UAE team Kinetiz won the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League’s first international race at Imola on Saturday, its driverless Sparkz finishing 10.963 seconds clear of Germany’s Constructor Racing, according to The National.
How Kinetiz won A2RL’s first race outside Abu Dhabi
The 12-lap contest ran at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari as part of the ACI Racing Weekend. Five teams used identical autonomous Dallara Super Formula SF23 cars capable of more than 250 kph. Italy’s Unimore Racing took third. Fellow Italian squad PoliMOVE was fourth after its Eva car collided with Unimore’s Gianna during the race. Germany’s TUM completed the field.
A2RL had spent its first two seasons at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. Imola is the series’ first race outside the UAE. Official A2RL previews had set the date as 5 September 2026 and named the same five-team grid: TUM, Kinetiz, Unimore, Constructor and PoliMOVE.
What the cars had to do
The National reports the cars had to race wheel to wheel, respond to changing situations and decide when to attack or defend without a human in the cockpit. The Unimore–PoliMOVE contact underlined how hard high-speed autonomous decision-making still is.
Michael Sonderby, chief executive of Abu Dhabi autonomous mobility company SteerAI, told The National that decision-making remains the main challenge: processing inputs into actions at racing speed. SteerAI helped develop the original autonomy stack used by A2RL — covering decision-making, organisation, navigation and perception. The two programmes have since diverged, with A2RL chasing high-speed racing and SteerAI focusing on hard off-road environments. Sonderby described a shared foundation and separate annexes.
UAE angle: Yas Marina roots, SteerAI stack, Kinetiz on the road
Kinetiz is the Emirati entry on a league built by ASPIRE, the grand challenges arm of Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council. A2RL’s own Imola announcement listed SteerAI among 2026 partners. Sonderby told The National that pushing autonomy at racing speeds should, over time, support fuller autonomy and tougher use cases away from the circuit, including discussions with energy producers about moving dangerous materials without putting people at risk.
Raffaele Giammaria, director of operations at ACI Sport, told The National that empty cockpits still surprise spectators, and that closing the gap to human lap times shows how far the technology has moved. As director of Italy’s federal racing school, he also wants to study how the cars use corners, throttle and brakes for young-driver training. For earlier A2RL season context on the same platform, see tbreak’s Grand Final preview and Season 2 qualifying report.
What comes next
Following Imola, A2RL returns to Yas Marina Circuit for its 2026 season finale, as stated in the league’s own expansion briefing and The National’s pre-race coverage.
Who won A2RL’s first international race?
UAE team Kinetiz won at Imola on Saturday, according to The National. Its driverless Sparkz finished 10.963 seconds ahead of Germany’s Constructor Racing.
Was this A2RL’s first race outside the UAE?
Yes. The National and A2RL both describe Imola as the league’s first international race after two seasons at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.
What cars did the teams use?
Identical autonomous Dallara Super Formula SF23 cars. The National says they can exceed 250 kph. The Imola race was 12 laps.
What is SteerAI’s link to A2RL?
SteerAI chief executive Michael Sonderby told The National the company helped develop the original autonomy stack used by A2RL. The projects have since diverged. A2RL’s Imola announcement also lists SteerAI among 2026 partners.
Where does A2RL go next?
A2RL and The National’s pre-race coverage say the 2026 season finale returns to Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.
