Watch A2RL live stream now: the world's largest autonomous motor race

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Yas Marina will host a field of AI-driven race cars for the first time this weekend: full details on how to watch the A2RL, plus live stream as well as the teams and cars involved

A2RL Abu Dhabi

How to watch the A2RL in Abu Dhabi

A2RL

This weekend, Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit will play host to what could be the fastest showing of AI-based technology to date, with eight Dallara-made Super Formula SF23s set to compete wheel-to-wheel without a single driver in sight in the first race of its kind.

The A2RL — or the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League to give it its full moniker — will officially debut on Saturday April 27, and can be watched via a livestream on the series’ official YouTube and Twitch channels from 4pm (BST) onwards.

Each car has been developed and coded by one of eight teams which represent universities from countries around the world including Hungary, Italy, Germany, China, UAE and the USA.

Extensive testing has been underway for the last two weeks in the lead up to the event, which will involve a final practice session, pre-qualifying and a grand final with a total prize fund of $2.25m on the line.

 

How to watch the A2RL

The inaugural race of the A2RL will be streamed live from Abu Dhabi on the series’ official YouTube and Twitch channels.

The race day schedule is due to start at 4pm (BST) with the opening ceremony presentation which will be followed by two races.

The first will be a Man vs Machine event, in which the Technology Innovation Institute — a leading global advanced technology research centre in Abu Dhabi — will pit its autonomous machine against former F1 driver Daniil Kvyat. The format of the event is currently unknown.

The second race of the evening will then include all the autonomous vehicles which qualified for the 45-minute final, based on their speed and performance.


Full A2RL race day schedule 

All times shown in BST

Saturday 27 April
A2RL Opening ceremony — 4pm
Race 1: AI vs Human — 4.15pm
Race 2: A2RL Final — 5pm
Podium ceremony — 5.45pm

What is the A2RL?

Marketed as a super-sized, motor-sport themed science experiment, the A2RL aims to push the limits AI development which could later be applied into general problem solving as well as the driverless technology that is becoming ever more prominent in our road cars. All while having some sporting fun at the same time.

“We want it to be a sport, so that there is a certain degree of enjoyment,” Tom McCarthy, executive director of Abu Dhabi state investor Aspire, which set up the series, told Motor Sport. “But also potentially to be pushing ahead, with technological developments that can have near and long term benefits for humanity — that’s a real big driver for us.”

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Each team has been given identical autonomous cars which come pre-programmed with software capable of driving around the Yas Marina Circuit via an on-board computer — otherwise known as the autonomous stack. From there, it is then up to the teams of coders to develop the software by building up the “stored knowledge” within the AI through simulator sessions and on-track tests to improve its decision-making in the heat of a race.

“Think of a corner on a track,” explained McCarthy. “There’s of course an optimal line that the car will be programmed to follow, but then the next questions are: ‘What’s what’s the optimal speed I can come in and do that at?’ ‘How is that connected to the performance of the car itself?’ ‘How is it connected to the performance of the tyres?’ ‘How is it connected to the heat of the tyres at that point in time?’ ‘And how is it connected to the way the gear ratios are set up on the car?’ All of that data is also going into the car and it is then up to the coders to write software that can answer each question quicker than the rest.”

Although this weekend will mark the series’ inaugural race, there is already plans for it to return to Yas Marina annually.

 

Which teams are competing in the A2RL? 

A total of eight teams will make up the A2RL grid — each boasting a different livery and AI-generated representative.

Team name University/Organisation Country Team principal
Humda Humda Lab
Szechenyi University Group
Hungary Armin Bogar-Nemeth
Unimore University of Modena and Reggio Emilia Italy Alessandro Toschi
Tum Technical University of Munich Germany Simon Hoffmann
Fly Eagle Khalifa University China & UAE Nadya Abdel Madjid
Polimove Politecnico Italy Rodrigo Senofieni
Constructor Constructor University Germany Ilya Shimchik
Code 19 Code 19 Racing USA Lawrence Walter
Kinetiz Intsugi UAE & Singapore Tareq Albannay

 

What cars are used in the A2RL? 

A2RL Abu Dhabi autonomous

Every A2RL car will take on a different personality — could it result in exciting wheel-to-wheel driverless action?

A2RL

Each team will be in charge of programming a Super Formula SF23, based on Japanese Super Formula cars, which will be powered by 2-litre, 550bhp, four-cylinder, turbocharged engines and driven by an autonomous stack module in place of a driver.

Originally intended to be driven by humans at over 180mph, the car has been extensively modified for the competition and outfitted with an array of radar and lidar (laser) scanners, as well as cameras and GPS which will aim to build up a picture of the surrounding environment.

 

What circuit does the A2RL race on? 

The A2RL plans to race annually on Yas Marina’s full grand prix circuit — identical to the one F1 races on.

At 3.281-miles long, the circuit is renowned for its multitude of high-speed corners and straights which grew in number after the track underwent significant change in 2021.

The 90-degree entry into Turn 1 could be a catalyst for chaos as it forces the pack together shortly after the start, and the braking zone for the Turn 5 hairpin is often challenging for even the most experienced racing drivers, let alone a recently conceived AI module.

There’s also the Turn 6 and 7 chicane to conquer, as well as the elongated hairpin at Turn 9. Much like in other series, both are likely to provide ample opportunity to overtake, but with a computer behind the wheel, its currently unknown as to whether it’ll end in a disaster or not. Nevertheless, with plenty of run-off at almost every corner, there will at least be some margin for error.

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Circuit - Yas Marina

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This weekend will mark the first time that more than two autonomous cars have raced competitively in wheel-to-wheel combat with no rules in place in regard to overtaking.

In previous series such as Roborace, if one car closed to within a certain gap of another, the leading one would slow down to let the trailing car overtake.

Similarly in the Autonomous IndyCar Challenge, university teams had to develop their own software by passing another car on track at a steady pace. The speeds were then gradually increased until one was left standing.

But as McCarthy previously told Motor Sport, the A2RL is “something quite different.”