Team Polimove-MSU, a collaboration between Michigan State University (MSU), Politecnico di Milano, with the University of Alabama, took first place at the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca event on July 24, 2025.
The IAC brings together public-private partnerships and academic institutions to challenge university students around the world to imagine, invent and prove a new generation of automated vehicle software to run fully autonomous racecars and inspire the next generation of STEM talent.
Polimove-MSU competed in a field of eight, featuring university teams from North America, Europe and Asia. The race event included a time trial competition of the world’s fastest autonomous racecars piloted by AI driver software, which were developed by these teams.
The vehicles had to traverse a 2.23-mile-long course with 11 turns, including “The Corkscrew”. Infamous in racing circles, the elevation of this turn drops the equivalent of a 5½ stories in only 450 feet of track length. From Turn 8 to Turn 9, the elevation falls 109 feet, or just over 10 stories.
"Laguna Seca is a tough racecourse, with cars having to navigate its famous Corkscrew,” said Daniel Morris, Polimove-MSU team advisor and associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at MSU. “Two teams spun out during qualifiers on this stretch of track. In the finals, our competitor, Purdue, put in a super-fast lap at just over 130 seconds. Fortunately, we managed to best that with a final lap time of 129.79 seconds. It's been a blast pushing the boundaries of autonomous racing with our teammates.”
This is the fourth victory for the Polimove-MSU team out of a total of seven IAC events to date. Previous wins included: IAC Simulation Race at CES, Goodwood Festival of Speed, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“This victory is a testament to the incredible talent, dedication, and innovation of our students,” said Judd Herzer, MSU mobility and innovation director. “By competing – and winning – in autonomous motorsports at the highest level, they’re gaining hands-on experience in robotics, AI, and advanced autonomous vehicle systems that you simply can’t replicate in a classroom. Spartans aren’t just learning about the future of mobility, they’re building it.”
Sponsors of the Polimove-MSU team include the Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification, DENSO North America Foundation, and the MSU Research Foundation.
Written by Judi Melena Smelser
MSU College of Engineering Media and Public Relations page