Date:14/03/16

World Drone Grand Prix debuts in Dubai

The future of high-speed, high-technology racing was on display as 32 teams from 19 countries participated in the World Drone Grand Prix. The two-day contest revved up on the state-of-the-art drone racing track at Sky Dive Dubai on Friday.

Thirty-two pilots and their incredible flying machines held thousands of spectators spellbound with four hours of pure adrenaline-pumping spectacle.

Being the first in the world, Dubai now has to its credit the world’s largest drone racing track measuring seven kilometers. Over 150 teams entered the contest on March 7 but only 32 were short-listed in the elimination round.

Luke Bannister of Somerset, England led his team, the Tornado X-Blades Banni UK, to the top spot at the world’s largest drone race to date.

Bannister flew the drone by himself using a special pair of VR goggles that allowed him to see a live first-person feed of what his drone saw through a camera mounted on the device. The drones, four at a time, raced arounds a neon-lit track flying through hoops for 12 laps. Each drone was required to take at least one pit stop during the race so its crews could swap out batteries, the AP reports. The pilots themselves wore white, F1-style racing overalls.

As for that $250,000 cash prize, 15-year-old Bannister will be splitting it with the 43 team members of the Tornado X-Blades Banni UK.

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