The Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) is an autonomous racing league based in Abu Dhabi and organized by ASPIRE, part of the UAE government's Advanced Technology Research Council. It has three distinct categories: the "car race", the drone race, and the buggy race. The first car race was held on 27 April 2024 at the Yas Marina Circuit, marking the first major autonomous formula race outside the US since the now-folded Roborace championship. The first drone race was held on 11 and 12 April 2025.
Formats A2RL has three distinct formats, the formula racing format (dubbed the Car Race), the quadcopter drone racing format (dubbed the Drone Race), and the off-road dune buggy racing format (dubbed the Buggy Race).
Car Race
A2RL's main event, the car race is a standard formula racing format with self-driving formula cars. The cars are made by Dallara and are modified versions of Super Formula cars with Yokohama tires. These cars had the CPUs of their AIs mounted where the driver's seat is on a non-modified chassis, as well as hydraulic actuators for AI control of the vehicle, multiple sensor systems including LIDAR and GPS, and a large LED indicator showing the status of the AI.
The first car race was held on 27 April 2024. This race was marked by the cars' subpar performance: Out of four cars that qualified, only two finished the race - the other two did not. The next race was held on 15 November 2025, with 11 teams.
Technical specifications The full list of technical specifications are as follows: Chassis: Dallara EAV24 (modified Dallara SF23) Forward suspension: Pushrod type, torsion bar spring, adjustable dampers, third element Rear suspension: Pushrod type, torsion bar, coil springs, adjustable dampers, third element Tires: Yokohama Advan Drive-by-wire system: Provided by Meccanica 42, the DBW system consists of steering and brake actuators, with a central ECU that coordinates the driving actions and reacts to any critical situation in real-time. Brakes: Brembo calipers, Brembo carbon discs, electro-hydraulically activated Engine: 4 Piston Racing K20C1 (based on Honda 2.0l; turbocharged 4-cylinder engine) Gearbox: 3MO 6-speed gearbox Sensor suite: 7x Sony IMX728 cameras, 4x ZF ProWave radar units, 3x Seyond Falcon Kinetic lidar units Main computer: Neousys RGS-8805GC
Races held +A2RL Car Races listYearDateTotal teamsQualifying teamsPole positionWinnerFastest lapReport202427 April84Eva (PoliMove, Italy)Hailey (TUM, Germany)Gianna (Unimore, Italy)Report202515 November116Hailey (TUM, Germany)Hailey (TUM, Germany)Hailey (TUM, Germany)Report2026TBD12TBDTBDTBDTBDReport
Drone Race Created in partnership with the Drone Champions' League, the drone race is the quadcopter drone racing aerial format of the A2RL. The first race was held on 11/12 April 2025 at the ADNEC Marina Hall. 10 teams are scheduled to take part.
Buggy Race The buggy race will be the off-road format of the A2RL using self-driving dune buggies. No date or number of teams has been announced for the first race.
Other events A2RL is known to host AI vs AI and Human vs AI events, in Abu Dhabi and abroad. One such event took place at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan. The Human vs AI race was precluded due to AI car "Yalla" crashing into the wall during the formation lap.
Team lists +A2RL Car race teamsTeam nameNationalityFirst entered2024 result2025 resultFly EagleChina/UAE2024P7 (DNQ)N/ACode19 RacingUnited States2024P6 (DNQ)N/AConstructor UniversityGermany2024P6 (DNF)KinetizSingapore/UAE2024P8 (DNQ)P4Humda LabHungary2024P5 (DNQ)N/APoliMoveItaly2024P4 (DNF)UnimoreItaly2024P5 (DNF)Technical University of MunichGermany2024 Aladin InnovationFrance2025N/A -SEVRUS JapanJapan2025N/A -TII RacingUAE2025N/A +A2RL Drone race teamsTeam nameNationalityFirst entered2025 AI Grand Challenge2025 AI vs Human Challenge2025 Multi-drone Race2025 Drag RaceALP AutonomySingapore2025TBDCVAR-UPMSpain2025TBDFlyby TU WienAustria2025TBDFly EagleChina/UAE2025TBDKAIST South Korea2025TBD2ndMAVLAB Delft University of TechnologyThe Netherlands20251st3rdTeam QuetzalC++Mexico2025TBDCode 19USA202510thTII RacingUnited Arab Emirates20252nd1stUSTC TigerChina2025TBDUTDARCanada20257thMRS Fly For FutureCzechia20254th4th3rdKinetiz RacingSingapore/UAE20255th
See also Indy Autonomous Challenge, active autonomous racing championship focused on simulations and time trial events
Roborace, defunct autonomous racing championship
Notes
References
External links Official website