Drone Racing tests a pilot’s ability to fly a race through gates and around obstacles to reach the finish line in the fastest time. Exciting and fast-paced with speeds of up to 100mph (160kph), FPV drone racing is the fastest growing Air Sports in the world.

In First Person View (FPV) Drone Racing, athletes fly small remote controlled, hand built quad copters with forward facing cameras broadcasting  live video to pilot goggles.

Drone Racing consists of successive races with typically four radio-controlled model aircraft flying together on a racing circuit, outside or indoor. The video signal can be captured from the air to allow both pilots and fans to enjoy the illusion of flying at breakneck speeds, all without taking their feet off the ground.

As part of the Air Sports Competitions, Drone Racing is featured for the first time at The World Games 2022, joined by Canopy Piloting.

To win, drone racing pilots must win a gauntlet of aggressive races of precise flying around and through obstacles in a pre-defined course.

The drone race contest is organized in three stages:

Qualification Stage

- Each race in the qualification stage is four minutes long.

- During qualifications, each pilot’s three fastest timed laps determine the average qualification time and overall ranking.

- Each Drone Racer competes in four qualification rounds.

Elimination Stage

All 32 competitors will be selected for the double elimination stage.

- 32 total racers, split into 8 heats of 4.

- Top 2 racers from each heat qualify for the next round. Pilots finishing third and fourth get one loss.

- 3rd and 4th placed racers will continue to compete in the double elimination sequence, until they reach the finals.

- As soon as a competitor gets two losses, that pilot is eliminated and does not fly in the next final race.

- The Top 2 from the elimination rounds and Top 2 from the double elimination sequence will qualify for the finals.

Final Stage

- Four athletes compete in one race. The top three placed athlete drone race pilots in the finals will receive the medals.

The four competitors are separately seated on the pilots platform, wearing goggles to follow the video transmission of their drone. The drones are controlled by via remote controls and navigated through the on-board cameras on every drone. 

At the beginning of the competition, the four drones of the competing athletes are put next to each other on a platform while athletes are seated.

With FPV goggles displaying live video from the race drone to the pilot’s eyes, the drones are flown through the racing circuit. Several laps must be completed.

In the qualifications,

The pilots finish the race when their model crosses the finish line completely to then land the aircraft.

Build great quality aircraft with solid video for FPV

- Consistency wins 

- Following the leader can result in a win.

Electronic timing determine lap times and rankings.

The contest Director and Flight Judges oversee the competition to ensure each pilot flies through every obstacle on the race circuit.

After the Qualification Round, two losses result in elimination from the competition.