From Yas Marina to Imola: Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League enters global stage
AI teams prepare for toughest circuit of the season
ABU DHABI – The Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) is set to take a major step onto the global stage with its first international race at Italy's legendary Imola circuit on 5th September 2026.
Up to five fully autonomous race cars based on the Dallara Super Formula SF23 will compete at one of the world's most technically demanding racing venues, marking a significant milestone for the UAE-developed championship.
Organised by ASPIRE, the grand challenges arm of Abu Dhabi's Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), A2RL has rapidly evolved from an ambitious experiment in artificial intelligence under extreme racing conditions into a competitive international motorsport series. The move to Italy follows two successful seasons at Yas Marina Circuit and opens the championship's first overseas chapter before it returns to Abu Dhabi for the 2026 season finale.
The international expansion reflects the league's broader ambition to accelerate innovation in autonomous mobility while showcasing the UAE's growing leadership in advanced technologies and AI-driven research.
Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League
The Imola event will feature some of the world's leading autonomous racing teams competing on one of motorsport's most iconic circuits. Reigning A2RL champion TUM from Germany has already secured its place on the grid alongside Italy's Unimore Racing and PoliMOVE, with all three qualifying through their performances during the 2025 season.
The remaining places will be determined through qualifying events ahead of race weekend, where Kinetiz from the UAE and Germany's Constructor Racing will compete for the final available grid positions.
Faisal Al Bannai, Secretary General of the Advanced Technology Research Council, described the international debut as another step in translating the UAE's investment in research and development into globally relevant technology platforms.
"A2RL began in Abu Dhabi with a clear conviction: the future of mobility must be tested openly, rigorously and at the limits of performance," he said.
"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, said taking the championship to Italy represented an important milestone in the vision of building the world's first international racing series for fully autonomous race cars.
"Few circuits carry the heritage and global standing of Imola, making it a powerful stage for our first international race," he said.
"This is an important step for autonomous motorsport as both a technology platform and an emerging global sporting format."
Technical challenge
Since its launch, A2RL has progressed rapidly in both scale and technical capability. What began as the world's first four-car autonomous race has developed into a six-car Grand Final featuring wheel-to-wheel competition at speeds exceeding 250 km/h.
The championship has also become a benchmark for Human versus AI competition. The performance gap between autonomous systems and professional racing drivers has narrowed dramatically, falling from 10 seconds in 2024 to just 1.58 seconds in 2025, demonstrating significant advances in artificial intelligence, sensor technologies and vehicle control systems.
Alongside its competitive progress, the series has attracted a growing international audience while reinforcing Abu Dhabi's position as a global centre for autonomous mobility research and AI innovation.
Imola presents a very different challenge from Yas Marina Circuit. Home to the European Le Mans Series, the Italian circuit is renowned for its elevation changes, narrow racing lines, limited run-off areas and overtaking difficulties.
Its combination of fast corners, technical sections and unforgiving margins will test how autonomous systems respond to changing grip levels, traffic management, positioning and overtaking opportunities under constant pressure.
Success will depend not only on vehicle performance but also on the precision of software development, sensor integration, engineering strategy and real-time autonomous decision-making.
Alessandro Tucci, Executive Director of the House of Grand Challenges at ASPIRE, said the circuit would provide one of the toughest examinations yet for autonomous racing technology.
"Imola is the perfect testbed for the top A2RL teams to demonstrate their racing capabilities on an extremely challenging track," he said.
"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."
Virtual preparation
Before arriving in Italy, participating teams will spend months refining their autonomous systems through A2RL's virtual racing ecosystem.
The Sim Sprint series, running from 19 May to 17 July, provides competitors with high-fidelity digital twins of several renowned circuits, including Yas Marina, the A2RL Autodrome, Suzuka and Imola, before concluding on the Yas Marina North Circuit, home of the A2RL Grand Final.
The simulation platform has become a critical part of the championship's development programme. During the previous season, teams collectively completed more than 5,000 hours of simulation testing and racing across 11 teams, enabling engineers to improve algorithms and validate autonomous systems before moving to real-world competition.
Within the virtual environment, teams encounter complex multi-car racing scenarios, overtaking opportunities, incident response situations and unusual edge cases that would be difficult or unsafe to recreate consistently on a physical circuit.
By increasing competitive mileage before race day, the Sim Sprint programme helps prepare AI systems for the speed, pressure and unpredictability of live autonomous racing.
Building talent
Ahead of its Italian debut, A2RL has also strengthened engagement with the country's motorsport, engineering and academic communities through the Motor Valley Fest and a series of university roadshows.
The championship participated in the prestigious Motor Valley Fest in Modena, celebrating the Emilia-Romagna region's rich automotive heritage. As part of the programme, an A2RL Super Formula race car was displayed at the Imola stand, highlighting the championship's technological ambitions alongside one of the world's most famous racing destinations.
The accompanying university tour included visits to the University of Bologna, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, and Politecnico di Milano, introducing students to the technologies behind autonomous racing and the championship's role as a high-speed AI development platform.
The initiative also showcased future opportunities for engineers, software developers and coders to join participating teams, reflecting A2RL's broader mission of connecting frontier AI research with the next generation of technical talent.
Following the race at Imola, the championship will return to Yas Marina Circuit, where autonomous racing first moved from concept to competitive reality following A2RL's launch in 2024. The Abu Dhabi event will conclude the 2026 season, completing the championship's journey from its birthplace to its first international race before returning home.
The 2026 edition of A2RL is supported by SteerAI, together with leading partners AD Ports and du Infra. Official partners include AWS, Abu Dhabi Mobility and Abu Dhabi Gaming, while HP and Castore serve as official supporters. PACETEQ and Live in Five are the championship's technical partners.