Circulo Verde takes drone racing to a higher level

MANILA, Philippines — Drone racing, wherein pilots maneuver and race their drones using first-person-view goggles and remote controls, has emerged as an extreme sport globally in recent years.

In the Philippines, Filipinos have picked up on drone racing and found the perfect venue to showcase their newfound skills.

On May 26, drone hobbyists, enthusiasts and novice racers gathered for the country’s biggest drone competition dubbed Game of Drones. It was held at The Bike Playground in Circulo Verde, Quezon City, which is the newest entertainment and active lifestyle destination for those who love one-of-a-kind adventures such as drone racing.

The winners of Game of Drones with Ortigas & Company officials, Arch. Renee Bacani (left), vice president and general manager for malls and Monique Castaneda, marketing manager. Released

“There is a growing number of enthusiasts for drone racing and drone exhibits and we felt that this is the right venue to host it (Game of Drones), and to make it even larger,” Arch. Renee Bacani, vice president , Ortigas & Company, told Philstar.com on the sidelines of competition.

“There are different venues but I believe that we have provided the right range and lighting even during nighttime to challenge all the participants,”she said.

For Game of Drones’ 2nd Flight, three categories were held, Drone Photography, Time Trial and Rotocross, of which the finals were held during nighttime.

First was Time Trial, a spec/open class category where competitors raced to fly their drone across a 300-meter track for one lap. With up to four pilots per race, Jerico Taleon flew his drone within the shortest time and won. Runners-up were Marlon Caras and Mark Cometa.

Jerico Taleon again bested Rotocross, a spec class game were participants grouped into batches of four for the elimination round. They flew their drones through a marked course, and the racers who finished first per batch moved up the ladder of eliminations. Runners-up were Danny Formentera and Axlsoy Godinez.

Taleon received cash prizes of P35,000 and P25,000 for winning Time Trial and Rotocross, respectively. He also took home trophies and items from sponsors.

“(It’s) very overwhelming because I was not expecting to win both categories,” Taleon told Philstar.com.

“I watched about drone racing and FPV in YouTube and from there, I started building my own drone from scratch. I started from there and then I got hooked from there.”

“Drone racing in the Philippines is an emerging extreme sport. We already have Filipino pilots who are already competing internationally,” commented Rotocross runner-up Cometa who started drone racing with common friends who are also into the sport.

“When I buy parts, I ask around who also races. Now we already have communities found in Facebook groups,” Cometa said.

Finally, Drone Photography became an opportunity for participants to take breathtaking aerial shots within the Circulo Verde vicinity. The top 10 submitted entries were shown at the venue for judging, and the winner who took home the P5,000 prize was Lawrence Samaco.

Indeed, everyone from novice racers to experts had a taste of extreme, outdoor fun as the drones battled for supremacy of the skies.

In drone racing, pilots maneuver and race their drones using first-person-view goggles and remote controls. Released

For the Games of Drones' 2nd Flight, three categories were held, Drone Photography, Time Trial and Rotocross, of which the finals were held during nighttime. Released

There is a growing number of enthusiasts for drone racing and drone exhibits in the Philippines. Released

The Bike Playground is located within Circulo Verde, Calle Industria, Quezon City, a 10-hectare master-planned mixed-use community envisioned by its developers, Ortigas & Co.

For more information, check out the Game of Drones social media pages www.facebook.com/gameofdrones.ph and www.facebook.com/CirculoVerde.Ortigas.

— Video by EC Toledo/Kat Leandicho; Edited by Erwin Cagadas/EC Toledo