MultiGP is a global drone racing league and FPV Drone racing community. It governs and manages radio-controlled drone racing competitions. With over 38539[1] members and 385 [2] chapters worldwide, MultiGP is the only drone racing league with clear and available methods for participation and advancement within the league. MultiGP governs and sanctions drone racing events across the world, provides turn-key race production services, and works with groups to grow the sport of drone racing.

MultiGP
SportDrone racing
CategoryAir sports
JurisdictionInternational
AbbreviationMGP
Founded2015 (2015)
HeadquartersPalm Bay, Florida
CEOChris Thomas
Other key staff
  • Shawn Ames (COO)
  • Mark Grohe (Head of Events)
  • Roger Bess (Head of Developement)
  • Clare Cannizzaro (Head of Sales)
  • Enrico Moizo {Head of Marketing & Communication)
  • Michelle Brooks (Head of Finance)
  • Doug Kling (Techincal Magician)
  • Joe Scully (Spokeman)
  • Shannon Broussard, Tom Cinnamon (Chapter support)
  • Paul Adkins (Race director)
Official website
www.multigp.com

Founded by Chris Thomas in February 2015, this drone racing league has been involved in the organization and management of over 16.000 [3] races worldwide and created the first national (United States of America) performance-based drone racing championship. This Championship held stringent qualification requirements for entry, not just the price of admission.

MultiGP offices are located in Palm Bay, Florida.

MultiGP is a Special Interest Group (SIG) with The Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) and has agreed to cooperate in the communications, development, competition, and continued safety efforts of the FPV racing community within the AMA.[4]

History

edit
 
Chris Thomas, CEO

In January 2015 Chris Thomas became involved with his local flying club, Brevard Multirotor. This group of FPV enthusiasts was holding events and races in the Brevard County region of Florida. At the time there was a need for someone to step in and help the pilots manage video frequencies and better organize the events in the area. Chris enthusiastically took the reins! He created a spreadsheet and some frequency cards that helped managed the races. In the last weeks of February 2015 MultiGP was created and started aiding local races in the Central Florida area. The first major event MultiGP assisted with was the CFL FPV event held in Leesburg, FL the last weekend in March 2015.[5]

Shortly thereafter in the spring of 2015, co-founding members were introduced including James Vaello as vice president and Michael Gianoutsos as Chief Marketing Officer. This team is credited with developing a core foundation that the organization's success would be built on. Accreditations include:

  • Being awarded as the Academy of Model Aeronautic's Special Interest Group for FPV.
  • Developing the first comprehensive incentive system to build and support the community from within.
  • Developing the first ever true national drone racing championship with local and regional qualifiers with the assistance of Gregg Novosad.
  • Defining racing classes.
  • Developing and publishing universal time-trial-tracks (UTT) with associated leaderboards to allow pilots to be ranked world-wide.
  • Establishing interactive event management software to help race organizers successfully run event.
  • Publishing real time track results.
  • Solidifying trademarks and brands in a great competitive environment.

MultiGP developed a web-based application that would replace spreadsheet and frequency cards frequency management of video signal frequencies in order for FPV pilots fly while sharing bandwidth. RaceSync is the proprietary software that assigns racing slots and video frequencies in real time, and allows pilots to use their smartphones to check-in when they arrive for a race and assign them a race slot and optimum video frequency that will not interfere with the other pilots in the race.[6]

Racing Classes

edit

Beginning in 2015, MultiGP created a set of defined racing classes[7] which level the playing field so one pilot doesn't have an advantage over another by using more powerful equipment. This allows the pilot's skill to win the race, not their equipment.

As of 2016 MultiGP has defined classes in Multirotors, Race Wings and Fixed Wings.[8]

In the 2018 season the official racing class for the MultiGP Regional Series was changed to the Open Class, lifting restrictions on battery voltage.

 
Open Class Quadcopters starting from pro launcher stands.

As the years have passed and drone technology has rapidly advanced, race classes have become increasingly well-defined. Below is a table of the current race class configurations.

In June 2024, MultiGP introduced a new race class, the 7" Pro Spec[9], which features drones equipped with standardized 7-inch components.

RACE CLASS Frame Props Motor Battery Weight
Open Class Maximum Size: 305mm (farthest distance

diagonal between motors)

No Limit No Limit
7" Pro Spec Pro Stock Frame 7" decided each event Any 2808 or less

sized

Whoop 65mm ducted 31mm max Brushed or Brushles

and size

Freedom Spec No Limit HQ R38 Headsup Prop
Micro No Limit 3.1" Motor 1404 4500-4600 KV

MultiGP Universal Time Trial Tracks

edit

In 2015 MultiGP introduced the first Universal Time Trial Track. Universal Time Trial Tracks allow FPV pilots to compete against each other across the world by providing standardized local courses partnered with a global leaderboard.

