Drones

Formula One-inspired Drone Racing League to take flight next month

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The first event on February 22 will take place at NFL's Sun Life Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins
The first event on February 22 will take place at NFL's Sun Life Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins
The first event on February 22 will take place at NFL's Sun Life Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins
The pilots don VR goggles, which stream vision from the nose of the drone as it zips through the course
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From remote forests and derelict warehouses to international contests in professional sports stadiums in the space of a year, the sport of drone racing sure is gathering steam. The Drone Racing League is looking beyond makeshift courses and one-off events to establish an F1-like racing series at different locations throughout the year, with the first event set to kick off in Miami next month.

Not all that long ago drone racing was little more than a recreational hobby, where custom quadcopter owners would meet up at clandestine locations and pit their machines against one another in a frenetic blend of virtual reality and remote-controlled racing. The pilots don VR goggles, which stream vision from the nose of the drone as it zips through pylons and trees, making for an immersive and thrilling experience that seems to be winning over hordes of new participants every day.

In July last year the California State Fair played host to the inaugural US Drone Racing National Championship, where competitors battled it out for US$25,000 in prize money, marking the rapid rise of drone racing as a semi-professional sport.

Armed with its own in-house media team, the Drone Racing League is now intent on taking things even further. Across a total of five events, pilots with names like Flyingbear, Spaztik, Kittycopter and Little A will race for their share of qualifying points. At the end of the racing season, those with the most points will advance to the winner takes all World Championship race.

The first event on February 22 will take place at NFL's Sun Life Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins, while the second will be in an abandoned building in Los Angeles. Beyond that, the remaining locations and dates are yet to be confirmed.

You can check out the promotional video for the Drone Racing League below.

Source: Drone Racing League

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3 comments
Stephen N Russell
The future for motor sports: Drone races. Held worldwide, every idle stadium or venue. Wow Use bigger drones for races in the wilderness? Bryce Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Glacier parks. Use cameras for IMAX & 3D alone, awesome. Be huge Rival Reno Air Races: manned planes since 1945. $$$$$.
LordInsidious
I love this racing and can't wait to see the league and big events develop.
BZD
What exactly makes this "F1 like"? Seems to me throwing the F1 thing out there is really nothing but an attempt to feed of the F1 familiarity that championships has in the racing world. It seems to me it would be much more relevant to say it is gonna be IFMAR like, but marketing wise that would of course not be so attractive.