Munich. More and more people around the world are
discovering a passion for drone racing. On July 28, 2018 BMW Welt in
Munich will be transformed into a gladiator arena in which the best
pilots in the international Drone Racing League will be battling for a
place in the final of the 2018 DRL Allianz World Championship in Saudi
Arabia. The drones will be flying at
speeds well in excess of 90 miles an hour around a specially designed
course inside the building and above the vehicle exhibits. The lineup
of twelve highly experienced pilots includes competitors from Germany,
USA, England, Sweden and the Netherlands as well as the German eGaming
stars McStralle and UpsidedownFPV. Fans and visitors can follow the
event live and enjoy an exciting fringe program.
Racing at high speed through BMW Welt
This year, BMW has been named as an official partner of the Drone
Racing League (DRL), which is organizing one of the largest
international racing series in this futuristic sport, the “2018 DRL
Allianz World Championship”. Experienced FPV (First Person View)
pilots will guide their custom-made DRL drones around complex
three-dimensional courses, reaching speeds of more than 90 miles an
hour. The course around the award-winning architecture of BMW Welt and
the vehicle exhibits has been plotted with millimeter accuracy thanks
to state-of-the-art hardware and software. As a result, around 1,000
spectators on various platforms throughout BMW Welt will have
thrill-a-minute drone races, and the drone pilots will be faced with
an attractive and highly challenging course. This calls for a huge
amount of equipment and high levels of organization on both sides –
the BMW Welt and the DRL, whose teams have been preparing the event
together for months. The set-up is impressive: A crew of 150, some 600
identical, custom-built DRL racing drones and the rest of the
equipment are coming in a total of eight articulated trucks. Once they
arrive at BMW Welt, up to 3,000 meters of cabling need to be laid,
including power supply cables for more than 60 cameras.
“Drone racing is becoming more and more popular thanks to DRL
professionalizing the sport and bringing it into the mainstream. We
are bringing the semi-final races of the DRL Championship to BMW Welt,
so our visitors can experience this new sport close up ”, said Jörg
Reimann, Head of BMW Customer Brand Experience. “Our involvement
addresses an exciting new target group with an interest in action
sports and with great affinity for digitalization, state-of-the-art
materials and advanced technologies.”
A varied package for an unforgettable experience
The spectacular on July 28, 2018 starts at 7 pm with the semi-final
and will close with the official award ceremony for the finalists at
10 pm. The 30-minute half-time show features a DJ to keep the mood
exuberant. Anyone unable to get a ticket can watch the action live and
free of charge on a big screen in the fan zone on the forecourt of BMW
Welt and in the Double Cone. Fans of action-packed racing can look
forward to a varied fringe program starting at 2 pm. DJ sounds will
create a fitting atmosphere, while food trucks will serve tasty snacks
and beverages. The latest “hands-on” BMW exhibits, a VR flight
simulator and drone flight instruction from an experienced pilot are
just some of the thrills on offer.
The race will be broadcast this fall on 90+ sports channels
worldwide. In Germany, the entire Drone Racing League will be
broadcast every Thursday from September 13 to mid-December on
ProSieben MAXX.
Schedule for the DRL Championship on July 28, 2018:
For more information go to www.bmw-welt.com
If you have any queries, please contact:
BMW Group Corporate Communications
Julian Hetzenecker
Business and Finance Communications BMW Group
Phone: +49-89-382-61611
Website: www.press.bmw.de
BMW Welt – at the heart of the brand, on the pulse of the city
With more than 3 million visitors per year, BMW Welt in Munich is
Bavaria’s most visited attraction and has become a real magnet for
visitors since its opening in 2007. With its iconic architecture, BMW
Welt is the heart of all the brands in the BMW Group – BMW, the
sub-brands BMW M and BMW i, MINI, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and BMW
Motorrad, which are impressively presented in their own worlds of
experience. But it is not only the exhibitions and the collection of
new vehicles that are highlights for car lovers from all over the
world. Visitors can enjoy a year-round programme of varied events
covering culture, art and entertainment as well as a popular event
location for over 400 external events per year.
The various
restaurants of the BMW Welt offer a variety of culinary delights up to
star gastronomy. In the BMW Welt Junior Campus, children and
youngsters can enjoy exciting guided tours and workshops on the themes
of mobility and sustainability.
The BMW Group
With its three brands BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group is the
world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles
and also provides premium financial and mobility services. As a global
company, the BMW Group operates 31 production and assembly facilities
in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.
In 2017, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.463 million cars and
164,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax was approximately
€ 9.67 billion on revenues amounting to € 94.16 billion. As of 31
December 2016, the BMW Group had a workforce of 124,729 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term
thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established
ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain,
comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to
conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BMWGroup
Twitter: http://twitter.com/BMWGroup
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/BMWGroupview
Google+: http://googleplus.bmwgroup.com
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, Disney XD, OSN and other
leading broadcast channels in 75+ countries around the world. Founded
by Nicholas Horbaczewski in 2015, DRL is a privately held company
headquartered in NYC. For more information on the 2018 race season,
visit www.drl.io.
To join the conversation, follow DRL on Facebook at
facebook.com/thedroneracingleague, on Twitter @DroneRaceLeague, and on
Instagram @thedroneracingleague.