UAE’s Kinetiz Wins A2RL’s First International Autonomous Car Race in Italy
UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 07th Sep, 2026
The Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) has concluded Europe’s first fully autonomous multi-car race, held at Italy’s Imola Circuit as part of the ACI Racing Weekend.
The UAE’s Kinetiz team won the league’s inaugural international race, contested over 12 laps on one of the world’s most technically demanding motorsport circuits.
A2RL is organized by ASPIRE, the grand challenges arm of Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council, bringing together leading players in Abu Dhabi’s autonomous mobility ecosystem under the strategic oversight of the Smart and Autonomous Systems Council.
The league has evolved from a public testing platform for artificial intelligence under extreme racing conditions into a competitive autonomous racing championship.
The Imola race marked A2RL’s international debut following two seasons at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, reinforcing its ambition to become the world’s first international championship for fully autonomous racing cars.
Five autonomous cars competed, with the UAE’s Kinetiz taking victory ahead of Germany’s Constructor Racing in second place, Italy’s PoliMOVE in third and Unimore in fourth. Germany’s TUM, champion in both 2024 and 2025, was classified fifth.
All teams used identical EAV-25 hardware, making software the decisive performance factor, from perception, planning and control to real-time decision-making. TUM’s winning streak ended after its car developed a technical problem during the formation lap, forcing it back to the pits before the race began.
Pole-sitter and race leader Unimore recorded the fastest lap of one minute and 40 seconds before a technical failure brought its car to an abrupt halt. PoliMOVE, which had followed within a second of the leader from the start and recorded the highest speed of 252.3 km/h, could not avoid Unimore’s suddenly slowing car and struck it from behind, bringing both teams’ races to an abrupt end.
Their retirement handed the lead to Kinetiz, which maintained its advantage to the chequered flag.
Faisal Al Bannai, Secretary-General of the Advanced Technology Research Council, said, “A2RL reflects Abu Dhabi’s approach to advanced technology, setting an ambitious challenge, bringing together the best minds and creating the conditions to accelerate progress. Imola put that approach to a real test, with five autonomous cars facing changing conditions and the pressures of direct competition.”
Stephane Timpano, Chief Executive Officer of ASPIRE, said, “Kinetiz’s victory is a significant achievement for the UAE, while the broader importance lies in what the race demonstrated about improving reliability, resilience and real-time decision-making. These insights will help advance autonomous systems far beyond motorsport.”