Engineering:Drone Champions League

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Short description: International FPV drone racing league
Drone Champions League
SportDrone racing (FPV)
Founded2016
No. of teams7
CountriesInternational
Official websitehttps://dronechampionsleague.com/

The Drone Champions League (DCL) is an international first-person-view (FPV) drone racing series founded in 2016. It involves teams of drone pilots competing in both physical and virtual tournaments at various international locations. Events are held at outdoor landmarks as well as in digitally recreated environments known as “digital twins.”

The league is operated by Drone Champions AG, based in Ruggell, Liechtenstein.[1]

History

The first DCL events were demonstration races held in 2016 at Ehrenberg Castle in Reutte, Austria,[2] and inside the Salina Turda salt mines in Turda, Romania.[3]

The first full season was held in 2017, beginning on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, France, with an estimated attendance of around 150,000 spectators.[4][5] Eight races were held across Europe, and the British team NEXXBlades Racing won the overall championship.[6]

In the following seasons, races were held at locations including the Great Wall of China,[7] Brussels,[8] Madrid,[9] and other international venues.

In 2018, DCL collaborated with THQ Nordic to develop DCL: The Game, a drone-racing simulator released for PC and consoles in 2020.[10] During the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was held entirely online using the simulator.[11]

In 2023, the DCL Super Final was held in AlUla, Saudi Arabia,[12] and in 2025 DCL co-organized the first autonomous drone racing championship with the Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) in Abu Dhabi.[13]

Format

Teams and pilots: DCL functions as a team-based league, generally consisting of teams with four pilots. As of 2025, teams include Raiden Racing (Japan), Cyclone Drone Racing (United States), Spain Drone Team (Spain), Quad Force One (United States), Wildcard Team (United Kingdom), Phoenix Racing (Malta), and China Dragons (China).[14]

Race structure: The competition consists of timed FPV races through illuminated gates and obstacles, with team points determining event standings. Since 2025, the season has included three tournaments, each featuring 14 matches in a knockout format, concluding in a joint final.[15]

Venues: DCL races have taken place at venues such as the Champs-Élysées in Paris,[16] Laax in Switzerland,[17] the Salina Turda salt mines,[18] and the Great Wall of China.[19][20]

DCL: The Game

DCL: The Game is an official simulator developed with THQ Nordic and released in 2020.[21] It includes realistic physics and virtual recreations of DCL racetracks and is used for qualification and training within the league.[22]

Big Drone

In 2020, Drone Champions AG introduced the “Big Drone”, a manned multicopter capable of aerobatic flight.[23] The prototype has been demonstrated in Croatia and later displayed at mobility events such as DRIFTx in Abu Dhabi.[24]

Educational programs

In 2025, DCL partnered with A2RL and UNICEF to conduct a seven-week STEM education program for secondary-school students in the United Arab Emirates. The initiative combined classroom instruction with practical drone assembly and flight training. Around 100 students from the UAE took part in the program.[25][26][27]

