Qualification for the second season of the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) has concluded with TUM in pole position — and Italy’s Unimore team setting a new autonomous lap record that outstrips the benchmark set by a human racing driver. Six teams qualified for the grand final, which is to take place on November 15.
A2RL showcases cutting-edge autonomous technology, advancing AI development through high-speed competition in extreme conditions. Eleven international teams gathered in Abu Dhabi to qualify for the second season of the autonomous racing championship, with six teams – TUM, Unimore, Kinetiz, TII Racing, PoliMOVE and Constructor – qualifying for the grand final on November 15.
The competition is designed to push artificial intelligence (AI) to its physical limits as academic institutions, private companies and privateer race teams compete on the world stage for a US$2.25m prize pool.
Record lap times
History was made during the qualification week as teams began to consistently record sub-one-minute lap times on the Yas Marina Circuit’s North configuration. The Unimore team, a returning finalist, set an autonomous lap record of 58.87 seconds — seven hundredths of a second faster than the 59.20-second benchmark set by a professional racing driver during data collection laps.
The record-setting lap was achieved during Pace Qualification, where all teams completed three separate 15-minute sessions to set their fastest possible times. This was followed by Multi-Car Qualification, four heats of 12 laps, where performance highlights included a spectacular overtake on Unimore from TUM, securing pole position in their pursuit of back-to-back wins.
Six-car grand final
Six teams – TUM, Unimore, Kinetiz, TII Racing, PoliMOVE and Constructor – representing four countries qualified for the 24-lap multi-car Grand Final race on November 15. The event will also feature a Silver Race time trial for the remaining five A2RL teams.
This year, former F1 driver Daniil Kvyat returns for the second edition of the Human vs AI showcase — a head-to-head demonstration of machine precision against human instinct, highlighting the rapid evolution of AI performance.
Stephane Timpano, CEO of Aspire, commented, “This season, we’re pushing the boundaries of autonomous racing even further and redefining what is possible. From week to week, we are seeing ‘machine’ capabilities rapidly approaching human performance – even surpassing some human benchmark times set during data collection. This week, Unimore has thrown down the gauntlet with a record-breaking lap time.
“Next month, we will witness six formidably competitive teams race for victory. Last year’s A2RL Champion TUM is in pole position, but given the intense competition during qualification, the Grand Final in November is set to be an exhilarating conclusion!”
Ayoub Raji, co-lead of Unimore Racing, said, “We are proud to have demonstrated that an autonomous race car can deliver close to human capabilities. The competition was fierce, with many teams bringing extensive experience and strong technical resources. Our autonomous stack proved not only to be the fastest but also the safest, skillfully exploiting the curbs to avoid a collision during TUM’s overtake. We can’t wait to be back on track for the Grand Final on November 15, pushing our software to the absolute limit in pursuit of first place.”
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