A race car driven by AI has broken the lap record set by humans in a historical world-first for autonomous motorsport.
An IAC AV-24 racecar, engineered by IAC and piloted by AI driving software from Unimore Racing, completed a lap in 58.3 seconds.
It was just one second faster than the past record of 59.3 seconds, which was set by a human driver behind a Lamborghini Huracán STO in 2022.
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The record-breaking run was achieved during the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC), a global university competition advancing autonomous technologies through high-speed racing.
And Ayoub Raji, the co-lead of Unimore Racing, believes that the time could’ve been cut by a further two seconds, as reported by Luxury Auto News.
“With fresh tires alone, we could’ve cut the time by another couple of seconds,” Ayoub said.
“With a road-course aero kit, we can go even faster.
“We were also eyeing the full-layout track record of 1 minute and 8.5 seconds, set by a lightweight FX3-series formula car.
“That was within reach too, we just ran out of time.
“Hopefully we’ll be back.”
The AI driver was developed by Unimore Racing, a team of students and researchers from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, in Italy.
It is just one of 10 university teams from around the world competing in the Indy Autonomous Challenge.
The team also finished first at the IAC’s first multi-car autonomous exhibition race held in January at Las Vegas Motor Speedway 2025.
This new record was set during the final day of the 2025 Motor Valley Fest on 8 June, which took place at Autodromo di Modena, in Italy.
Modena is known for its Ferrari and Lamborghini sports cars.
Professor Marko Bertogna, team principal of Unimore Racing and professor at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, said: “In many tasks, AI has already surpassed humans, while in others, we are still far away, especially in the robotics domain.
“To date, no one has demonstrated the superiority of AI in the racing field.
“The record we achieved together with the Indy Autonomous Challenge is a step in this direction.
“It makes us proud to have achieved it in the very heart of the Motor Valley.”
Paul Mitchell, president of Indy Autonomous Challenge and Aidoptation BV, added: “This milestone shows how far our autonomous systems have come in a short time, thanks to the ingenuity of our university teams and the power of collaboration.
“Our goal has never been to compete with human drivers, but to push the boundaries of what’s possible with AI behind the wheel.
“Achievements like this demonstrate the potential of autonomy in complex, high-speed environments, and that progress benefits everyone.”
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