References

  1. ↑ "Drone Champions Big Drone". https://evtol.news/drone-champions-big-drone#:~:text=www. 
  2. ↑ "Drohnenspektakel in Ehrenberg". 12 August 2016. https://tirol.orf.at/v2/news/stories/2790416/. 
  3. ↑ ""The Monaco of Drone Racing" Drone Champions League, 18 to 20 November in Romania". https://www.salinaturda.eu/the-monaco-of-drone-racing-drone-champions-league-18-to-20-november-in-romania/. 
  4. ↑ "Drohnenspektakel lockt 150.000 Besucher an". 6 June 2017. https://www.lessentiel.lu/de/story/drohnenspektakel-lockt-150-000-besucher-an-293211248694. 
  5. ↑ "Les Champs-Elysées s'apprêtent à accueillir une course de drones". 31 May 2017. https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/aeronautique-defense/les-champs-elysees-s-appretent-a-accueillir-une-course-de-drones-727700.html. 
  6. ↑ "Drone racing - NEXXBlades swoop to Drone Champions League victory". https://www.reuters.com/article/sports/drone-racing-nexxblades-swoop-to-drone-champions-league-victory-idUSL3N1O449G/. 
  7. ↑ "Top drone race enters China". https://watchthis.chinadaily.com.cn/content/WS5b70ff0ba31015badf243a7f.html. 
  8. ↑ "Faire la course à 180 km/h ... en plein cœur de Bruxelles !". https://www.redbull.com/be-fr/drone-champions-league. 
  9. ↑ "DCL Show". https://expodronica.com/dcl-show/. 
  10. ↑ "DCL - The Game is out now on all platforms". https://www.thqnordic.com/article/dcl-game-out-now-all-platforms. 
  11. ↑ "Drone Champions League is back with DCL 2.0". October 2021. https://www.suasnews.com/2021/10/drone-champions-league-is-back-with-dcl-2-0/. 
  12. ↑ "AlUla Royal Commission announces Drone Champions League Super Final 2023". https://www.arabnews.com/node/2430976/amp. 
  13. ↑ "AI Beats Human Pilot In Drone Race". https://aviationweek.com/aerospace/advanced-air-mobility/ai-beats-human-pilot-drone-race. 
  14. ↑ "DCL teams list". https://dronechampionsleague.com/teams/. 
  15. ↑ "A2RL x DCL Autonomous Drone Championship 2025 finale to take place in Abu Dhabi". https://www.mediaoffice.abudhabi/en/technology/a2rl-x-dcl-autonomous-drone-championship-2025-finale-to-take-place-in-abu-dhabi/. 
  16. ↑ Parkin, Simon (11 February 2017). "Attack of the drones: sport's next big buzz". https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/11/attack-of-the-drones-sport-drone-racing. 
  17. ↑ "Drone Champions League is back with DCL 2.0". October 2021. https://www.suasnews.com/2021/10/drone-champions-league-is-back-with-dcl-2-0/. 
  18. ↑ ""The Monaco of Drone Racing" Drone Champions League, 18 to 20 November in Romania". https://www.salinaturda.eu/the-monaco-of-drone-racing-drone-champions-league-18-to-20-november-in-romania/. 
  19. ↑ "A league of his drone: islander takes drone racing world by storm". 6 May 2022. https://www.bailiwickexpress.com/news/league-his-drone-islander-takes-drone-racing-world-storm/. 
  20. ↑ Poole, Joey (2020-11-12). "GRID takes off with Drone Champions League partnership" (in en-GB). https://esportsinsider.com/2020/11/grid-partnership-with-drone-champions-league-takes-off. 
  21. ↑ "DCL - The Game is out now on all platforms". https://www.thqnordic.com/article/dcl-game-out-now-all-platforms. 
  22. ↑ "From Zero to Hero: Become a Pilot with Drone Champions League - The Game". 31 January 2020. https://steamcommunity.com/games/964570/announcements/detail/1710740767935333021. 
  23. ↑ "Drone Champions League Flies Manned Aerobatic Drone Through the Hoops (You Can Too – Virtually)". 17 February 2020. https://dronelife.com/2020/02/17/drone-champions-league-flies-manned-acrobatic-drone-through-the-hoops-you-can-too-virtually/. 
  24. ↑ "DRIFTx showcasing advanced mobility technologies at Yas Marina Circuit". https://www.mediaoffice.abudhabi/en/technology/driftx-showcasing-advanced-mobility-technologies-at-yas-marina-circuit/. 
  25. ↑ "UNICEF, A2RL & DCL Drone STEM Program equip 100 UAE students with future-ready skills". https://www.zawya.com/en/press-release/companies-news/unicef-a2rl-and-dcl-drone-stem-program-equip-100-uae-students-with-future-ready-skills-grgyho17. 
  26. ↑ "Future-ready: How UAE's drone STEM programme is bridging the skills gap". 21 March 2025. https://www.logisticsmiddleeast.com/logistics/future-ready-how-uaes-drone-stem-programme-is-bridging-the-skills-gap. 
  27. ↑ "UAE students gain cutting-edge drone skills in UNICEF-backed STEM initiative". 21 March 2025. https://www.arabianbusiness.com/industries/technology/uae-students-gain-cutting-edge-drone-skills-in-unicef-backed-stem-initiative. 



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