Drone Racing
XBlades Racing seal 5th straight Drone Champions League title
The British outfit eclipsed rivals APEX Racing and Quad Force One to triumph over four 2020 races in the first virtual season.
British powerhouse XBlades Racing clinched the official World Championship of professional drone racing teams at the McDonald's Virtual Drone Grand Prix Lake Zurich in Switzerland.
Coming into the season's final Drone Champions League Grand Prix, it was clear that XBlades, APEX Racing and Quad Force One would be on the podium, but the order was up for grabs. The Lake Zurich finale featured four challenging tracks from a plunge down Rapperswil Castle to fiendish gates over water, with all available to play in DCL – The Game.
XBlades served notice that they didn't intend to let their 120-point lead slip when they captured the best spots in the brackets by topping both Qualifying sessions. In Saturday's semis, XBlades dominated Quad Force One, but their win over Denmark's APEX Racing in the Grand Final was hard fought as Japan's Raiden Racing finished third.
XBlades triumph again
© DCL - The Game/Red Bull Content Pool
XBlades pilot Ashton Gamble revealed: "That was probably one of the hardest races ever. When we knew we won, we lost our voices from screaming."
On Sunday, APEX Racing faced the Brits and when XBlades star MinChan Kim immediately broke a track record, the writing was on the wall, with the Danes losing 16-1. The show of supremacy continued in the Grand Final as XBlades Racing thrashed the American squad Quad Force One 15-3, with Raiden Racing third again.
XBlades Racing celebrated a five-title streak that will go down in drone-racing history as APEX Racing took the runner-up spot for the second year in a row and Quad Force One finished just 20 points behind them in third for the USA as DCL's first-ever virtual World Championship raised the stakes due to pilot skill focus.
XBlades' pace this weekend has been absolutely incredible
APEX Racing Team Manager Glen Bales explained: "XBlades' pace this weekend has been absolutely incredible. We would have needed some extraordinary circumstances for them to lose the title fight. We'll have to bring it to them next time instead."
A total of 57 pilots from 21 countries competed in 2020, including the McDonald's Wildcard Team that represented Switzerland and Liechtenstein in Zurich.
Results Saturday: McDonald’s Virtual Drone Grand Prix, Lake Zurich, Switzerland, 2020
- XBlades Racing (GBR) 250 points
- APEX Racing (DEN) 220
- Raiden Racing (JPN) 200
- Quad Force One (USA) 150
- Falcons Racing (KOR) 80
- China Dragons (CHN) 0
- Drone Sports (RUS) 0
- McDonald’s Wildcard (SUI/LIE) 0
Results Sunday: McDonald’s Virtual Drone Grand Prix, Lake Zurich, Switzerland, 2020
- XBlades Racing (GBR) 250 points
- Quad Force One (USA) 220
- Raiden Racing (JPN) 200
- APEX Racing (DEN) 150
- Falcons Racing (KOR) 80
- China Dragons (CHN)
- Drone Sports Global (RUS)
- McDonald’s Wildcard (SUI/LIE)
Final Standings: Drone Champions League Virtual Season 2020:
- XBlades Racing (GBR) 1,910 points
- APEX Racing (DEN) 1,660
- Quad Force One (USA) 1,640
- Raiden Racing (JPN) 1,070
- Falcons Racing (KOR) 920
- China Dragons (CHN) 0
- Drone Sports Global (RUS) 0
- = Hot Props (USA) / Indrone (ESP) / CREW (CHN) / McDonald’s Wildcard (SUI/LIE) 0