As of 2017 there are currently (7) different Universal Time Trial Tracks.[10]

MultiGP Championship (World championship)

edit

The National Championship

edit

In 2016 MultiGP introduced the Regional Series and National Championship race format. The MultiGP Regional Series allows pilots to compete on local, regional and ultimately a national level via the 2016 MultiGP Drone Racing Championships.

The first-of-its-kind performance-based drone racing championship was held at AMA headquarters in Muncie, Indiana on September 4, 2016. Over 100 pilots arrived on-site to battle for this Championship event.[11]

The Global Qualifier (2018 - current) - from National to World Championship

edit

Since 2018 MultiGP introduced the Global Qualifier . The Global Qualifier serves as the primary pathway for drone pilots to qualify for the prestigious MultiGP Championship. Every FPV Drone Racing pilot in the world can carticipate in the Global Qualifier. Each MultiGP chapter is infact alllowed to constructs an identical race track as per MultiGP's specifications, ensuring that all participants compete on the same course regardless of their location. Every year, more than 150 Global Qualifier events are held worldwide to create the Global Leaderboard, also known as "The List." MultiGP uses this leaderboard to select and invite pilots for the PRO and SPORT classes of the MultiGP Championship.

List of MultiGP World Championship Winners

edit
Year Date Pilot Callsign Location
2015 December 6 Shaun Taylor   United States Nytfury Orlando, Florida[12]
2016 September 4 Shaun Taylor   United States Nytfury Muncie, Indiana[13]
2017 September 17 Alex Vanover[14][15]   United States Captainvanover Reno, Nevada[16][17][18]
2018 February 10, 2019 Evan Turner   United States HeadsUpFPV Las Vegas, Nevada[19]
2019 November 17 Evan Turner   United States HeadsUpFPV Daytona Beach, Florida [20]
2020 November 8 Soren Monroe-Anderson   United States phatkid Melbourne, Florida [21]
2021 Evan Turner   United States HeadsUpFPV
2022 October 17 MinChan Kim   South Korea MCK FPV No Quarter Ranch, Citrus Springs, Florida
2023 October 30 MinChan Kim   South Korea MCK FPV No Quarter Ranch, Citrus Springs, Florida

References

edit
  1. ^ "FPV Drone Racing Pilot | MultiGP". MultiGP Drone Racing League | FPV Racing League. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  2. ^ Moiz, Henry. "MultiGP Drone Racing Chapters". MultiGP Drone Racing League | FPV Racing League. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  3. ^ "MultiGP - Completed Events". www.multigp.com. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
  4. ^ "Academy of Model Aeronautics Welcomes MultiGP as an official FPV Racing Special Interest Group | AMA Media Room". amablog.modelaircraft.org. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
  5. ^ Jefte Puente (2015-03-03), CFL FPV 2015 Highlights - Hanging with Charpu, Flying the Vortex, Getting Muddy, retrieved 2016-09-15
  6. ^ "‎RaceSync". App Store. 2023-02-05. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  7. ^ "Racing Drone Specifications 2017 | MultiGP". MultiGP Drone Racing League | FPV Racing League.
  8. ^ "MultiGP - | Class Specifications". www.multigp.com.
  9. ^ "Pro Spec". MultiGP Drone Racing League | FPV Racing League.
  10. ^ "MultiGP Universal Time Trial Tracks". www.multigp.com.
  11. ^ "2016 MultiGP Championships". Hobby News Online Articles. HobbyNews.com. 5 September 2016. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  12. ^ "2015 MultiGP Drone Racing Championship Recap". MultiGP Drone Racing League | FPV Racing League. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
  13. ^ "2016 MultiGP Drone Racing Championship Recap". MultiGP Drone Racing League | FPV Racing League. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
  14. ^ "Alex Vanover USA National Drone Racing Champion". AlexVanover.com. racingdroneworld.com.
  15. ^ "MultiGP 2017 Drone Racing Championship". Racing Drone World. racingdroneworld.com. 18 September 2017.
  16. ^ "54th National Championship Air Races to Host MultiGP Drone Racing League National Championship During Race Week". The Reno Air Racing Association. airrace.org.
  17. ^ "Multi GP Announces National Drone Championship Race Location". Flying Magazine. flyingmag.com. 9 June 2017.
  18. ^ "2017 MultiGP Drone Racing Championship Recap". MultiGP Drone Racing League | FPV Racing League. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
  19. ^ "2018 MultiGP Championship Results". MultiGP Drone Racing League | FPV Racing League. 2019-02-10. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
  20. ^ "2019 MultiGP Championship Results". MultiGP Drone Racing League | FPV Racing League. 2019-11-17. Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  21. ^ "2020 MultiGP Championship Results". MultiGP Drone Racing League | FPV Racing League. 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2021-03-21.