As the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League readies itself for its second-ever live race at Yas Marina on 15 November, the series readies itself to put on an incredible show for packed out grandstands.
With a stage as special as Yas Marina Circuit, A2RL’s dusting off its fineries, and making sure that race fans will have a spectacular weekend to mark the series’ second ever live event. As well as a packed-out fan zone with plenty to keep everyone in the family entertained in the lead up to the race, and a star-studded concert after the event, the 15 November’s event consists of three key parts.
First is the Silver Race. Consisting of the five teams that didn’t quite squeak into the final – RAPSON, Code 19, Fly Eagle, FR4IAV, TGM – it’ll be guests’ first taste of what the new EAV-25 cars can do. Once again, the A2RL racer is based on a Japanese Super Formula car, which means there’s a 500bhp 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder heart buried deep in the middle of the cars that can get to the fun side of 180mph and makes all sorts of wonderful noises while it does so.
Compared to last year’s car, a number of changes have been made. Battery upgrades, an improved emergency brake, gearbox tweaks, a new fuel line, upgraded steering, motorsport-spec wiring looms, fresh GNSS and 5G antennas, and more besides. 2025’s car is a powerhouse, and more highly specialised than before.
A2RL
Photo by: Spacesuit Media / A2RL
The teams haven’t simply been thrown at Yas Marina and told to have fun. As well as real-world testing ahead of the race, A2RL Sim Sprint has given them time and space to prepare for the big day, albeit in the virtual world. A championship of its own, it allows for edge case testing and mistakes compared to in the real world that would end up with a large bill. The result is a set of teams that have a greater understanding of what’s to come at the main event.
After the Silver Race, it’ll be time for a demonstration of man vs machine. At the 2024 event crowds were treated to a one-on-one race between reigning A2RL champion TUM and an equivalent car driven by F1 ace Daniil Kvyat. The gap between the two wasn’t tight, but proved that a human and an autonomous racer could share a track. ASPIRE, A2RL organiser and part of the UAE government’s Advanced Technology Research Council, has been working hard behind the scenes to close 2024’s gap, and it’s well on its way. Ahead of the race, Italian team Unimore Racing bested a human-set time around the circuit.
Will we see Kvyat bested by an autonomous racer live on 15 November? Perhaps, perhaps not, but you never know. He’ll be setting the benchmark times for teams to aim for in A2RL season three.
The main event is, obviously, the A2RL season two Grand Final. In a world-first, six entirely autonomous race cars will hit the track together aiming for a share of a $2.25million prize pot. TUM, Unimore, Kinetiz, Polimove Autonomous Racing Team, TII Racing, and Constructor University Racing Team are going head-to-head, or sensor to sensor, to see how much difference a year’s technological development, and virtual testing can make. The race will take place on Yas Marina’s North Circuit and is expected to be watched by a capacity crowd.
A2RL
Photo by: Spacesuit Media / A2RL
Stephane Timpano, CEO of ASPIRE, is all too aware that since the series’ inception one of its goals has been to take on, and beat, soft, squishy humans at their own game, and this year’s event takes a step closer to meeting it. Another, of course, is to advance autonomous technology quickly, and safely, using motorsport as its basis. “I am incredibly proud of the progress the teams have made. A2RL is the only environment in the world where such extreme testing and rapid development can take place, and when you compare the performance from the start of Season 1 to Season 2, it is already a night-and-day difference,” says Timpano, “I’m looking forward to the weekend, when we will create history with six fully autonomous race cars competing together on track.”
The 2024 event was an impressive first step into a world of autonomous possibility. Teams took their first, occasionally wobbly steps along what’s turning out to be a fascinating path. Season two will, hopefully, see more confident strides in the right direction.
As well as being a live event in Abu Dhabi, the race will be broadcast on motorsport.tv and on A2RL’s official YouTube channel at 11:00 GMT on Sunday 16 November.
A2RL
Photo by: Spacesuit Media / A2RL
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