Year 2 for the A2RL brings the wow factor to autonomous racing

The Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) returned last weekend with six fully autonomous race cars competing together at the Yas Marina Circuit for a share of a $2.25 million prize pot.

Germany's TUM prevailed, retaining the A2RL championship title, defeating TII Racing from the UAE and PoliMOVE from Italy following a 20-lap contest showcasing the latest AI-led autonomous driving developments.

Ahead of the event, qualifying runs from the AI drivers showed considerable improvement, with them closing the gaps to – and on occasion, bettering – benchmark lap times set by human drivers.

Germany's TUM team retained its A2RL championship, but faced some stout opposition this year.

In the six-car world championship final – a record grid for an autonomous car race – TUM faced early pressure from Unimore Racing, which moved into the lead at Turn 6 on the second lap of the race. But the battle, of course, wasn't done, with the two remaining within a second of one another as they raced at speeds of over 155 mph.

By the halfway point, the lead pair caught up to the rest of the field – and that is where Unimore's race came undone.

Attempting to lap the Constructor entry, Unimore collided with the rear of the German car, taking both off track and handing the lead back to TUM, whose car remained in the lead until the end of the race.

“We expected they’d overtake us on lap two and then we would get closer as our tires warmed up. Of course, we hoped to see action with Unimore all the way to the end, but regardless, what we have shown tonight is the rapid improvement and professional capability of the teams in this championship, to be able to have such a close battle in front of the crowd tonight.”

No driver on board, but the agony of defeat still stings...

While out of victory contention, Unimore salvaged something to celebrate by coming away with the fastest lap.

“I was very, very happy with the performance that we showed – our speed, the overtake, all showed the professional level that we have reached,” said Unimore Racing team principal Marko Bertogna. “Even a human racing driver would not have been able to avoid the collision we had, so this is just the nature of high-performance racing. I’m incredibly happy about the technological result, but of course less happy about the final result.”

Aside from the main competition, the A2RL finale also showcased a Man vs Machine contest with former Formula 1 driver Daniil Kvyat taking on TUM's championship-winning AI driver.

It wasn't the first time such a duel had taken place – previously, Kvyat took on an AI driver during an A2RL exhibition in Japan last year, but this year's contest was to demonstrate the rapid progress made since then.

Both used the same Dallara SF23 Super Formula-derived platform with a two-liter, 450 hp four-cylinder engine. The contest was a rolling start affair from the pit lane, with the AI driver given a 10-second lead and Kvyat given just 10 laps to hunt it down.

Kyvat had to work a lot harder to chase down the AI-driven car this time around.

The three-time F1 podium finisher recorded a best lap of 57.57 seconds, with TUM's AI driver registering a best of 59.15s – meaning a gap of just 1.58s between the two's respecting best laps, a huge improvement of the 10-second gulf between the two in their last encounter 18 months ago, as the pair crossed the line nose to tail.

“Looking back to when A2RL development first began a couple of years ago, with perhaps minutes between a human driver and the AI car, down to 10 seconds in our first showcase last year, and now we are seeing performance within fractions of a second – the technology progress is staggering,” said Kvyat. “As a technology enthusiast and a racer, it’s fantastic to be a part of this development since the beginning.

“Being on track with an AI driver is unlike anything else and it was fun to bring an exciting battle to the fans this evening.”

The A2RL World Championship Final was attended by 8,000 spectators filling the grand prix venue's North Grandstand. It served as the crowning moment of the first-ever Abu Dhabi Autonomous Week, a six-day event that brought researchers and industry experts together for a series of summits and exhibitions, including the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Summit, DRIFTx Exhibition, and RoboCup Asia-Pacific.

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