[Bongle]

I just thought of this:
Teams that have the capability to do a lot of driver training (read: can build a practice bot) will probably have a bigger advantage this year. Since it's all about speed and control, teams whose drivers have spent many hours on a robot will have an edge.

Think about it this way: Go try to play a challenging driving game like Forza, GT4, or Live For Speed for an hour, and note your times after an hour. Then continue to play it for 20 hours, and see how much better and versatile you've become. That's the kind of training difference you'd probably see in real life as well. A driver that is very familiar with how his/her robot behaves will have a big advantage going into a race like this.