2025 Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League

The 2025 season of the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League began in 11 April 2025 in Abu Dhabi. This year marks the first multi-format season of the A2RL, racing both drones and self-driving cars. The venue of choice for the Car Race, set for 15 November 2025, is the Yas Marina Circuit, same as the previous year, while the Drone Race was held at the ADNEC Marina Hall. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]}

Background

Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League

The A2RL is an autonomous racing championship based in Abu Dhabi and organized by ASPIRE, part of the Advanced Technology Research Council. It is one of two active autonomous car racing championships, the second being the US-based Indy Autonomous Challenge.Unlike the IAC, which primarily focuses on time trials and simulated races, the A2RL's car races are closer to a standard grand prix formula race format. Both use Dallara-supplied racecars; the IAC uses the AV-24 chassis derived from Indy NXT's IL-15, while the A2RL chassis is designated EAV-24 and is derived from the SF-23 chassis used in Japanese Super Formula races. ^{[5] [6]}

Entrants

As of May 2025, the following teams have been confirmed to be part of the A2RL: ^{[7] [8] [9]}

2025 A2RL Car Race Entry List ^{[10] [11] [9]}

Team name	2024 time trial (qualifying)	2024 result	Notes
Technical University of Munich	P3	P1	2024 Champion
PoliMOVE	P1	DNF	2024 Pole-sitter
UNIMORE Racing	P2	DNF	2024 Fastest Lap
Constructor University	P4	P2
HUMDA Lab	P5	DNQ
Code19 Racing	P6	DNQ
Fly Eagle	P7	DNQ
Kinetiz	P8	DNQ	Failed to set a qualifying time in 2024
TGM Grand Prix/SEVRUS Japan	N/A	N/A	Rookie team
FR4IAV/Aladin Innovation	N/A	N/A	Rookie team
TII Racing	N/A	N/A	Rookie team; partner team
AiPEX Racing	N/A	N/A	Rookie team (disputed) [note 1]

2025 A2RL Drone Race Entry List ^[12]

AI Team Name	DCL Team Name
Cyclone Lab	Cyclone Drone Racing
Starling	Raiden Racing
Code19 Racing	Spain Drone Team
FLYBY
Fly Eagle
KAIST
Fly for Future
CVAR-UPM
Kinetiz
Code19 Racing
MAVLAB

Drone race

2025 Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League Grand Prix
Race details
Date	12 April 2025 (2025-04-12)
Official name	2025 A2RL Autonomous drone race
Location	ADNEC Marina Hall, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Podium
First	Unnamed AI	MAVLAB
Second	Unnamed AI	TII Racing
Third	Unnamed AI	KAIST

Qualifying

Qualifying took place over an unspecified period of time ending on March 2025. 14 teams qualified. ^{[12] [13]}

Final podiums

Top 3 Classifications for the 2025 A2RL Drone Race ^[14]

Position	AI Grand Challenge	AI vs Human Challenge	Multi-drone race	Autonomous drag race
1	MAVLAB	MAVLAB	TII Racing	MAVLAB
2	TII Racing	Yuki Hashimoto (Raiden)	Not disclosed	Not disclosed
3	KAIST	Platon Cheremnykh (SDT)	Not disclosed	Not disclosed

Car race

2025 Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League Grand Prix
Race details
Date	15 November 2025 (2025-11-15)
Official name	2025 A2RL Autonomous car race
Location	Yas Marina circuit, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	5.281 km (3.281 miles)
Scheduled distance	8 laps, Approx. 42.248 km (26.248 miles)

The main event is scheduled for 15 November 2025 at the Yas Marina Circuit. ^{[15] [16] [5] [17]}

Pre-season testing

Pre-season testing took place in early 2025. According to the organizers, over 300 terabytes of data were gathered and 1640 laps were logged between all teams. ^{[18] [19]}

SIM Sprint

As part of the build-up to the race, the SIM Sprint series is a series of simulated races involving at least one fictional circuit taking place in the Autoverse, a metaverse platform made by company Autonoma. ^{[20] [21]} In the future, it is expected that this act as a feeder series to the A2RL Car Race. ^{[22] [23] [24] [5]}

SIM Sprint standings

Colour	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	Second place
Bronze	Third place
Green	Points classification
Blue	Non-points classification
	Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple	Retired, not classified (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
	Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
	Withdrew (WD)
	Race cancelled (C)
Blank	Did not practice (DNP)
	Did not arrive (DNA)
	Excluded (EX)

SIM Sprint races

Round	Circuit	Pole	Winner	Fastest Lap
1	Yas Marina	Not disclosed	Technical University of Munich	Kinetiz
2	Original circuit	Not disclosed	Kinetiz	Not disclosed
3	Suzuka

SIM Sprint points system ^[25]

Position	P1	P2	P3	P4	P5	P6
Points	25	18	15	12	10	8

SIM Sprint points standings ^[25]

Pos.	Team	YAS	ORI	SUZ	TBD	Points
1	Technical University of Munich	P1				25
2	Constructor University	P2				18
3	TII Racing	P3				15
4	UNIMORE Racing	P4				12
5	Kinetiz	P5 F				10
6	HUMDA Lab	P6				8

Qualifying

Qualifying report

TBA

Qualifying results

TBA

Main race

Race report

TBA

Final race classification

TBA

Notes

1. While the A2RL organizers have mentioned AiPEX in the initial press release, it is absent from subsequent material. Until confirmed otherwise, it is assumed that AiPEX is an entrant in 2025.

References

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4. Mills, Irwin (2025-05-19). "Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League Returns In 2025 With USD 2.25M Prize Pool And Global Teams". www.drivespark.com. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
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14. "Meet the Winners: A2RL x DCL Autonomous Drone Championship - ITP.net". 2025-04-17. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
15. "A2RL to return for season two at Yas Marina Circuit". Motorsport.com. 20 May 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
16. "A2RL Season 2: Global Expansion, $2.25M Prize". Self Drive News. 2025-05-19. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
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19. "Man versus machine learning – A2RL is bringing together human and AI potential on the racetrack". Autosport.
20. "A2RL Returns to Yas Marina Circuit with Season 2, Welcoming Global Teams and Launching Groundbreaking SIM Sprint". carsite.co.za. 2025-06-06. Retrieved 2025-06-08.
21. King, Jasaun (2025-05-09). "Why Autonoma Races Ahead in the Autonomy Revolution". Autonoma. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
22. James, Anthony (2025-05-20). "Second season announced for Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL)". ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
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