In 2024, on April 28, a race will be held at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, in which software algorithms will not drive, Reuters reports.

Cars controlled by software algorithms will compete on the Yas Marina circuit

The Dallara Super Formula SF23 driverless cars, which reach speeds of 300 kilometers per hour, have a computer instead of a cockpit and do not need a steering wheel, seat, pedals or Halo protection system.

The cars are the stars of the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL), which will host the first race at the venue that normally hosts the final stage of Formula 1.

The first year will feature ten one-car teams, but organizers admit they won’t be able to be on track at the same time.

“We know that two driverless cars can compete well together on a track, and we will try to see if we can get a result where three or four cars compete against each other.

In this case, we are at the forefront of science. If in the next five years we get to the point where 10 cars are racing together, I think that will be a huge achievement.

We see a time in the future when there will be as many cars on the grid for an autonomous race as there are for a Formula 1 race, but it won’t happen today or tomorrow.” – Tom McCarthyexecutive director of ASPIRE, for Reuters.

The teams will use identical machines operated by elite universities and institutions in Asia, Europe and the US, but each can adapt the software algorithms. The car is fully autonomous and the only human intervention once the race has started is to press a button to stop it.

A maximum of 10,000 tickets will be sold for the April race at nominal prices, but the focus will be online and virtual reality.

In the future, the A2RL may expand to three races with tracks in Europe and Asia.

Racing on autonomous cars does not threaten the ordinary

There have been attempts at unmanned racing in the past, and Formula E planned a “Roborace” series back in 2015.

A “race” between two cars at speeds of up to 185 km/h using sensors and on-board systems to navigate a street course in Buenos Aires took place in 2017 but failed.

Some of those who took part then are now with A2RL, but this time the cars use petrol engines.

“I think one of the biggest draws for the crowd at the racetrack is the sound of the internal combustion engine. I think he will be with us for some time” – Tom McCarthy.

ASPIRE also has plans to race autonomous drones, SUVs and boats.

“We would like producers to come to us and say, can you do A, B or C as a challenge? And then to design the race format in such a way that it tests that challenge that they have” – Tom McCarthy.

McCarthy says these races are not a threat to the regular series where the cars are driven by humans.

“I wouldn’t want to be considered one of those people who want to pull a person out of a car for sport. I think that would be crazy and I would really hate for that to happen. I think people always want to see racing as a human thing.” – Tom McCarthy.