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The International Open 2023 concluded on Sunday, July 2. There is so much to say, for what is undoubtedly the largest and most attended FPV Drone Racing event in the world! Below is a summary of the events as it would be impossible to summarize ALL that happens at IO!
This year’s International Open was more “international” than ever with over 8 countries represented throughout the whole essence of modern Drone Racing was present: Tiny Whoop, Freedom Spec, Street League and, last but not least, the MultiGP World Cup for Open Class.
Also the new Group Races formula for creating groups of pilots based on their skill level was a winner.
MultiGP would like to start with sincerely thanking all the volunteers, the MultiGP team and all the participating pilots, who made it possible for this extraordinary event to take place.Â
The IO Main Event, the MultiGP World Cup 2023, featured an impressive 120 pilots who battled it out in qualifying sessions during the days of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to enter the top 64 pilots and thus gain access to the bracket for the finals.
There was no shortage of surprises, suffice it to say that of the top 10 seeds in the ranking after qualifying, only one made it to the podium (BMSThomas), proving that the level of competitiveness of the pilots in the race was very high. The podium consisted of 3 pilots, each from a different country!
If you missed it, you can rewatch the top 64 final on our youtube channel.Â
Congratulations to Screecher (Spencer Cannizzaro), BMSThomas (Thomas Bitmatta) and YukiFPV (Yuki Hashimoto) for making the podium of this incredible race.Â
The MultiGP World Cup continues to grow year after year, with increasing “worldwide” participation.  Â
The selection race for the U.S. Team that will go on to represent the United States at the FAI World Cup in Korea in October was held on the Main Stage track on Thursday.
It was a best lap battle, where half a second difference on each lap could make all the difference. Suffice it to say that the top 10 pilots at the end were separated by 7 seconds difference on the top three consecutive laps.
In the end they were selected, congratulations to them, Leviathann (Levi Johnson), Hyper (Mason Lively), Headsup (Evan Turner), first three in the final standings, and as per the rules, the first under 18 pilot, Propsicle (5th overall) and the female pilot PiFly (14th overall).
Great show in the All Skills Track sponsored by Five33 also for the Freedom Spec finals, with 45 pilots participating. The “master” of the category Evan “Headsup” Turner managed once again to get on the top step of the podium, at the end of some epic battles. The Great 8 final comprised of very fast pilots of the caliber of Amari, Pawelos, Halowalker, providing epic battles all day!
Congratulations to Evan “Headsup” Turner who proved once again that he has no rivals in the category. And congratulations also to ChrisM for 2nd place and Adrone for 3rd place overall.Â
If you missed the competition, you can rewatch the live stream on our youtube channel.
Who knew going in circles, Nascar style could be so much fun! One of the first races Wed was the Freedom Spec Oval race hosted by Five33 on the All Skills track. A course of flags was put up, with only one gate, the start finish. Pilots raced with the throttle pegged, trying to find that perfect line over the hill, then left over the flag on a golf cart, then down the straight to another left to complete the circle to the start gate!
Congratulations to our podium finishers,  Evan “HeadsUp” Turner, Mitchell “Fireserpent” Biehl, and Ivan “Limon” Efimov.
Other big news at this year’s International Open were the races organized by Street League Drone Racing, in the Spec Track sponsored by Velocidrone.
Two races, one team and one individual, provided wonderful challenges between pilots already known in the drone racing world.Â
As per tradition, on Friday night, after an initial qualifying session the night before, the Tiny Whoop race took place, a race class that is becoming increasingly popular and in vogue due in part to the development of increasingly lightweight and high-performance technologies. Most come for the race and stay for the party!
Tiny Whoops are now just as competitive as open class in the drone racing world. They require specific skills and training in order to emerge and be competitive at the highest level.
Congratulations to CustomRCMods for making the 1st place on the podium, to QTFPV (2nd overall) and to Scorcher (3rd overall).Â
If you missed the Tiny Whoop finals, you can rewatch it on our Youtube Channel Â
Another not-to-be-missed and traditional race of the International Open is undoubtedly the one where the Chapter organizers get to race, which is also the inaugural race of the event.
This year 46 pilots registered for Wednesday’s race which was held at the Main Stage track presented by TBS.
Congratulations to Hyper (1st), Screecher (2nd) and AkDrones (3rd) for the PRO class and to Qube (1st), Tbell (2nd) and Zstone (3rd) for the SPORT class
MultiGP is the largest professional drone racing league in the world. Because of this, MultiGP hosts frequent competitive gatherings and casual events within its extensive network. The Organization currently has over 30,000 registered pilots in addition to 500 active chapters worldwide. MultiGP nurtures its Chapters by providing tools, guidance and community support. Due to this structure drone racing is fun, organized and rewarding for pilots, Chapter Organizers and spectators.
