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Rules

Fly fair. Fly fast.

Everything you need to know: classes, scoring, micro tiers and how to build the track.

Code of ethics

Cheating of any kind will result in immediate removal from the game and forfeiture of any prize winnings. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • building the track not to the required specifications
  • speeding up your DVR or manipulating the timing in any way
  • cutting together non-consecutive laps
  • having another pilot, or AI/computer assistance, fly for you

ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY. DO NOT cheat.

Classes

You can race in every class. One run counts for all the classes it's eligible for, so there's no need to submit twice.

Open

Main leaderboard

Sponsored by Damagd

  1. Any quad!
  2. No size limit, no battery cell limit, no ducts required.
  3. You must be able to record your DVR and/or the full flight area line-of-sight with a timer in view. An OSD timer is strongly encouraged.
  4. Sizing up your gates and flying a larger drone through bigger gates outside is allowed.
  5. RaceGOW is not responsible for damages if you think flying 5" 6S inside is a good idea.

EMAX

Sponsored by EMAX USA

  1. Any EMAX drone counts!
  2. You can use any props, any camera and any type of VTX.
  3. Eligible: the stock EMAX Aero (as used for the Whooptopia 2027 Spec Race, battery connector swap allowed), or a drone with at least 3 EMAX branded parts (motors, frame, FC, cam/VTX, props, battery).

Velocidrone

No video needed

Sponsored by Velocidrone

Any 1S whoop available in Velocidrone (the Beta 75X is NOT allowed because it’s 2S).

  1. You must fly the official track in Velocidrone.
  2. You do not need to submit a video.

Timing your run

  • Submit your fastest 3 consecutive laps, starting and finishing at the start/finish gate
  • Enter the time in seconds, rounded to 3 decimals (e.g. 75.500 even if it is over a minute). If your timer counts frames, convert to decimals: 24.40 on a 60 fps counter is 24.667
  • One continuous, unedited video (YouTube link). You can copy the link before the upload finishes
  • Build the track exactly as shown: no mirrored builds and no flying backwards through a gate
  • One run counts for every class you are eligible for, so there is no need to submit twice
  • Zero tolerance for cheating: wrong-spec tracks, sped-up DVR, spliced non-consecutive laps or someone else flying

Scoring

The main class has three season leaderboards.

Official

Rank leaderboard

  • Your finishing position on every track is added up.
  • A missed track scores 1000.
  • Your 2 worst tracks are dropped.
  • Lowest total wins. Ties go to the pilot with the lower total without their worst counted track.

Time leaderboard

  • Your 3-lap time from every track is added up.
  • You must fly every track to be ranked.
  • Lowest total time wins.

Micro tier leaderboard

  • Your score is your position within your micro tier.
  • You must fly the previous track to get a tier.
  • Your worst tier result is dropped.
  • Lowest total wins; ties are broken by average tier placement.

The EMAX and Velocidrone classes use the rank leaderboard.

Micro tiers

18 tiers of 6–20 pilots, set by your rank on the previous track. You race the pilots closest to your speed, and 777 Bonus Tier members win cash in every tier. Each track, one randomly chosen tier gets its cash prizes doubled.

TiersOverall rankPilots per tierPrizes per tier
1–5Ranks 1–3061st $10 + 2 Free Parking entries · 2nd $5 + 1 entry
6–12Ranks 31–100101st $10 + 2 entries · 2nd $5 + 1 entry · 3rd 1 entry
13–17Ranks 101–200201st $10 + 2 entries · 2nd $5 + 2 entries · 3rd $5 + 1 entry · 4th 1 entry
18200th and belowEveryone elseAs tiers 13–17, plus 5th gets 1 entry

Track building

Gate rules

  1. All gates must have an open area the size of a 28" (71cm) square or anything that would fit inside a 28" square. The border of the gate can be any size; the 28" maximum is for the interior open area.
  2. All gates must be fully enclosed. When using PVC you must have a section along the ground of each gate. The floor, wall and/or ceiling cannot act as a side of a gate.
  3. Adjacent gates must be between 27" (68.58cm) and 33" (83.82cm) from centre to centre. This applies to side-by-side and vertically stacked gates.
  4. Gates on the “ground” have their centre at 20" (50.8cm) or lower, so a full size gate can be a maximum of 6" (15cm) above the ground.
  5. The top gate on a two-high stack must be at least 42" (106.7cm) above the ground. A third stacked gate must be at least 69" (175.3cm) above the ground.

General track rules

  1. All tracks fit inside a 5’ x 8’ (152cm x 244cm) rectangle, but you will need some space around it to fly.
  2. On every track we are looking for your best 3-consecutive-lap time. Timing always starts and finishes on the designated start/finish gate.
  3. Gates can be made from anything, as long as they meet the gate requirements and the dimensions on the track diagrams.
  4. Line up every element as described in the track building videos. With smaller gates, perpendicular gates may not line up with the sides of each other, so check every required dimension.
  5. Tracks must be built and flown exactly as shown. No modifications, and no mirror-image builds.
  6. If a turn direction is not specified you can turn either way (on a ladder, for example).
  7. You cannot intentionally fly through a gate in the opposite direction to shorten your line (the “cheese” move in place of a split-S or corkscrew).

Building with PVC

  • To build every track you need at least 20 sections of PVC, 4 elbows, 6 tees, 2 four-ways and 4 five-ways (any connector that works at each joint is fine).
  • Cut your PVC sections between 26.5" (67.31cm) and 27.25" (69.22cm) for the maximum open area and the minimum centre-to-centre distance.
  • With PVC you won’t need anything else to support the gates, and afterwards you can build endless practice layouts.
  • Tiny Whoop Cube gates also meet every requirement (~28" opening, ~32-33" centre to centre).
Gate dimension rules: 28 inch maximum opening, 27 to 33 inches centre to centre
Gate size and spacing
Stacked gate heights: ground gates centred at 20 inches or lower, second gate at 42 inches or higher
Stacked gate heights

Track building rules & information

Gate sizing clarification

Prize terms

  • Cash prizes are sent via PayPal. Prize winners cover shipping for physical prizes sent directly from IGOW.
  • Micro Tier cash prizes go to 777 Bonus Tier members. Any unclaimed cash rolls into the Free Parking Prize drawing: one entry for every bonus participant, plus extra entries for tier winners.
  • Each track, the winners from one randomly selected tier get their cash prizes doubled.
  • Pilots who help review videos and verify times go into a cash prize drawing every track.
See this season's prizes

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