The third Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) season burst on to the legendary Imola asphalt this weekend, marking a huge leap forward for the series. Autonomous racing has, for the first time, raced at a circuit beyond Yas Marina.
A2RL’s five Pro Teams – Polimove (IT), Unimore Racing (IT), Kinetiz (UAE), Constructor University (DE), and reigning champions TUM (DE) – took to the legendary circuit to demonstrate that A2RL’s autonomous technology can excel on any circuit in the world.
The move to Imola is a big one for A2RL, its teams, and founding organisation ASPIRE. Bringing the race here is a huge moment for the series, showing that its autonomous technology can be adapted seamlessly. The format of the race was different to previous events, too. Previously, A2RL had Yas Marina to itself, and could give teams set times to go testing. At Imola, that wasn’t the case as A2RL’s event was part of a wider weekend. This meant the autonomous cars were sharing a pitlane with human-piloted vehicles of different categories. With just ten days of testing available, for the first time A2RL operated an open pitlane, allowing the teams time to make the most of the short amount of time on offer.
Ten days to master a circuit is a tough ask, but something teams will have to get used to as A2RL spreads its wings in the future. That’s not to say the teams didn’t know where they were going though…
Ahead of the race, they were given a digital version of Imola – a track famous for punishing mistakes, unique quirks – blind crests and all – to use on the A2RL simulator. While the teams and their autonomous charges were learning the layout of a new circuit, A2RL could get to grips with logistical challenges, and prepare for any potential issues. While the mechanics, engineers, and hardened race pros know what can happen with a human behind the wheel, an autonomous stack might throw up something new and unexpected.
Josh Roles, head of operations at A2RL, is pleased with how the preparations went: “Being able to test all aspects of the event virtually gave us a huge advantage. The technology we have is cutting edge, but more time to test is vital. It meant we all came to Imola well prepared and ready to tackle our first race on a new circuit with our eyes wide open.”
Photo by: A2RL
The importance of being at Imola and showing the wider world what A2RL’s cars are capable of is not lost on Alessandro Tucci, executive director of A2RL’s parent company, ASPIRE: “The performance teams demonstrated during the race is the result of defined development strategy built on more than 5,000 hours of simulation testing and racing in 2025.
“Racing in Imola was a fundamental step for A2RL’s evolution and we are proud of the results achieved by the teams and the A2RL organisation. Bringing that preparation to a circuit like Imola is how we keep raising the competitive standard of A2RL.”
As teams learned their way around Imola’s comparatively unfamiliar lumps, bumps, twists, and turns, Unimore Racing emerged as polesitters for the race. In third, reigning champions TUM had a hat-trick of A2RL races within their grasp, but could they make it happen?
As the race got underway, teams watched nervously from their garages. While the cars are running, they can’t communicate with the AI pilots – they can see what they’re up to, but no more. There’s no hidden controller or pro gamer hiding in a truck controlling the cars, it’s all done in-car from lights to flag.
After a brisk formation lap, reigning champions TUM headed to the pit with a brake issue – a quick reset was the team’s only chance to get back in the race, but it proved ineffective and the issue persisted retiring the car. No hat-trick for TUM…
With four cars remaining on track, Unimore and Polimove played a tight game of chase up front, while Constructor and Kinetiz trailed. Spectators watched, hoping for Polimove to leap for an overtake, and the gap continued to close as the race entered its final stages. It looked like Unimore would be victorious, but a sensor failure essentially blinded the car triggering safety protocols and bringing it to a quick stop. The Polimove, which had been within a second of the lead car for the whole race, was following too tightly to swerve and avoid the stricken car. The two collided, taking both out of the race.
Photo by: A2RL
A field of five became a field of two, and while the Constructor car flexed its turbocharged muscle it couldn’t catch up to the Kinetiz, which took the chequered flag to clinch the win.
An historic victory for them, ASPIRE, and A2RL. The first international winner crowned, Omar Hanif Alqassim, team principle of Kinetiz, commented: “It is a very proud moment for all of us at Kinetiz to win A2RL’s first international race and, most importantly, to represent the UAE on an international stage.
“The team has worked extremely hard for this achievement, and seeing that effort result in a win makes it even more special. It was a great race and very well organised by ASPIRE, who have created a strong platform to showcase what the UAE is building in autonomous technology. We’re proud to bring this victory home and to be part of representing the UAE’s ambition and capabilities on the global stage.”
On Kinetiz’s victory, Stephane Timapano, CEO at ASPIRE, added: “Congratulations to team Kinetiz from the UAE on a well-earned victory. Imola raised the level of the challenge, asking autonomous systems to race wheel-to-wheel in a completely different environment and generating valuable data to accelerate the next stage of R&D. What we saw here gives us a new measure of how these systems perform and adapt under pressure.”
The tech on display has notably evolved from its first year at Yas Marina. The cars are more confident, their coded personalities are shining through. While, yes, the drivers are ones and zeroes, the people who created them will have imprinted a bit of themselves – one car might be more aggressive, another risk averse, or even overtake hungry. They’re individuals.
Photo by: A2RL
It’s easy, perhaps, to see A2RL as ‘just a race,’ but there’s more to it than that. H.E. Faisal Al Bannai, adviser to the UAE president for strategic research and advanced technology affairs, and secretary general of the Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) agreed: “A2RL reflects how Abu Dhabi approaches advanced technology: setting an ambitious challenge, bringing the best minds together and creating the conditions for accelerated progress.
“Imola put that approach to the test, with five autonomous cars navigating the uncertainty and pressure of a live race. Seeing Kinetiz take the win marks an important moment for the UAE, while the wider value lies in what the race revealed about reliability, resilience and real-time decision-making. These insights will help advance autonomous systems far beyond racing.”
Imola done, A2RL’s next steps are coming soon… For now, you can watch the race in full on A2RL’s YouTube channel.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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