LAS VEGAS, NV, January 9 – Under unusually cold and blustery conditions at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the UC Berkeley-led AI Racing Tech autonomous racing team sped off to No. 1 victory in the passing competition at the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) at CES 2025.
The passing competition, one of three tiers of competition at the race, pits an attacking car against a lead car. Throughout the duration, the two cars exchange roles, taking turns passing one another under set times and lengths, at increasing speeds, until ultimately one car prevails.
After AI Racing Tech and Purdue AI Racing traded places several times, on its last attempt to overtake, Purdue did not close out the pass, and AI Racing Tech reached speeds up to 163 MPH on the way to their first No. 1 victory in the passing competition.
“Just amazing,” Team Principal Gary Passon said in an interview after the win. “These students have worked so hard… To come here and have everything go exactly as we planned it, exactly like we wanted to see it, was just an amazing experience.”
“We’re lucky enough we’ve finished second and third in other passing competitions, but we’ve never won,” added Passon. “This puts that final step on the podium in place. Keep your eye on us.”
To which the race announcer Greg Creamer responded, “It’s that type of energy, enthusiasm, and optimism that allows you to make these big gains. And doing it in some of the most difficult conditions imaginable has just got to add a bit of gravitas to their achievement.”
Dr. Allen Yang, Principal Investigator of UC Berkeley’s Robot Open Autonomous Racing (ROAR) program, which oversees the team, explains how they work best at cutting-edge scenarios, such as driving the car north of 150 miles per hour.
“At those edge cases, we explore solutions not even normal car companies have the know-how to do,” said Yang. “We’re really pushing the envelope of people’s understanding of what AI can do. Our suppliers and hardware providers have already benefited from our testbed.”
Both Yang and Passon emphasize the importance of student commitment to the program. “It cannot be overstated how dependent this program is on the talent and dedication of the students who make this all possible,” says Yang.
Team Manager and UC Berkeley Ph.D. student C.K. Wolfe described the victory as hard-won after a year of rebuilding following the departure of five senior team leads. “A group of truly exceptional students stepped up last summer, taking on a huge responsibility, and I couldn’t be more proud,” said Wolfe.
See the livestream of the event here. The Passing Tier starts at 1:12.
OFFICIAL LIVESTREAM: Autonomous Challenge @ CES 2025
