On track, for the first time not on an oval, the world’s fastest autonomous racecars driven by software developed by the world's top universities

Innovation and technology, two key words for Autodromo Nazionale Monza since its founding 100 years ago. Two words that are reflected in the history of the Temple of Speed and that are renewed in the collaboration with the Indy Autonomous Challenge, an organization based in Indianapolis, in the state of Indiana, USA, which organizes a series of competitions between full-scale autonomous racecars, driven by software programmed by the best university engineering and technology teams from around the world. Thanks to the experimentation and ingenuity of top university talents from Italy, the USA, Germany and South Korea, Indy Autonomous Challenge teams are working to test and provide the technologies that, in a few years, will be standard on road and competition vehicles alike. A true research and development laboratory on four wheels.

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On track, for the first time not on an oval, the world’s fastest autonomous racecars driven by software developed by the world's top universities. (Photo: Business Wire)

The IAC, after making its debut in 2021 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, has taken its competitions to the ovals of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the Texas Motor Speedway, bringing Dallara AV-21 single-seaters to the track, equipped with excellent autonomous technology supplied by leading companies in the industry and integrated into the cockpits of the racecars by a team of engineers working for the IAC. The use of identical single-seaters allows university teams to compete based on the quality of their "AI driver" software. In January 2023, the Indy Autonomous Challenge announced it would expand its competitions to street circuits and entered into a two-year partnership with MIMO to hold competitions at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on the F1 circuit.

Based on the IAC's many years of experience in organizing and setting rules for autonomous competitions, added to the thousands of kilometers of high-speed oval racing with AV-21 beasts, ACI Sport has reviewed, drafted, and approved the regulations for a "Time Trial" race to be held on the Monza circuit. The regulations were approved as part of the experimental atypical races according to the ACI Sport Yearbook.

Each of the five university teams participating in the Indy Autonomous Challenge race in the Temple of Speed received an official driving license to participate in the competition, issued by ACI Milano. Although the license is granted to the team leader, it represents a first-of-its-kind motorsport license for an "AI driver.” To gain approval from ACI Sport, the IAC and each university team had to submit historical data and demonstrate track tests at Monza to validate the ability and safe operations of an autonomous racecar. The IAC will continue to collaborate with ACI Sport, MIMO and the Autodromo Nazionale Monza to develop the regulations and cars with the goal, in 2024, of holding the first head-to-head race, the ranking being today based on the fastest laps run in a "time trial" competition. Thus, it can return after more than 60 years, the legendary "Monzanapolis."

During the three days of MIMO at Autodromo Nazionale Monza, the Indy Autonomous Challenge cars will take to the track for two timed sessions per day, scheduled from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Each team will have six sessions to find the best lap with their car. The teams registered for the European premiere of the Indy Autonomous Challenge are:

• TUM Autonomous Motorsport - Technische Universität München (Germany)
• KAIST - Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (South Korea)
• PoliMOVE - Politecnico di Milano (Italy), University of Alabama (USA)
• TII Unimore Racing - University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy)
• MIT-PITT-RW - Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), University of Pittsburgh (USA), Rochester Institute of Technology (USA), University of Waterloo (Canada)

“The IAC and our university teams are thrilled to be racing at Monza on the famous “Temple of Speed,” said Paul Mitchell, Chairman and President of Indy Autonomous Challenge. “Working with ACI-Milano and the staff at Monza to establish the world’s first officially sanctioned autonomous racing competition and driver’s license is a historic moment that will advance the state of innovation and safety in the automotive industry for years to come!”

"Monza has always paid special attention to research and development, and being a partner of the Indy Autonomous Challenge is a source of pride for us,” said Giuseppe Redaelli, president of the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. “The hope of being able to bring the legend of "Monzanapolis" back to the track in a future-oriented version is a dream that we hope to realize as early as 2024.".

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