How a race works: from the track walk to the final.

The rules on this page are from the FAI Sporting Code, Section 4, Volume F9 Drone Sports, 2025 edition, effective 1 May 2025, chapter C (F9U Drone Racing). A 2026 edition exists but was not read; its effective date is itself reported two ways (1 January 2026 from a search summary of its cover, 1 June 2026 from a Prism News trade article, also a search summary). A trade article says the 2026 volume points organisers to dedicated track design guidelines and fixed gate sizes, but that has not been checked against the FAI text. Any article below may have changed for 2026.

The circuit

An F9U circuit can be indoors or outdoors. Rule C.2 describes it as a defined volume holding a three-dimensional flight path with a start line, obstacles to pass or avoid, and a finish line. It is either a closed loop flown three times or an open loop flown once, and the total distance from start to finish, measured along the centreline of the best 3D path, is at least 250 m.

• Start: models start side by side on one line. The FAI recommends a turn of 60 to 120 degrees, marked by a flag at least 10 m from the start, before the first gate, to cut collisions (C.2).
• Obstacles to fly through (air gates, combinations, tunnels) need at least 1.5 m of free space in diameter on the best path. Obstacles to fly around (walls, flags, pylons) need at least 2.5 m. The FAI says small gates are not recommended because of collision risk (Annex C.1, para 3).
• Visibility: obstacles must contrast with their background and be clearly visible through a standard FPV video device at 30 m, and organisers should make reasonable efforts to use shock-absorbing materials (Annex C.1, para 3).
• Publishing the course: the organiser may publish the circuit at least one month ahead, or keep it secret and publish only its main characteristics a month ahead (C.2).

The safety line

Annex C.1 sets the safety framework. The flight zone is bounded by an unmistakable physical safety line that no one may cross without an official's permission. Nobody without suitable protection (the rule names nets, cages and protective suits) may be in the flight area while a model flies, and the areas for competitors, officials and spectators have to be secured with nets, fences or transparent walls. The circuit follows a "safety first" principle: any path back onto the track after leaving it must lead toward an area with no people. More on race safety rules.

Before racing

The organiser holds a track walk before practice. Every competitor gets the same practice time or number of laps, and unscheduled flights on the circuit are forbidden (C.5).

The three stages

Rule C.6 sets the format. An event normally has qualification, elimination and a final. With fewer than 16 competitors, the organiser may instead run a fixed number of rounds scored on points.

• Group size: at most four pilots per race; qualifying groups may have six where that is legally and technically possible.
• The standard race: three consecutive laps within a three-minute flight-time limit, at every stage.

Qualifying

At least three qualifying rounds are flown, with groups set by blind draw; the same draw may be used for no more than three rounds (C.6.3). The organiser chooses one of two methods and announces it a month ahead:

1. Option 1: the fastest time for three consecutive laps.
2. Option 2: the average of a pilot's three fastest valid single laps across all qualifying rounds.

Elimination

The elimination stage takes the top 64, 32 or 16 qualifiers (the rule calls these Scenarios A, B and C). The top two in each race go through; a tie for second is split by qualifying rank (C.6.4). An organiser may also run an optional double-elimination sequence, in which pilots placed third and fourth in an elimination race keep racing toward the final; third and fourth in a double-elimination race are out.

The final

The final is a single race for places one to four, unless the organiser announces a series of final races. In that case the first finalist to win two final races wins the event (C.6.5 and C.6.5.3).

Timing and the start

Manual timekeeping is not allowed in F9U. Rule C.6.1 requires an electronic timing system with redundancy, and unfinished laps do not count. In qualifying, the clock starts when a model passes the gate fitted with the timing sensor; in elimination and final races it starts with the start signal.

Rule C.6.2 sets the start procedure. Pilots and helpers have up to two minutes to place and prepare their models, then 30 seconds to leave the track. The Starter calls "Pilots, arm your quads", and after two to four seconds a single tone starts the race, with no audible countdown. A model that leaves before the signal and goes through the first gate is disqualified from that race. One restart per race is allowed for a mid-air collision before the first gate (C.8.2).

Missed gates, crashes and restarts

• Missed obstacles: a missed obstacle or a cut means the lap is not validated unless the pilot safely corrects it. Hitting another model while correcting brings disqualification from the race (C.7.2).
• After a crash: the pilot leaves the model on the ground with its motors off, switches on pit mode (which cuts the video transmitter's power) and takes off the goggles to show they are out of the race (C.7.3).
• Stopping a flight: officials may stop a competitor whose model no longer meets acceptable safety standards; the rule gives crash damage and a dangling battery as examples (C.7.4).
• Reflights and restarts: individual reflights are possible only in qualifying, for incidents outside the pilot's control. Later stages use full race restarts in listed cases, such as a critical safety incident like a fire or an unauthorised person on the track (C.8.1 and C.8.2).

Disqualification from a race

Rule C.9.1 lists grounds for disqualification from a race, including a false start, crossing the safety line, flying on after removing the goggles even briefly, celebratory manoeuvres and hazardous piloting. Separately, rule C.1.5 says switching on any 5.8 GHz video transmitter without authorisation at an F9U event can bring disqualification from the whole event, whether or not it was intentional.

World Cup scoring

At FAI Drone Racing World Cup events, results earn points only if competitors from at least two countries take part. Points depend on placing and the number of starters, up to 40 for first, plus placing bonuses that are larger at Masters events (A.4). A pilot's World Cup total is the sum of their best three event results, with only one result counted per organising country (A.5). More on the bodies.

MultiGP's track rules, separately

MultiGP, an organiser, runs races under its own Rule Book, which this site's research could not read (it is a linked document that did not appear in any search). What follows comes only from MultiGP's published web pages and applies only to MultiGP races:

• Its track and build guide page, titled "2027 TRACK & BUILD GUIDE" but built around a 2026 track diagram dated August 2025, shows five numbered gates with gate 1 as the start gate, says lap time starts when a model passes the first gate, caps a gate opening at 7 ft wide by 6 ft tall, and sets flags at least 8 ft high.
• Its class page gives gate sizes per class, such as 5 ft by 5 ft for Open Class and 30 in by 30 in for Whoop. The two MultiGP pages differ on gate size (5 ft by 5 ft for Open Class on one, openings of up to 7 ft by 6 ft on the other); see MultiGP classes.
• MultiGP names RaceSync as its official scoring software.
• A 2019 MultiGP Universal Time Trial manual, seen only as a search summary, required each pilot to have a spotter who counts laps and warns of safety issues. Whether the current Rule Book keeps that wording is unconfirmed.

The FAI and MultiGP formats are different rule sets and are never combined on this site.