Innovation: First use of a racing drone in a live motorsport broadcast. Drone provides spectacular images for TV partner NITRO and the international TV feed. Next outing: Red Bull Ring in Austria.
Speeds of up to 180 km/h, state-of-the-art lightweight parts and pit stops for battery replacements in five seconds – what may sound like a new racing series was actually a world first at the opening round of the ADAC GT Masters in Oschersleben, the results of which were there for all to see in the live coverage of the season-opener on NITRO and the world feed. For the first time, a high-speed drone was used in a live TV broadcast of a motorsport event at a racetrack. The size of a hand, just 900 grams, and equipped with the latest technology, the “little marvel” delivers spectacular images for television viewers, the likes of which have never been seen before. The images from the high-speed drone will once again be shown live on NITRO (from 12:30 on Saturday and Sunday) during the second race weekend of the season, which takes place at the Red Bull Ring from 20th to 22nd May.
Drones have sporadically been used in coverage of motorsport events in the past, but not race drones. The drone used in Oschersleben and at the Red Bull Ring is far faster than commercial drones and is capable of extreme turning circles. At the start of the year, the drone now used in the ADAC GT Masters thrilled sport fans with images of the “Streif” – the Hahnenkamm downhill skiing race in Kitzbühel.
“We are constantly developing the ADAC GT Masters on all levels. In doing so, we are breaking new ground in the use of a renewable fuel, an initiative to reduce plastic waste, and in the field of TV production. Motorsport fans always want better images of the action, and from unusual perspectives. The premiere of the race drone in Oschersleben also attracted an awful lot of attention internationally,” says ADAC Motorsport Director Thomas Voss.
The drones are flown by experienced and specially-trained pilots. The next evolution of the drone, which is capable of more than 200 km/h, will be used at round two of the ADAC GT Masters, at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
