// Drone Racing
APEX Racing: Denmark’s Drone Champions League Contender, Then and Now
Denmark's APEX Racing pushed XBlades harder than anyone in 2020, then dropped off the DCL grid. The team's record, where its rivals are now and what you can bet on.
For one summer, the most dangerous team in drone racing came from Denmark. In August 2020, APEX Racing lost a Grand Final to Britain’s XBlades by a single heat, 7–6. It came back the next day and won the rematch 9–7, with Tomass Petersons taking the last four heats in a row.
That weekend in the virtual Proptown, USA, round of the Drone Champions League sums up APEX: fast, streaky and capable of beating the best team in the sport. It was also the high-water mark. APEX is not part of the current DCL grid.
APEX Racing at a glance
- Country: Denmark
- League: Drone Champions League (DCL)
- Peak: runner-up in the 2020 DCL World Championship
- Best-known pilot: Tomass “Tope” Petersons
- Status: not on the 2026 DCL grid
How the Danish team challenged XBlades
APEX arrived on the DCL tour in 2019 and made an immediate mark, sweeping a double-header in Turin that July. In a league where XBlades had won every title, a team that could take two races in a weekend was news.
The 2020 season, moved online by the pandemic and raced on DCL’s own simulator, suited APEX. After Proptown, XBlades led the standings on 940 points, with APEX and America’s Quad Force One tied on 870. The gap was one good weekend.
It came down to the season finale at a virtual Lake Zurich, the first DCL World Championship decided entirely in simulation. APEX made the final and lost to XBlades, who took their fifth consecutive title, according to the league’s own team profile. Second place in the world was APEX’s best finish.
The pilot who carried the comeback
Petersons was the reason APEX could turn a final around. Four straight heat wins in a Grand Final rematch, against a team that had not lost a title in years, remain one of the better single-pilot performances of DCL’s virtual era. In a format where every heat carries points, one pilot on a run can swing an entire weekend.
Where APEX Racing races now
Not in the DCL. When the league announced its 2022 teams, it named Raiden Racing, XBlades, Quad Force One, China Dragons, Korea’s Super Sonic X and Spain’s SDT Perpetuumcoin. APEX was not among them.
Nor does the Danish team appear in any of the finals we checked since. Those include the 2023 Super Final in AlUla, Saudi Arabia, and the four-team 2024 Superfinal won by Cyclone Racing. APEX was also absent from the 2025 Falcon Cup finals in Abu Dhabi. The six teams in the 2026 Eagle Cup are Vexcel Spain Drone Team, DCL Wildcard Team, Cyclone Drone Racing, Raiden Racing, Kazakhstan’s Aspan and Argentina’s Squadron78.
DCL has not published a statement on APEX folding, so we describe the team as inactive rather than defunct. If it returns, it would join a league that now runs three Cups (Falcon, Eagle and Hawk) feeding into a live Super Final.
Who has replaced APEX at the top
The DCL power map has changed completely since 2020:
| Season | DCL champion |
|---|---|
| 2020 | XBlades Racing (beat APEX in the final) |
| 2021 | Raiden Racing |
| 2022 | Raiden Racing |
| 2023 | XBlades Racing |
| 2024 | Cyclone Racing |
| 2025 | Raiden Racing |
Raiden’s 2025 title, won at the Königssee bobsleigh track in Germany, was its third, per the DCL season review. In 2026, Vexcel Spain Drone Team won the Falcon Cup and then the Eagle Cup to take control of the standings. Our Drone Champions League guide tracks the current season, and the drone racing teams hub covers every active outfit.
How to follow the DCL now
The league APEX left looks very different. Each 2026 Cup opens with ten qualification matches between the six teams, raced in DCL – The Game. They go out as YouTube Premieres every Tuesday and Friday at 18:00 UTC. Four teams advance to a Finals bracket with a rebound route for first-round losers, and the Finals air as one full-length broadcast. Points from all three Cups feed the Super Final.
For a team built around one hot pilot, as APEX was, that format cuts both ways. More heats reward depth, but a rebound bracket gives a streaky team a second chance.
Can you bet on APEX Racing?
No. DraftKings did sign a drone racing deal in 2021, but it covered the Drone Racing League, a different series with individual pilots rather than national teams. DCL team markets were never a regular sportsbook product in the US.
That has not changed. We found no regulated sportsbook or prediction market listing DCL races. Where drone racing does surface in betting, it tends to be through occasional specials or, increasingly, event contracts on machine-sports and AI milestones. Our prediction markets hub explains how those contracts work and which platforms are legal where you live. US drone betting sites lists what is currently priced.
Trading event contracts involves risk of loss. Availability varies by state, and several states are in active litigation with prediction market operators. 21+ for sportsbooks. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
The APEX legacy
APEX belongs to a short list of teams that beat XBlades at their peak. That matters for anyone reading drone racing form today. The 2020 season showed that sim-trained teams could close a gap that real-world racing had kept wide for years. The same hybrid approach now underpins the entire DCL calendar, from virtual qualification on DCL – The Game to live finals in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.
For the newest twist, where autonomous drones take on human pilots, read our report on the A2RL drone championship in which a human beat the AI 5–4.
FAQ
Is APEX Racing still in the Drone Champions League?
APEX is not on the 2026 DCL grid. The six teams contesting the 2026 Cups are Vexcel Spain Drone Team, DCL Wildcard Team, Cyclone Drone Racing, Raiden Racing, Aspan and Squadron78.
What was APEX Racing's best result?
APEX reached the 2020 DCL World Championship final, which was raced virtually at Lake Zurich, and finished runner-up to XBlades Racing.
Can I bet on APEX Racing?
No. APEX is not competing on the current DCL grid, and we found no regulated sportsbook or prediction market offering DCL team markets.
Where is APEX Racing from?
APEX Racing is a Danish team. It was one of the main challengers to Britain's XBlades during the 2019 and 2020 DCL seasons.
