Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League: TUM retains title after Unimore collision halts final

A robot dropped the flag, six autonomous cars surged forward — and minutes later, Yas Marina Circuit witnessed one of the most dramatic races in the short history of the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL).

Team Unimore from Italy, starting second, made an early move drawing loud cheers from spectators. “As soon as we had the push-to-pass while the first team didn’t have it, we managed to do an overtake on the inside of Turn 6,” said driverless engineer Alessandro Toschi. “We were extremely happy about that.” For several laps, the red-and-white car led, its pace consistent and confident.

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But the race turned chaotic by Lap 10. Ahead of the Italian frontrunners, the Constructor car — which finished second last season — suddenly slowed and then stopped mid-track. “The car was asked to pit in because it was too slow. They didn’t pit,” Toschi explained.

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With another autonomous car approaching from behind, Unimore’s AI made split-second evasive decisions — right, then left — but the Constructor vehicle moved in the same fractions of a second. “We arrived with a huge delta of speed,” Toschi recalled. “We tried to avoid on the right… then they moved on the right, we moved on the left, but another vehicle was coming on the left. We were squeezed in between… and a small error in the distance translated into a crash.” 

Unimore’s car hit the barrier and suffered broken brackets. “The car was too damaged; it was not able to move,” Toschi noted. The team dropped from first to fifth, after marshals declared them unable to continue.

Constructor, meanwhile, saw its championship hopes evaporate. “We focused more on wheel-to-wheel driving and proper overtaking on full throttle,” said Ilya Shimchik, moments before the race. But the mid-track stoppage placed them last in the final standings. 

The race was red-flagged, and all cars were ordered to a halt until the wreckage was cleared. Three humanoid robots stood silently along the pitlane, facing the track as if watching alongside the engineers who created them — an almost surreal juxtaposition of man and machine.

When racing resumed, TUM — last year’s champions — reclaimed the lead and held it to the chequered flag, securing their second consecutive A2RL title. TII from the UAE finished second, and Polimove from Italy secured third place.

Race afternoon kicked off with a super cars parade. 

As night fell over Yas Island, the season ended with a drone show painting geometric patterns across the sky, followed by a burst of fireworks. Spectators, still buzzing from the crash and the unexpected podium reshuffle, watched hundreds of glowing drones ripple over the circuit — an appropriately futuristic finale to a race day that felt like witnessing motorsport’s next chapter being written in real time.

• Abu Dhabi

Haneen Dajani

haneen@khaleejtimes.com

Haneen Dajani is special correspondent in Abu Dhabi with over 15 years of reporting experience. She’s also a passionate athlete, full Ironman finisher, and mountaineer who loves to embark on unusual challenges.