The Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League, A2RL, has announced its international racing debut will take place on September 5, 2026, in Imola, Italy, with up to five fully autonomous race cars based on the Dallara Super Formula SF23.
Organized by ASPIRE, the grand challenges arm of Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council, A2RL has evolved from a bold public testbed for AI under extreme race conditions into a competitive racing series.
Reigning A2RL champion TUM (Germany) will compete alongside Unimore Racing (Italy) and PoliMOVE (Italy) at the iconic racetrack in Imola, having qualified through their performances during the 2025 season. Two additional teams, Kinetiz (UAE) and Constructor Racing (Germany), will compete in qualification events ahead of race weekend for the remaining spots on the grid.
Faisal Al Bannai, secretary general of the Advanced Technology Research Council, said, “A2RL began in Abu Dhabi with a clear conviction: the future of mobility must be tested openly, rigorously and at the limits of performance. Its international debut at Imola demonstrates how the UAE is translating bold R&D ambition into globally relevant technology platforms that can accelerate progress in autonomous mobility.”
Stephane Timpano, CEO of ASPIRE, added, “Taking A2RL to Imola is a major milestone in our ambition to build the world’s first international championship for fully autonomous racecars. Few circuits carry the heritage and global standing of Imola, making it a powerful stage for our first international race. This is an important step for autonomous motorsport as both a technology platform and an emerging global sporting format.”
Building on two seasons in Abu Dhabi, A2RL has evolved from a world-first four-car autonomous race into a six-car Grand Final featuring wheel-to-wheel racing at speeds of more than 250km/h.
The league has also become a defining platform for human vs AI competition, with the performance gap between autonomous systems and professional drivers shrinking dramatically from 10 seconds in 2024 to just 1.58 seconds in 2025.
Alongside the on-track progress, A2RL has also built a growing global audience and strengthened Abu Dhabi’s position as a leading hub for autonomous mobility and AI innovation.
Imola
The Imola circuit is known for its elevation challenges, narrow racing lines with limited run-off areas and difficult overtaking zones. Its technical corners and narrow margins will test how autonomous systems manage grip, traffic, positioning and overtaking under constant pressure. For competing teams, the event represents a highly demanding competitive environment where performance will depend on the precision of software, sensor integration, engineering strategy and real-time autonomous decision-making.
Alessandro Tucci, executive director, house of grand challenges at ASPIRE, said, “Imola is the perfect testbed for the top A2RL teams to demonstrate their racing capabilities on an extremely challenging track. Imola does not allow for half-measures. It rewards precision, control and courage, which makes it the right circuit for autonomous racing to show what it can do under real pressure. Every car on track carries the work of engineers and coders pushing AI from simulation into real competition.”
From sim sprint to the circuit
Before testing on the Imola Circuit in August, teams will prepare through A2RL’s virtual racing ecosystem, with the Sim Sprint series running from May 19 to July 17 across high fidelity digital twins of Yas Marina, the A2RL Autodrome, Suzuka and Imola, before concluding on the Yas Marina North Circuit.
In the previous season, Sim Sprint delivered more than 5,000 hours of collective simulation testing and racing across 11 teams.
The platform provides teams with a controlled environment to develop and validate their algorithms ahead of real-world autonomous competition. Across the series, teams will face multi-car racing, overtakes, incident response scenarios and edge cases that are difficult to replicate safely on track. By giving teams more competitive mileage before Imola, Sim Sprint helps prepare AI systems for the speed, pressure and unpredictability of live autonomous racing.
Following Imola, A2RL will return to Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi for the final round of the 2026 season. The circuit has hosted A2RL since the series launched in 2024 and remains its primary venue as the championship continues to develop.
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