Drone racers build buzz on local circuit
JOSUA Blom’s adrenaline spikes as the race begins, and within seconds his vehicle is moving at close to 160km/h.
But Blom is not in a car and is not racing around Kyalami, Zwartkops Raceway or any of South Africa’s top race courses: he is standing on the ground with a controller in his hand and goggles over his eyes. He is flying his R6 000 drone.
“You’re basically Superman,” said the Stellenbosch University electrical engineering student.
“You can fly, go anywhere, do anything you want in a certain space. I think that’s the most appealing thing.”
Blom, 23, is one of the country’s top drone racers, and placed 19th out of about 80 pilots at an international event in South Korea in November.
Drone racing is becoming an increasingly popular sport as drones move on from being just a curiosity.
Blom said the adrenaline pumps for the full duration of the race, which generally lasts about two minutes.
“The average track is 400m to 600m long. Lap times are between 20 seconds and 30 seconds. You end up having a race that’s one-and-a-half to two minutes long. It’s really fast.
“There are hoops to fly through, flags to fly around and, with some tracks you have these installations that are one or two storeys tall that you have to fly over, or holes you have to fly through,” he said.
Drones have to be flown in unpopulated areas, usually over a field, or indoors — away from buildings and out of flight paths.
Driven by Drone Racing Africa (DRA), plans are afoot to beef up South Africa’s regional leagues. These already exist, but are set to get bigger and more organised over the next few months. Regional top performers will compete at national championships.
Blom said he had noticed more and more people getting involved in the sport.
“It’s exploding everywhere around the world. It’s probably the [fastest-growing] hobby/ sport in the world. Obviously it’s a lot bigger in the States and Europe and Asia, but it is growing fast here.”
He said the dream was for a professional league in South Africa.
Simon Robinson, CEO of Drone Racing Africa, said: “If you had asked me five years ago, before the advent of e-gaming, we might have 500 people competing. But look at how an e-gaming event [Rage Expo] filled the Dome [in Johannes-Last burg] — and there was a prize of R1-million.
“Drone racing is e-gaming in the real world. I can’t see how drone racing can’t be bigger than e-gaming.”
He said drone racing could become a major item on South Africa’s sports scene, especially as the prices of drones come down.
“It has the potential to be as big as our secondary sports. I see universities having teams, and a couple of different leagues going on.
“It will never be as big as rugby or cricket, but it’s very accessible, and South Africa has plenty of open spaces,” said Robinson.
The organisation has started to focus on teens and pre-teens. year about 300 children took part in two-day training courses across the country.
“Our modest target is 5 000 children through the course in 2017,” said Robinson.
The barrier to the sport, however, remains the cost. While quad drones are becoming cheaper, Blom’s racing setup, including goggles and controller, cost in the region of R15 000.
Entry-level equipment is about R7 500 — although buildit-yourself kits are starting to sell for about R2 000.
But with equipment becoming more affordable and accessible all the time, Blom hopes that the scene in South Africa will grow to be more like that in South Korea, where he raced last year.
“Oh gosh. It’s miles ahead. The organisation there is crazy. They get a lot of support from the government. They broadcast it on the news and everything,” he said.
❛ I see universities having teams, and a couple of different leagues