Congratulations Vincent Delcommene: The First FPV Racing World Cup Champion

The world of AeroSports has been expanded as we learn from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) that more than 200 drone pilots, hailing from 17 countries including Great Britain, the US, Switzerland and Norway, took part in the 2016 F3U Radio Control Multi-rotor FPV Racing World Cup.

It’s reported that Delcommene, from Belgium, beat off fierce competition to claim the top spot, and his place in the history books, as the first ever winner of this new, high-energy event. He triumphed after outpacing more than 200 other participants to finish with a total score of 114. Delcommene was joined on the podium by France’s Benoit Couturier, in second place with 110 points, and fellow Belgian Maxime Bastin, who secured the 82 points needed to take third place.

Delcommene, who has only been piloting remote control aircraft for about a year, believes his motorbike and go karting experience was the key to his success. “I can’t believe I have become the first ever winner of the Drone Racing World Cup,” he said. “I think my years of experience on motorbikes and go carts have really helped my piloting technique.” He added, "I would like to thank my main sponsor CRT Informatique and Christophe Voisin for all their support!”

The competition started in France in May and included nine events, the last of which took place in Osan City in Korea in November. Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, and Belgium also hosted World Cup competitions, at which there had to be competitors from at least three different countries, throughout the year.

At each event, competitors took part in a series of races in which they flew a multi-rotor drone with at least three power-driven propellers and weighing up to 1kg (2.2pounds). The final results of this year’s competition were announced on November 25.

Multi-rotor FPV - or drone - racing competitions consist of successive races in which several (normally four to eight) radio controlled model aircraft fight it out to be the fastest around a pre-determined circuit.  The pilots steer their way around the course, which can be indoors or outdoors, using real-time images transmitted from the high-tech drones' on-board video cameras.

(Photo by Vincent Delcommene from FAI press release)

FMI: FAI Drone racing    Race results