This thread has changed greatly from the original question.
How come it's all about manuals and semi-autos,
, anyway while on the subject of which is better and which is the 'REAL' driver's choice, frankly it's all down to the individual. Though some manufacturers have sort of forced the customer down the semi-auto like Ferrari with their most extreme driver's car solely coming with semi-autos and then there is Porsche with the GT3 and it solely available as a manual. But no matter what anyone wants the future is moving away from true manuals.
Frankly I prefer doing the shifting if I was on a track but I don't see it and the main thing for the driver, it's controlling the car's steering, throttle and brakes that make up the bulk of the experience.