In an upset for the ages, Denmark’s APEX Racing defeated the two-time reigning World Champions from Great Britain, XBlades Racing, to take top honors on both days.
- Accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in just 1.6 secondsand reaching top speeds of 160 km/h, the LED-lit drones of the eight DCL teams riveted the spectators in Turin, Italy’s City of Innovation. Families and fans of all ages also flocked to the nearby Drone Village, a new DCL component introduced at the Italian stop, where they could immerse themselves in the technology and fun of the sport, from activities including flying real drones and playing DCL The Game to exploring merchandise and enjoying music as well as food and drink.
- At each DCL stop, the starting order of Race Day 1 is decided by online Qualifying via DCL The Game, and for Turin the USA’s Quad Force One topped the Qualifying battle.
- When the Grand Prix Turin started on Friday, APEX Racing, who had a slow start at the season opener in Laax, Switzerland, came out fighting. Facing XBlades Racing in the Grand Final, the Danish team poured on the speed against the 2018 dominators, sealing the win. Another of the day’s biggest stories was the wildcard team of INDRONE TEAM (ESP), who claimed third.
- On Saturday, INDRONE’s wildcard dream ended in the Quarter Finals, but the China Dragons (CHN) had a happier ending, finishing in third place for their first World Championship points of the season. In the Grand Final, it was déjà vu: The Brits from XBlades had their chance for revenge, as for the second race in a row they went up against APEX. But the Danes would not be denied, clinching their double-header sweep.
- The performance of XBlades Racing was enough to hold the British team at the top of the World Championship standings at 840 points, but APEX Racing has leapfrogged to second overall, with 660 points to the 560 of third-place Veloce Racing from Korea. With three stops to go, there’s everything to play for.
- The Drone Champions League is the recognized championship for professional drone racing teams.Since 2016, DCL has brought together the planet’s best drone pilots, who compete on eight international teams in spectacular settings globally. Each DCL race is broadcast live, worldwide on TV and online, and DCL The Game is available now in demo phase, with full rollout for PC, Mac and PS4 launching in November 2019 (game.dcl.aero).
See the third stop of the DCL season take flight with a historic premiere at Neom, Saudi Arabia on 12-13 September 2019. To follow the action and for all the DCL updates: www.dcl.aero
QUOTES:
“It was incredible because in Italy we don’t have the regulation for drones,so we worked a lot over the past 4 months with the Drone Champions League to make this event. We really invest, as a City, in Innovation and in this kind of event. Our City responded very well, we had 5,000 spectators so we are really happy, and we hope to have the Drone Champions League back in Turin next year.”
Paola Pisano – Deputy Mayor for Innovation and Smart City – City of Torino
“It was absolutely amazing, we trained the whole week back in Zurich so we were well prepared. We hoped that we would get good results but this is above expectations, it’s amazing.”
Timothy Trowbridge – APEX Racing (Saturday)
“Yeah, it was crazy. We’re super stoked to win a race in only our second race ever and especially against the 3 times DCL World Champions (XBlades Racing) so, it’s definitely an achievement. I was the first guy to fly in the team and to see what we built up to makes me incredibly happy.”
Dane Grace – APEX Racing (Friday)
“We are pretty happy we got third place because yesterday we really had a bad day, everything technical went wrong and we had to work a lot on our drones. Today, we were better prepared, and it worked out well – we got to the semi-finals for the first time, we are happy.”
Dennis Hochmann – China Dragons (Saturday)
RESULTS:
Results, 12 July 2019, Drone Grand Prix Turin:1. APEX Racing (DEN) 250 points, 2. XBlades Racing (GBR) 220 pts, 3. INDRONE TEAM (ESP) 200 pts, 4. Drone Sports (RUS) 150 pts, 5. Veloce Racing (KOR) 80 pts, 6. China Dragons (CHN) 0, 7. DMM RAIDEN RACING (JPN) 0, 8. Quad Force One (USA) 0
Results, 13 July 2019, Drone Grand Prix Turin 2019:1) APEX Racing (DEN) 250 points, 2. XBlades Racing (GBR) 220 pts, 3. China Dragons (CHN) 200 pts, 4. Drone Sports (RUS) 150 pts, 5. Veloce Racing (KOR) 80 pts, 6. DMM RAIDEN RACING (JPN) 0, 7. INDRONE TEAM (ESP) 0, 8. Quad Force One (USA) 0
2019 DCL Standings after two stops:1. XBlades Racing (GBR) 840 points, 2. APEX Racing (DEN) 660 pts, 3. Veloce Racing (KOR) 560 pts, 4. Drone Sports (RUS) 520 pts, 5. McDonald’s Wildcard Team 400 pts, 6. Quad Force One (USA) 220 pts, 7. INDRONE TEAM 200 pts, 7. China Dragons 200 pts
