Quad racing is a huge deal. With prize money of $25,000, events like the Xfinity California Drone Speed Challenge are here to accelerate the popularity of this sport in a big way.
On July 18th and 19th the largest Californian drone race in history took place. A record-breaking $25,000 was distributed among winning teams with the ultimate prize going to Team Elefun. Here's what went down.
Video
If you want to get a real flavor for what a drone race of this scale is like, watch our video on the Xfinity event.
So what is this event all about?
Quite simply, this is about pitting the fastest racers in North America against each other in a heated battle for the win. The Xfinity headed event was sponsored by big names like Comcast which hoped to promote its superfast internet service through drone racing. In addition to the prize money, Comcast donated another $25,000 to a non-profit organization.
In case you were wondering, the Comcast Corporation is a worldwide media and technology company. It's one of America's biggest high-speed internet providers (amongst other things).
Another sponsor was VelociDrone, a quad racing simulator that can take you from being an absolute beginner right through to the level of the pros.
The two-day event featured a VIP experience for spectators including drone demonstrations among other things. There was even drone combat! The whole event was all themed around future tech and upcoming innovations in the drone industry. Comcast is all about speed, so as you can imagine the drone race was a perfect embodiment of that quality of its gigabyte internet service.
Results
If you're looking for the results, look no further! In the main round, which lasted for 20 minutes, the winning team was Team Elefun. Team Canada and Deamon Power Systems came up the rankings after qualifying 3rd and 4th respectively to beat Heart of America who finished in 4th place.
| Pos | Team | Qual | Laps/Time | Behind | Fastest Lap | Avg Lap | Avg Top 5 | Avg Top 10 | Avg Top 15 |
| 1 | Team Elefun | 1 | 43/20:03.127 | 20.742 | 27.980 | 21.457 | 21.732 | 22.010 | |
| 2 | Team Canada | 3 | 42/20:02.236 | 27.734 | 18.039 | 18.039 | 19.127 | 19.652 | 20.104 |
| 3 | Demon Power Systems | 4 | 42/20:06209 | 3.973 | 22.954 | 28.751 | 23.824 | 24.302 | 24.594 |
| 4 | Heart of America | 2 | 41/20:07 | 30.282 | 19.870 | 29.440 | 20.100 | 20.385 | 20.942 |
How to get into Quad Racing
One of the best routes to learning how to fly a quad is through a simulator. Try VelociDrone or Liftoff with a transmitter and you'll be learning that muscle memory in no time whatsoever.
After this, you can learn how to assemble a race quad from our videos.
You can source all the parts you need from the drone section of our online Flite Test store.
If you want to hear from two of our resident pro quad pilots here at Flite Test, here's a podcast featuring Matt and Ian on their journey into racing at events like the Xfinity Drone Race.
Article by James Whomsley
Editor of FliteTest.com
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