Meet the drone champion who captured Gran Turismo’s racing action
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This week, Sony’s Gran Turismo movie will be the latest game-to film-adaptation, but with a sports documentary twist. Rather than directly adapt the racing title, the film makers chose to tell the story of Jann Mardenborough, a gamer turner real-life racecar driver after winning GT Academy in 2011. While some recent adaptations have focused on the culture and competition around gaming, Gran Turismo is the highest profile example to date.
To put viewers as close to the action on the track as possible, Gran Turismo’s film makers brought on their own champion. Meet Alex Vanover, 2019’s Drone Racing League world champion.
Vanover’s interest in flying began early, beginning with flight simulators and then remote-controlled airplanes. But it wasn’t until 2016, when Vanover found a way to forge his passion into greatness. He stumbled upon the Drone Racing League in its inaugural season.
Pitching itself as the “sport of the future,” the Drone Racing League features the world’s top First Person View (FPV) drone pilots racing through courses at over 90 miles per hour. Pilots use an on-board camera, a set of goggles and a controller to maneuver their drones.
“My dad was a billiards world champion, and I always wanted follow in his footsteps to be a world champion at something. I saw drone racing as a perfect opportunity for me to do something I enjoy and be competitive,” Vanover said in an interview with GamesBeat.
By 2019, Vanover soared. Not only did he win his debut race, but he also became a
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