I got the pleasure of doing something like this once. Karting club run our karts in the parade. At the end, there was a line of vehicles for several blocks. Still in our karts, we were able to just blow right on by.
I think shifting without having to take your hand off of the steering input would be a great improvement. That's just nuts driving on public roads. It's dangerous enough in a full sized car. Who the hell can even see that thing.