Today's Edition
MAYS IBRAHIM (ABU DHABI)
Eighteen months after making history with the world’s first autonomous car race at Yas Marina Circuit, the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) returns this Saturday with a faster, smarter and far more competitive line-up of cars that will steer, brake and overtake entirely on their own – guided not by instinct, but by code.
This season features 11 teams from 10 countries, including returning powerhouses and new entrants from the US, Europe and Asia. The competition is split into two categories: a Silver Race for emerging teams, and a Grand Finale for the top performers, competing for a $2.2 million prize pool.
The Grand Finale will mark the first time six fully autonomous race cars compete wheel-to-wheel. Following a rigorous October qualification, TUM, Unimore, Kinetiz, TII Racing, PoliMOVE, and Constructor will battle it out in a 20-lap race for the Season 2 championship.
The remaining five teams – RAPSON, Code 19, Fly Eagle, FR4IAV, and TGM Grand Prix – will compete in the Silver Race.
Pre-season build-up for the race has seen record-setting performance as the gap between human and AI performance narrows.
During qualification, Italian team Unimore was the first to beat a benchmark lap time set by a human racing driver while testing.
Reigning champion TUM is set to race against former F1 driver Daniil Kvyat in A2RL’s second Human vs AI showcase. Last year, Kvyat managed to edge past TII’s autonomous car by 10.38 seconds.
During a media briefing on Thursday, Stephane Timpano, CEO of ASPIRE and A2RL, said track testing shows that the autonomous cars are now just three to four seconds behind human lap times - a clear step up from last year’s gap.
The teams have completed over 3,000 physical laps at Yas Marina, covering more than 10,000 km and generating 1.5 petabytes of data in preparation for this weekend’s race.
The Brains behind the HardwareThe league’s technology partner, SteerAI, supplies the autonomous “canvas” on which teams build their unique racing algorithms.
“We provide the drive-by-wire system, GPS, LiDAR, radars and cameras a full perception layer,” said Michael Sønderby, Acting CEO of SteerAI. “The teams bring their creativity. We give them the canvas and they paint their own picture.”
Behind that software canvas is the EAV-25, capable of reaching speeds of up to 300km/h and packed with sensors that allow teams’ AI to make split-second decisions on the track.
This year, A2RL will use a shorter version of the Yas Marina Circuit, which means teams will need to complete more laps and navigate additional challenges.
Each car carries three LiDARs, four radars, seven cameras, and dual GPS antennas, feeding real-time data into an onboard computer that processes decisions in milliseconds.
Based on the Dallara Super Formula SF23 chassis, A2RL’s upgraded EAV-25 features a redesigned architecture focused on reliability, safety and data stability.
Nicola Palarchi, A2RL’s Head of Engineering, revealed that the team has developed a private 5G network, the first of its kind in the UAE, to ensure seamless data transfer between cars and teams.
Vibration resistance was doubled, emergency braking systems were redesigned, and data loss prevention measures were introduced to preserve telemetry during accidents or power cuts.
Every aspect of the car is autonomous. Once it leaves the pit lane, there’s no remote control - all decisions, from overtaking to defensive manoeuvres, are made by the car’s onboard “driver”.
“The car decides when to attack or defend on its own,” Palarchi said. However, human creativity is embedded in machine behaviour; he explained that each team programmes its AI with a unique “character”, making some more aggressive and others more strategic on the ground.
Catch the ActionThe Grand Final race day on Saturday will kick off with Group 63 taking to the track for a thrilling Supercar Parade Laps, setting the stage for the autonomous showdown.
The festivities will continue with the presentation of awards for the A2RL STEM Competition, where 140 students from all seven emirates raced AWS DeepRacer 1/18th-scale autonomous cars, mirroring the A2RL competition.
This year’s world-class Fan Zone promises an action-packed experience, featuring humanoid robot showcases, interactive games, hands-on tech activations, live entertainment, and family-friendly attractions.
The race will be broadcast globally on Sunday, November 16, at 3 pm GST via the Abu Dhabi Media Network, StarzPlay, Motorsport TV, and the official A2RL YouTube channel.
Fans can also immerse themselves in the action through A2RL’s live VR platform, accessing the track, real-time car data, and high-speed racing thrills as they unfold around them.
