic just takes the fun away. If your just going racing for fun, why not run the manual? Its more fun (In my opinion, but ive never driven an 8 sec auto rocket or anything), but i always have more fun rowing through the gears than just letting the auto do it for me. Granted im not as fast as i could be with an auto, but i have this car for fun, not to race for points in a series.
Seems like when your more worried about going fast, and shaving that little bit of time, using an auto and everything nearly automated it takes the fun away from the car.