World Drone Prix to be hosted in Dubai next year

Geeks, gadgeteers and drone enthusiasts rejoice, the World Drone Prix will be hosted in Dubai next year, with a grand prize of Dhs3.7 million.

Oh, and if you’re curious as to what the World Drone Prix is, it’s the professional drone racing tournament, with a prize pool five times bigger than any other professional drone racing tournament.

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Starting January 1, qualifying events will be held at various locations around the globe, where teams must place in first, second or third position in races involving 15 or more teams.

If they qualify successfully, the teams will be flown to Dubai in early March to take part in the opening event on March 10, as well as the main event which includes freestyle and track races on March 11.

With drones being a relatively new concept themselves, drone racing could quite possibly be a term you’ve never heard of before. If that is the case, here’s a quick video showing some of the best in the biz doing what they do best:

If this has piqued your interest and you wish to participate, you’ll have to find yourself a team of at least five people, including a pilot, a navigator, pit-stop boss, pit-stop technician and a team leader.

Just like in car racing, the drones all need to be of similar specifications, including similar batteries and air frames to ensure the races stay fair and competitive. Don’t worry though, on December 20 the World Organisation for Racing Drones are going to release their code of conduct and rules and regulations for the event.

The tournament is set to be hosted under the direction of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, who has said: “We aspire to be the world’s most dynamic city, and this championship is one of a number of emerging sports we are proud to have been part of encouraging.”

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