24th January, London, United Kingdom – Airspeeder are thrilled to announce a groundbreaking two-year broadcast content deal with Fox Sports Australia that will bring exclusive, cutting-edge flying car racing content to audiences across Australia.
Under the agreement there will be four exciting content series shown over two years on Fox Sports which is available on Foxtel and streaming service, Kayo Sports. The new programming lineup features highlights from the first Airspeeder EXA Series Race in South Australia, a “Finding Extreme Pilots Series,” and “How to Build a Flying Car” series looking at how these eVTOL vehicles are built, devised for Australia’s more established motorsport technology fans. The 30-minute shows target a technology, sci-fi and electric motorsport aware audience with a passion for futurism and a deep love of behind-the-scenes jeopardy.
Additionally, the inaugural 2022 season race of the pioneering Airspeeder EXA racing series was also captured by sports production company Aurora Media Worldwide, who executive produced a Road to Flying Car Racing documentary, to give audiences a behind-the-scenes look at the season, and the advanced air mobility technology that underpinned it.
With crewed racing on the horizon, Airspeeder’s Head of Media, Stephen Sidlo, added: “Airspeeder is at the forefront of flying car technology and we are excited to be working with Fox Sports Australia to bring the thrill of flying car racing to audiences across our home country of Australia. The growth of behind-the-scenes sports shows an appetite for this kind of content, so what better than to follow the journey of flying car racing in the 21st Century. This two year content partnership will give fans an unparalleled look into the future of motorsports and the technology that bridges futurism and real-world racing.”
The shows are a joint created by the in-house team at Airspeeder and supported by Aurora Media Worldwide and will showcase the latest in flying car technology and give viewers an inside look at the pilots, teams, and technology that make this cutting-edge sport possible. With exclusive access to Airspeeder and Alauda Aeronautics cutting-edge racing series, Fox Sports Australia will be the go-to destination for fans looking to experience the future of motorsports.
Stay tuned for more information on when these series will air, and be sure to tune in to Fox Sports Australia via Foxtel or Kayo Sports to catch all the action. Fox Sports Australia is the largest sports broadcaster in Australia and provides extensive coverage of various sports events such as cricket, AFL, NFL, Motorsport, Netball and more. There are more than 2.8 million sports subscribers across the Foxtel Group and their programming is available on multiple platforms including cable, satellite, and streaming services. They also have a strong digital presence with their website and mobile apps, which provide live streaming, news, highlights, and other features to their viewers.
A PROVEN ECOSYSTEM FOR RACING:
Beyond making motorsport history, Alauda Aeronautics, the technical team and manufacturer of the pioneering Speeders that compete in EXA and Airspeeder races has created an engineering and digital ecosystem for electric flying car (eVTOL) racing.
This is an extraordinary technical accomplishment delivered by a team drawn from some of the most celebrated names in Formula 1, motorsport and advanced aerospace development. This includes multi-World Championship winning engineers from Ferrari and development talent from Boeing, Airbus, McLaren, Jaguar Land Rover and Rolls-Royce.
To support this historic first race, they had to build Race control stations, pilot control station, cutting edge 5G networks, Augmented Reality (AR) Sky Tracks, an engineering and team control station, akin to that seen in elite traditional motor racing. In addition they had to develop race rules and a full suite of safety, logistics and race management protocols. In turn, the technology used in racing is a snapshot of what our cities will be using in the next decade to underpin the emergence of electric flying cars (eVTOL) as a viable means of passenger transport.
This technical ecosystem starts with the 4.1 meter flying racing car (eVTOL), a carbon fiber construction full-scale racing quadcopter. At its heart it is a performance machine, maximum power it delivers 320kW, equalling an Audi SQ7 performance SUV. The Audi weighs 2,500kg while an Airspeeder racing craft (without pilot) weighs just 130kg. It can lift a weight of more than 80kg, proving the viability of the powertrain for piloted races. Acceleration from 0-62mph takes 2.8 seconds and the Speeder can climb to 500 meters.
The technical package proven in these inaugural EXA races will underpin future crewed Airspeeder races. Indeed, the key safety and digital systems that will not only drive the world’s most exciting new form of motorsport but will also serve as a place and a space for the eVTOL industry to develop vehicles with real-world passenger and logistics applications.
For example, Alauda has collaborated with technical partners, Telstra Purple, Acronis and Amazon Web Services throughout the development of these races to create the digital architecture that will drive the 5G enabled infrastructure needed to ensure the safe management of autonomous and piloted eVTOL vehicles in urban environments.
This collaborative approach to the development of not only a sport but the wider ecosystem will underpin the eVTOL mobility revolution extended to every one of Airspeeder and Alauda’s commercial and technical partners.
This started with a knowledge exchange between Alauda’s expert team of engineers and the designers and specialists at the company’s Engineering and Timekeeping partner, IWC Schaffhausen. This ongoing dialogue serves as a vital light house in producing the highest quality racing machines with sustainability at the art of their purpose and function.
The Alauda and Airspeeder teams were also able to draw upon expertise from Acronis and Teknov8 in securing and managing vital telemetry and race data. The staging of the race was supported by the Government of South Australia which has nurtured an ecosystem of the world’s leading space and advanced aerospace companies. This extends to co-funding Alauda Aeronautics hyper-factory, a place where the world’s best performance flying cars will be built alongside space-craft, satellites and aircraft.
JUST THE START:
This historic first remotely piloted race will be followed by Grand Prixs with wider grids flown over a multitude of locations and track lay-outs. These EXA races will serve as the feeder series for Airspeeder crewed races set to take place in 2023.
