The 2022 DRL SIM Tryouts Finals are set for Thursday, kicking off the opportunity to earn a contract to fly in the prestigious Drone Racing League. The final bracket competition is set to be a primo event for drone racing enthusiasts. But what actually makes you good at drone simulator racing? What skills should you have, and what tips should you know?
Christian “Amari” Van Sloun, who raced in the 2020 and 2021 seasons with five level wins, five golden heat wins and 18 podiums — and who was crowned the 2020 DRL SIM Racing Cup winner, shared his secrets to mastering the art of drone simulator racing:
- Download the DRL SIM, a true-to-life drone racing video game on PlayStation, Xbox, Steam and Epic Games, and complete DRL SIM training.
- Focus on perfecting your racing lines – slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
- Start with a lower camera angle and increase as you get better. This will help with going slower on racing lines.
- Practice with friends – the DRL SIM is a multiplayer drone racing game, so you can race against anyone in the world.
- Look where you’re flying, not what you might hit to more effectively avoid crashing.
Learn more: This DRL simulator costs less than $10
How do I start drone simulator racing, and what is DRL SIM?
Simulators have been a popular way for drone pilots to learn or practice their skills without needing a physical drone flying in real life. Instead, pilots channel their inner video gamer and practice on simulators.
The Drone Racing League, which is the largest group of drone racing in the world, offers its own drone simulator, which is available for purchase for about $10 on PlayStation, Xbox, Steam and the Epic Games store.
The DRL simulator is useful both for newbies learn the basics via training missions, as well as experienced racing pros seeking to practice on virtual versions of challenging tracks that they wouldn’t necessarily have access to in real life. Tryouts or not, there’s always a public leaderboard posted online.
Learn more: What drone under $50 can I use to learn to fly, or is a simulator better?
About the 2022 DRL SIM Tryouts
As part of the 2022 DRL SIM Tryouts, drone pilots competed in a qualifier circuit, which ran between June 10 and June 28. That gave us the 24 fastest pilots, who now have advanced to the tournament bracket.
That bracket competition has been ongoing since the map of the Top 24 Qualifiers was announced on Tuesday. The 24 pilots competed in time trials, with 12 advancing to semi-finals. There, two groups of six competed, with three from each group advancing to finals.
And the final bracket competition is set for June 30 at 7 p.m. ET. The winner of that battle will receive a contract with DRL for the 2022-23 DRL Algorand World Championship Season as the official DRL SIM Pilot.
The 2022-23 DRL Algorand World Championship Season is set to be a massive event, if last year’s even was any indication. DRL claims viewership during the 2021-22 Algorand World Championship event doubled versus the year prior, having reached 250 million households in over 140 markets worldwide across the series. The season finale culminated in an epic race on an outdoor course along the Las Vegas strip at T-Mobile Arena, held in tandem with the 2022 CES conference.
To get more tips and tricks, and to tune in on the chatter around the DRL SIM and IRL races, check out DRL’s Discord page.
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