Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League


The Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League 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, the quadcopter drone racing format, and the off-road dune buggy racing format.

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 12 teams.

Technical specifications

The full list of technical specifications are as follows:Chassis: Dallara EAV24 Forward suspension: Pushrod type, torsion bar spring, adjustable dampers, third elementRear suspension: Pushrod type, torsion bar, coil springs, adjustable dampers, third elementTires: Yokohama AdvanDrive-by-wire system: Provided by, 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 activatedEngine: 4 Piston Racing K20C1 Gearbox: 3MO 6-speed gearboxSensor suite: 7x Sony IMX728 cameras, 4x ZF ProWave radar units, 3x Seyond Falcon Kinetic lidar unitsMain computer: Neousys RGS-8805GC

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

Team nameNationalityFirst entered2025 result
ALP AutonomySingapore2025TBD
CVAR-UPMSpain2025TBD
Flyby TU WienAustria2025TBD
Fly EagleChina/UAE2025TBD
KAISTSouth Korea2025TBD
MAVLAB Delft University of TechnologyThe Netherlands20251st
Team QuetzalC++Mexico2025TBD
Code 19USA202510th
TII RacingUnited Arab Emirates2025TBD
USTC TigerChina2025TBD
UTDARCanada20257th
MRS Czech Technical UniversityCzechia20253rd