Six autonomous cars. One Grand Final. Abu Dhabi is ready

Qualification for A2RL Season 2 is done. Reigning champions TUM start the Grand Final from pole after a tense multi-car sprint at Yas Marina. Italy’s Unimore grabbed headlines with a 58.87-second lap, faster than a pro driver’s benchmark on the same North Circuit layout. The 24-lap Grand Final on Friday, 15 November 2025, brings a world-first: six autonomous cars racing together, with five more teams lining up for a Silver Race time trial.

Who made the cut for the Grand Final

Six teams reached the main event after pace runs and multi-car heats at Yas Marina. They represent Germany, Italy, Singapore/UAE and the UAE.

• TUM Autonomous Motorsport
• Unimore Racing
• Kinetiz
• TII Racing
• PoliMOVE Autonomous Racing Team
• Constructor University Racing Team

These six contest a 24-lap race at Yas Marina on 15 November. The remaining five teams race a timed Silver session.

TUM heads the grid after a decisive pass on Unimore in multi-car qualifying. Expect tight margins; qualification showed little separation once race pace stabilised.

The lap that reset expectations

Unimore clocked a 58.87s lap on the North Circuit, beating a professional driver’s 59.20s reference set during data laps. That’s the fastest autonomous lap recorded at Yas Marina to date in A2RL testing and qualifying.

• Record: 58.87s autonomous (Unimore)
• Benchmark: 59.20s human pro
• Context: multiple teams dipped under one minute through the week
• Session: Pace Qualification, three 15-minute runs per team

The lap matters beyond bragging rights. It hints at where machine consistency and kerb-use precision can outdo a human in clean air. During the multi-car heats, TUM’s overtake on Unimore under pressure showed the other half of the puzzle: racecraft algorithms that choose when to attack and when to wait. That move helped secure pole for TUM.

Format, rules and the money on the line

A2RL uses a two-stage qualifying format: flat-out pace sessions, then multi-car heats. The final is a 24-lap race with six autonomous cars on track. There’s also a Silver Race time trial for the rest. Prize pool for the season totals US$2.25 million.

• Pace Qualification: three 15-minute sessions for best lap
• Multi-car Qualification: four heats of 12 laps
• Grand Final: six cars, 24 laps
• Silver Race: time trial for five teams
• Prize pool: US$2.25m

The structure rewards both pure speed and safe, assertive traffic handling. Teams need perception, planning and control stacks that cope with slip angles, traffic gaps and risk management at speed.

Who to watch on 15 November

TUM is chasing back-to-back titles from pole. Unimore has raw pace and a clean execution record, including a tidy kerb-hop to avoid contact during TUM’s pass. Kinetiz and TII Racing bring local knowledge and fresh logic updates. PoliMOVE and Constructor have history in autonomous contests and can spring a surprise with tyre and traffic models dialled in.

• Pole: TUM Autonomous Motorsport
• Headline pace: Unimore’s 58.87s
• Human vs AI: Daniil Kvyat returns for the demo
• Local angle: TII Racing carries the UAE flag

Expect a punchy first lap. The field showed sub-minute potential, but race traffic raises the bar on prediction and avoidance, especially into Turns 5 and 6 on the North layout.

Abu Dhabi’s wider play: ADAW, ASPIRE and ATRC

A2RL caps the first Abu Dhabi Autonomous Week, a six-day series of summits, exhibitions and competitions. The league is organised by ASPIRE, part of Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC). The aim is clear: use extreme sport to harden autonomous systems and accelerate AI R&D in the UAE.

• ADAW includes the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Summit, DRIFTx and RoboCup Asia-Pacific
• ASPIRE leads large-scale tech “Grand Challenges” under ATRC
• A2RL’s aim: push AI towards real-world autonomy

For context on the UAE’s robotics scene, note the recent TII x NVIDIA AI & Robotics lab announcement in Abu Dhabi and how it intersects with teams like TII Racing. Read our coverage.

Full qualifying lists

Grand Final entrants (order of qualification)

TUM Autonomous Motorsport; Unimore Racing; Kinetiz; TII Racing; PoliMOVE Autonomous Racing Team; Constructor University Racing Team.

Silver Race (order of qualification)

RAPSON; Code 19; Fly Eagle; FR4IAV; TGM.

When is the A2RL Season 2 Grand Final in Abu Dhabi?

Friday, 15 November 2025, at Yas Marina Circuit. It’s a 24-lap, six-car autonomous race with a separate Silver Race time trial.

Who qualified for the Grand Final grid?

TUM, Unimore, Kinetiz, TII Racing, PoliMOVE and Constructor University Racing Team.

What record did Unimore set in qualifying?

A 58.87-second autonomous lap on the North Circuit, quicker than the pro driver’s 59.20s reference from data laps.

Who starts from pole?

TUM, after a strong multi-car qualifying performance including a decisive pass on Unimore.

What else is happening during race week?

Daniil Kvyat returns for a Human vs AI demonstration, and A2RL headlines Abu Dhabi Autonomous Week, hosted by ASPIRE under ATRC.

Notes for UAE readers

For more on local autonomy and robotics momentum, see our pieces on the TII x NVIDIA AI & Robotics lab and the first L4 personal robocar showcase in Dubai, which hints at where consumer autonomy is going next: L4 Robocar you can actually own. These don’t affect A2RL’s results, but they show why Abu Dhabi keeps leaning into autonomy.