Driverless IndyCar to tackle Hillclimb at 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed

Hill Climb Racing News

A driverless car from the Indy Autonomous Challenge will take on a "special Hillclimb event" over the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed weekend

IndyCar Autonomous Challenge

Machine may take on man at the Goodwood hillclimb this summer

Goodwood

Top racing drivers and fearless bike riders will share the bill with the latest in autonomous AI tech at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, where a driverless single-seater car is set to take on the Hillclimb.

One of the 190mph Indy Lights-based machines from the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) will be entered into a “special challenge” that will be revealed in the coming months.

It will be only the third time a driverless car has tackled Goodwood’s famous stretch of 1.16-mile tarmac — after now-defunct series Roborace entered its own autonomous cars in 2018 and 2019. Neither set a blistering pace, but the latter did improve on its predecessor’s time by 8 seconds — completing the course in 66.96 seconds.

That autonomous record could well be eclipsed by the Dallara-made car, which was on static display at last year’s event, when the IAC team digitally mapped the Hillclimb in preparation for the 2024 run.


Watch Roborace send its driverless car up the Goodwood Hill in 2019


The IAC is one of three mainstream autonomous racing leagues to appear in the last few years — alongside Roborace and the A2RL. It challenges university teams to develop their own AI racing software, which is then put to the test against other teams in head-to-head challenges using the identical 2.0-litre turbocharged 388 bhp Honda-powered cars.

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In 2023, the series brought together nine competing teams on an oval circuit. Each tested their software in one-on-one track battles, using the data from an array of cameras and sensors to pass another car at a steady pace. The speeds were then gradually increased until just one team was left standing.

Michigan State University’s PoliMOVE won the latest IndyCar challenge at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show and also holds the land speed record for a fully autonomous race car, which hit a top speed of 192.2mph at the Kennedy Space Centre in 2022.

It won’t achieve the same speeds at Goodwood but its runs up the hill —visibly without a driver — are likely to attract plenty of attention.

Watch PoliMove win the 2023 IAC title as its rival spins! 

 

The AI-driven racer will be among a field included in under the FOS TECH strategy, which aims to showcase the future of the automotive industry: from alternative fuels to mind-bending autonomous technology.

“We can’t wait to head back to Goodwood in July with the world’s fastest and most advanced autonomous race car,” said IAC president Paul Mitchell.

“Goodwood provides a historic venue to showcase the future of high-speed autonomous mobility and connect a global audience to the talented university teams developing cutting edge AI driver software. We’re excited to be a part of the Festival of Speed’s growing FOS TECH content and let people get up close to the latest and greatest in innovation and technology.”

The 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed will take place from Thursday 11 July — Sunday 15 July, with early bird tickets now on sale here