NEW YORK, May 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Drone Racing League (DRL), the pro drone racing sport, announced the launch of its 2018 DRL Allianz World Championship Season today, unveiling their new global partners, elite drone pilots, and worldwide race locations. Premiering on September 6, 2018 on ESPN, DRL's third season will be broadcast in more than 75 countries on the top sports programs in the world including Sky Sports, ProSiebenSat.1 and recently announced media partner, Groupe AB. DRL shared the news from one of its 2018 season race venues and iconic indoor theme park, The Adventuredome at Circus Circus Las Vegas (An MGM Resorts Destination), as high speed, custom-built DRL racing drones spiraled around roller coasters.
"With more partners, more races, and more pilots, we're incredibly excited to unveil our most thrilling series yet. Following a historic 2017 season that was watched by tens of millions of fans across the globe, our 2018 DRL Allianz World Championship Season will pit the best FPV pilots against each other through fiercely competitive drone races in new spectacular locations," said DRL CEO & Founder, Nicholas Horbaczewski.
World-Renowned Global Partners
Last year, DRL introduced leading global insurance company Allianz as their title sponsor, and launched global partnerships with world-renowned brands including premium automobile manufacturer BMW, Swiss watchmaker Swatch, the U.S. Air Force, Toy State, manufacturer of the DRL Nikko™ Air racing drones, and Fatshark, the best in class FPV (First Person View) headset provider – all of whom have extended their agreements for the 2018 season. Newly added global partnerships include Cox Communications (Cox), the largest private telecom company in the U.S., the General Sport Authority (GSA) of Saudi Arabia, and Seagate, the Official Storage Supplier of DRL.
New Dramatic Locations
DRL races take place in iconic venues across the world, where the best FPV (First Person View) pilots fly identical and hand-built DRL racing drones through complex, three-dimensional, mile-long courses. During the 2018 season, pilots will take flight in elaborate spots including:
- Woodward West, the world-class camp for pro skateboarders and BMXers in Tehachapi, California, USA
- University of Arizona's Biosphere 2, the largest enclosed ecological observatory on the planet, located in Oracle, Arizona, USA
- The Adventuredome at Circus Circus Las Vegas, a five-acre indoor amusement park in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
- Allianz Riviera, a gigantic football stadium in Nice, France
- BMW Welt, the multisensory brand and product experience center of the BMW Group, located in the heart of Munich, Germany
- Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Best Drone Pilots in the World
- Meet DRL's eighteen fierce FPV pilots fighting to be crowned the World's Greatest Drone Pilot
- Pilots compete across three rounds (ranking, semi-finals and finals) that are made of several heats, each a minute long. They are ranked according to their fastest time and battle it out during the final round for the first-place title
- Each winner will be invited to go head to head in the 2018 DRL Allianz World Championship event in Saudi Arabia, the first professional drone race to be staged in the kingdom
DRL Made History
DRL has been watched by 55 million fans in 75+ countries across the world. During an action-packed 2017, DRL:
- Set the Guinness World RecordTM with the DRL RacerX, the fastest racing drone on earth, hand-built by the league's team of expert drone engineers
- Debuted the first professional drone race ever in the UK, hosting a royally epic finale at Alexandra Palace
- Proved esports can translate into real sports with their 2017 Tryouts, an online drone racing competition on the DRL Simulator, a true-to-life drone racing sim, that transformed gamer Jacob "Jawz" Schneider into a pro drone pilot overnight. He placed 1st at Level 4: Boston Foundry and 7th overall last year
About DRL:
DRL is the pro drone racing sport for elite FPV pilots around the world. A technology, sports and media company, DRL combines world-class media and proprietary technology to create thrilling drone racing content with mass appeal. In 2018 DRL is hosting a global series of seven races, the Allianz World Championship, to be broadcast on ESPN, Sky Sports, ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE, Groupe AB, Disney XD, OSN, FOX Sports Asia and other leading broadcast channels around the world. Founded by Nicholas Horbaczewski in 2015, DRL is a privately held company headquartered in NYC. For more information on DRL, visit www.drl.io. To join the conversation, follow DRL on Facebook at facebook.com/thedroneracingleague, on Twitter @DroneRaceLeague, and on Instagram @thedroneracingleague.
Media Contact:
Melanie Wallner
DRL Director of Communications
Melanie@drl.io
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SOURCE Drone Racing League
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