Courtesy of Red Bull Media Service Team
Danish team split wins at second Virtual Drone Grand Prix Proptown stop.
APEX Racing of Denmark shocked reigning Drone Champions League team XBlades Racing of Great Britain again at the Virtual Drone Grand Prix Proptown stop after they hit back to win the second race following defeat in the first. Here is all you need to know:
– The second DCL Virtual Season stop was fictional city Proptown, USA, an environment that took nearly 2,000 hours to create with eight teams facing the first purpose-built virtual Drone Grand Prix tracks in DCL history – two daytime and two nighttime.
– After splitting wins in the first stop, XBlades Racing qualified just behind APEX Racing on Day One however hit back in the decider to defeat the Danish upstarts.
– With a single heat left in the Grand Final, the score was tied however XBlades’ Ashton Gamble, just 14, had the race of his young life to win and secure a 7-6 victory.
– Day Two saw APEX Racing convert their superior qualification into a final win after they squeezed past Korea’s Falcons Racing 8-6 in the semi-finals.
– Neither team gave an inch in the Grand Final as Tomass Petersons of APEX stepped up and found another level to win the last four heats and give the Danish team a 9-7 triumph over XBlades.
– Gamble said: “It’s almost like real life. We’re flying head to head, and it’s super tight as always. All the pressure’s on, but that’s my favourite thing, when it’s all the pressure, all or nothing. It’s neck and neck – you see all the quads together. My team was like, ‘Go Faster!’ And sure enough, we made it happen.”
– Petersons added: “Our team is doing a really great job. I’m proud of them. The XBlades are a fast team – there were just milliseconds between us. We learned from yesterday and this time we stepped up more.”
– XBlades Racing remain top of the standings in their quest for a fifth title in the World Championship of professional drone racing teams, but APEX Racing and Quad Force One are hot on their tails just 70 points behind with 80 points on offer for a fifth-place finish.
– The same Saturday tracks will be available for anyone to play in DCL – The Game from August 10, while Sunday’s tracks can be accessed beginning August 17.
– The second half of the DCL season takes off with the Virtual Drone Grand Prix, Great Wall of China, on Saturday and Sunday, August 22-23 at 08:00 UTC.
RESULTS SATURDAY, Drone Grand Prix Proptown, USA 2020: 1. XBlades Racing (GBR) 250 points, 2. APEX Racing (DEN) 220 pts, 3. Quad Force One (USA) 200 pts, 4. Falcons Racing (KOR) 150 pts, 5. Raiden Racing (JPN) 80 pts, 6. China Dragons (CHN) 0, 7. Hot Props (USA) 0, 8. Drone Sports Global (RUS) 0
RESULTS SUNDAY, Drone Grand Prix Proptown, USA 2020: 1. APEX Racing (DEN) 250 points, 2. XBlades Racing (GBR) 220 pts, 3. Quad Force One (USA) 200 points, 4. Falcons Racing (KOR) 150 pts, 5. Raiden Racing (JPN) 80 pts, 6. Hot Props (USA) 0, 7. China Dragons (CHN) 0, 8. Drone Sports Global (RUS) 0
OVERALL STANDINGS, Drone Champions League 2020: 1. XBlades Racing (GBR) 940 points, 2. Quad Force One (USA) 870 pts, 3. APEX Racing (DEN) 870 pts, 4. Falcons Racing (KOR) 530 pts, 5.Raiden Racing (JPN) 390 pts, 6. China Dragons (CHN) 0, 7. Drone Sports Global (RUS) 0, 8. Indrone (ESP) 0, 8. Hot Props (USA) 0
2020 Drone Champions League Virtual Season
July 18-19: Breitling Virtual Drone Grand Prix Vaduz, Liechtenstein
August 8-9: Virtual Drone Grand Prix Proptown, USA
August 22-23: Virtual Drone Grand Prix, Great Wall of China
October 3-4: McDonald’s Virtual Drone Grand Prix, Lake Zurich & Laax, Switzerland