# Driverless racing goes global. Will fans care?

> Autonomous race cars race across continents. Can fans follow the tech without drivers?
- Title: Driverless racing goes global. Will fans care? · Fox News
- Summary: Autonomous race cars race across continents. Can fans follow the tech without drivers? Fans need to connect with teams behind the software to care about…
- Keywords: india autonomous challenge, a2rl, unimore racing, purdue ai racing, kinetiz, imola circuit, weather tech raceway, autonomous racing, ai racing, dallara super formula, eav-25, news
- Source: Fox News — https://foxnews.com/tech/driverless-racing-goes-global-will-fans-care
- Author: Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report
- Published: 2026-09-17T00:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: india autonomous challenge, a2rl, unimore racing, purdue ai racing, kinetiz, imola circuit, weather tech raceway, autonomous racing, ai racing, dallara super formula, eav-25, news
## First race in California
Purdue AI Racing set a new autonomous track record at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Sept 3, 2026.

> Purdue became the only American team to qualify for that portion of the competition.
## European race debut
Five teams raced fully autonomous cars at Italy's Imola Circuit for the first time on Sept 5, 2026.

> Team Kinetiz came from fourth on the grid to win the 12-lap event.
## Team competition
Nine university teams from North America, Europe and Asia competed with identical race cars at Laguna Seca.

> The Indy Autonomous Challenge brings together university teams that develop AI drivers for identical race cars.
## AI racing speed
PoliMOVE hit 157 mph at Imola without a driver, matching a human driver's lap time within 0.85 seconds.

> The fastest autonomous lap came within 0.85 seconds of a benchmark lap set by Super Formula driver Juju Noda.
## Crash reveals challenges
Unimore's car slowed dramatically, causing PoliMOVE to hit it from behind and end both teams' runs.

> The collision ended both teams' runs.
## Fan connection problem
Fans follow drivers, but autonomous racing means rooting for software teams instead.

> Part of the fun of racing is having someone to root for.
## Racing as testing ground
Racetracks test autonomous software at high speeds with other autonomous cars making decisions.

> Racing forces researchers to test those capabilities at the edge of what the vehicle can handle.
## Real-world readiness
Autonomous racing shows software can handle high-speed racing but not public road conditions.

> Winning an autonomous race does not mean the same software is ready to drive you around town.
## The fan question
Will fans root for the teams behind the software instead of drivers?

> Could fans eventually start rooting for the teams behind the technology instead?
## Global racing expansion
Autonomous racing now operates in the U.S., Europe, and Abu Dhabi with teams competing internationally.

> The technology clearly travels.
## Future of racing
Autonomous racing must prove watching software compete is as exciting as watching drivers push cars to the limit.

> Autonomous racing still has to prove that watching great software compete can be as exciting as watching a great driver push a car to the limit.
## Key takeaway

Fans need to connect with teams behind the software to care about autonomous racing.