Pilot list announced for the 2019 FAI World Drone Racing Championship Grand Final
Pilot selection for the upcoming 2019 FAI World Drone Racing Championship Grand Final (WDRC) has been finalised.
A total of 112 pilots will compete over four days in Xiangshan Ningbo, China, 11-14 December 2019 for the title of FAI World Drone Racing Champion.
FAI Secretary General Susanne Schödel said: “I am very happy to see such a wide field of talented drone racing pilots in the final selection. It will be a tough battle in Xiangshan, Ningbo in China, but an exciting one. We are all looking forward to the competition.
“This competition is a complex event to organise. Thankfully, the level of cooperation between the Aero Sports Federation of China (ASFC), the organiser Starmach, the city of Ningbo and FAI is more than equal to the challenge. Together we will deliver a fantastic event.”
Participants’ details
Among the 112 participating pilots, 103 drone pilots, including 40 juniors and nine women, will compete as part of 31 national teams. In addition, six pilots from four different countries will participate as individual competitors qualified from the 2019 FAI Drone Racing World Cup ranking, plus three pilots for the additional wild cards attributed to the host country, China.
Seventeen best-placed pilots in the 2019 FAI Drone Racing World Cup have qualified. This is one more than the stipulated 16 pilots, because two pilots were ranked 16th and so both have been given a place. In addition, the pilots winning a podium place at the Jeonju Masters in South Korea in early November, and winners of the most Challenger Series events, have been also qualified. Almost all these pilots have been selected by their national teams, which explains that only six will participate as individual competitors.
About the 2019 FAI World Drone Racing Championship Grand Final
The competition will take place over four days:
- 11 December: Model processing and practice flights
- 12 December: Opening ceremony and qualifying rounds
- 13 December: Elimination rounds
- 14 December: Elimination rounds, finals, medal and closing ceremonies
China will host the FAI World Drone Racing Championship three years in a row. This year’s competition comes after the very successful first championship in Shenzhen in 2018. The location of the 2020 edition will be revealed soon.
FAI Global Technical Partner Noosphere is running the event management system and registering participants, as well as managing the website and online results.
The winners of the competition will share a US $125,500 prize pot.
