Airspeeder reveals first pilots for ground-breaking electric flying car series

Airspeeder, the world’s first flying electric car racing series, has revealed the first three pilots that will compete in the inaugural EXA remotely piloted Grand Prix season in 2022.

The latest news comes only three months after the historic first drag race between two eVTOL Alauda Mk3 machines played out in the deserts of South Australia and with the more recent news of Alauda Aeronautics establishing the world’s first flying racing car factory, also in Adelaide.

The lucky drivers to have beaten thousands of other applicants to this most coveted of roles are Australia’s most successful female racing driver Emily Duggan, Zephatali Walsh from the Drone Champions League and Fabio Tischler, who has captured dynamic FPV content for the world’s leading brands including GoPro, Red Bull and Toyota.

“This is the start of a new generation of motorsport led by some of the most talented and dynamic competitors from a wide range of motorsport and advanced air mobility backgrounds,” commented Matt Pearson, Founder, Airspeeder and Alauda. “This is just the beginning and we cannot wait to see Emily, Zephatali and Fabio plot a course to victory in the world’s first remotely piloted flying car racing series.

“Electric flying car racing is the most exciting and progressive form of motorsport in the world. We have been proud to show the potential of our Speeders in test settings but now is the time to get down to the serious business of pure sporting competition. Our first intake selected from the thousands of applicants reflects the breadth of backgrounds electric flying car racers will come from.”

According to Airspeeder’s official press release, the three candidates passed an exhaustive process of selection including ‘their ability to work in lock-step with the greatest technical minds to help develop both an entirely new form of game-changing technology and the very fundamentals of a sport that promises to rapidly accelerate its development’.

Initially, the pilots will undergo a ‘rigorous process of training and development’ and log over 2000+ collective hours in the Alauda Aeronautics 6-DoF VR simulator in preparation for the first Airspeeder EXA remote flying series. This will serve as the technical and pilot proving ground for the world’s first crewed electric flying car races to race across the globe in 2022.

 

EMILY DUGGAN, RACING DRIVER

“At heart I am a racer. I am joining Alauda and Airspeeder to push the boundaries of motorsport and make history as the world’s first winning electric flying car racer. I’m honoured to be part of making history by developing this entirely new generation of motorsport.”

ZEPHATALI WALSH, RPAS PILOT

“Racing has always pushed the limits of what is possible for both humans and their creations. I’m excited to demonstrate, through the competitive environment created by Airspeeder racing, technology that will help shape a flying-car future personal transport for my son’s generation.”

FABIO TISCHLER, FPV PILOT

“I’m an instinctive racer with and am driven by my motto to ‘stop thinking and start flying’. Joining Airspeeder and Alauda gives me the opportunity to make history in these incredible first flying car Grand Prix. I’m so happy to be part of a truly progressive step towards a long-promised flying car future.”

 

Acronis is proud to be the official Cyber Protection Partner of Airspeeder. To find out more, please visit https://www.acronis.com/en-us/lp/msp-sports/

Motorsport Technology