Following an intense year of 10 hours a day training, Paul “Nurk” Nurkkala claimed the title of 2018 Drone Racing League (DRL) Allianz Champion. The DRL is an international professional drone racing league for elite first-person view pilots.
Nurk, 27 and originally from Indianapolis, also won the 2018 Season’s first race but suffered three losses mid-season. However, after intense practices that included flying virtual maps, drone racing sim, and racing with an unlimited amount of DRL-provided gear in local warehouses, he was able to beat the top 10 pilots, including the 2x winning DRL Allianz World Champion.
“For three years I’ve known that I had a shot at becoming the best drone racer in the world, and I knew the work that I needed to do to get there,” said 2018 DRL Allianz World Champion Nurk. “After hours of training, countless repairs, and truly believing in myself, I got to the top. I went up against the best pilots in the world and beat them back with grit, determination, and practice.”
On November 13th, DRL will open applications for their new initiative Lockheed Martin AlphaPilot Innovation Challenge. University students and technologists can compete to become a World Champion by developing an Artificial Intelligence framework that can race an autonomous drone through 3D courses in their new AI Robotic Racing Circuit.
