The Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) is back for a second season and promises more cars, more advanced tech, more thrills, more spills, and more… everything. The follow up to 2024’s groundbreaking first season aims to build on what’s come before.
A2RL, for the uninitiated, is a race like no other. The 2025 event will see 11 teams field cars with no drivers around the legendary Yas Marina Circuit. In case ‘autonomous’ wasn’t a big enough clue, you won’t find a human in the cockpit of the series’ EAV-25 Super Formula-derived cars. The teams’ goal is to create a vehicle that can race competitively without a person behind the ‘wheel’, instead relying on sensors, LiDAR, and the sort of tech you might find in a Marvel movie.
The 2025 round of A2RL, this time part of the inaugural Abu Dhabi Autonomous Week, is pushing boundaries both on- and off-track, explained Stephane Timpano, CEO of ASPIRE (A2RL organiser and part of the UAE government’s Advanced Technology Research Council)
“It’s a totally different ballgame this year,” Timpano said. “Our teams have trained far longer than they did for the first race, all of last year’s teams have reconfirmed, and our team from Japan, TGM Grand Prix is an established Super Formula race team already, so they’re looking at the race as a race, not as a science experiment.”
A2RL will return to Yas Marina
Photo by: A2RL
With a multimillion-dollar prize pot up for grabs, the teams will be hoping their training has paid off.
This year’s event features a few key differences over the 2024 race. First up, the car has been tweaked. EAV-25 is a beefed up, tougher take on the first A2RL racer. Using the EAV-24 as its basis, team feedback was listened to, and the new car has enhanced hardware and software capabilities for greater control, as well as improvements under the skin to make the cars more capable and reliable around the track.
Derived from a Super Formula car, the oily bits driving the autonomous technology aren’t for the faint of heart. Powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged Honda engine, the EVA-25 can hit speeds up to 186mph, which should make for some exciting racing.
This time round, the teams have been able to hone their skills in the virtual world. While testing in the real world is possible, not every team could partake, but the web is a safe space for everyone. A2RL SIM-Sprint is a four-stage virtual competition that teams could use to train their artificial intelligence (AI) models in a safe space. Not only was it useful for the teams, but it has a real-world use, adds Timpano: “Virtual simulators are very relevant in the preparation of the future of mobility.”
The EVA-25 can hit 186mph
Photo by: A2RL
Training for real world situations away from danger means that when the time comes for the tech to be deployed on the high street it’ll be safe for all. The first season gave teams a mere three months to get their collective eyes in; with virtual testing they have far more data to work with.
“It gives the AI pilots and the teams a lot of training,” says Timpano. “So, we expect that to reflect also in the way they operate. For the new teams, it’s helped them get ready for the testing phase of A2RL. Currently, we are running on Yas Marina to allow them to learn the basics. Last year, some of the teams didn’t really know how the basic stack in the car worked. This has been really about preparation and coaching of the teams to help them perform better. Also, for us as an organising body to better prepare them, and ourselves, for what might happen in 2025.”
Peak performance will be necessary for the 2025 race. Where last year there were eight teams competing to race in a four-car final round, this time 11 teams are aiming to be one of six cars racing for the top spot and a $2.25million prize pot – no small change, you’ll agree. With more time to hone their code, and for their AI to learn how to deal with more eventualities, the final should be a thrilling affair.
As well as the main event, there’s one more big thing that Timpano hopes takes a great leap: Man vs Machine.
A2RL uses modified Super Formula cars
Photo by: A2RL
Last year saw an A2RL car race against F1 ace Daniil Kvyat. While it wasn’t quite a full chat affair, the autonomous car still kept pace with the human. Kvyat crossed the line 10 seconds ahead of his AI competitor, a gap that Timpano aims to shrink this year.
“Ten seconds between Daniil and an autonomous car was, for people in the autonomy business, absolutely amazing,” Timpano said. “Especially considering that three months before there were minutes between them. This year, we hope that is going to be closer.” A year’s worth of refinement should yield strong results.
A2RL is a big part of a huge event – Abu Dhabi Autonomous Week, an event highlighting what the Emirate is capable of in the autonomy space. Visitors to Yas Marina will have the opportunity to see and experience a wide variety of STEM-themed events. Drift-X, returning from last year, highlights autonomous tech in other, less racy, applications, for example. Once the racing’s done fans won’t want to rush off, as there’s a packed schedule off track for them to enjoy – music, activities, and so much more will make for a packed weekend at Yas Island.
Motorsport has long been used as a way to quickly advance technology, to test it at the ragged edge in a safe environment. That’s part of A2RL’s goal – to make viable autonomous tech that can be used in road car development, and to make sure Abu Dhabi is at the forefront of that.
A2RL season launch
Photo by: A2RL
“We’re trying to see the future here,” Timpano adds. “Through motorsport, we’re looking to improve autonomous technology through racing, whether it can fly [there’s a hugely advanced A2RL drone competition, too], can float on water, or drive on land. It’s also about putting the UAE on the map when it comes to autonomy and AI.
The 2025 event is the second of a multi-year commitment, too. Year one was a good, if occasionally tricky, basis says Timpano: “Last year we were playing with fire. With less than a year of development we gained a lot of support, and excitement. It was about proving it could work.”
There’s a four-year plan for A2RL, and plenty has changed since year one. “We’ll see how to evolve the league year on year. Year one was only with cars and a soft launch of drones. Now, drones have been fully launched,” comments Timpano. “Next year, both drones and the cars should get to maturity in terms of performance of the teams, and we’ll start seeing more action on track and in the sky.”
2024 was a fantastic start, what will 2025 hold? And how worried do you think Danil Kvyat is right now? To find out, head to a2rl.io to register for free tickets to the race. You’re not going to want to miss it.
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