Mayhem was pure Drone Racing

The eighth Mayhem, Dawn to Dusk has concluded with over 6,000 laps flown, 1000’s of charge cycles complete, and one team claiming the coveted Master of Mayhem title.  The twelve-hour nonstop flying, team relay race happens only once a year and is regarded by many as their favorite of the season.

This year all the competitors ran the race with same Gemfan propeller and a RPM limit on their quads. This made race line decisions, pit stops, and strategy more important. In fact, it has been one of the closest Mayhems races ever, with only 14 laps separating first place from second, and only 1 lap separating third from fourth place.

The race started with a considerable wind of 15 gusting to 20 mph at 7 am in Dallas. The teams were ready to start as Dawn broke at 7:08. The first hour usually gives a preview of how close the 7 teams are matched in skill.

Quickly it became clear that this day will be a battle to the end for many of the teams. Team Wrekd finished the first 60 minutes ahead of everyone, with 125 laps completed, only 7 laps ahead of Flight Club (118), 8 ahead of White Goat (117) and 9 ahead of Bay Area Racing (116). In the second hour an incredible battle between Flight Club and White Goat for second place erupts, tying at 212 laps and catching up on Wrekd with 216 laps, while losing some ground to Bay Area Racing (197 laps). They are followed by HDZero (178) , Mamba (142) and Wildcard (117).

Once a pilot crashes, their quad stays on the field until a caution is called by a team, the first caution was called after 2 full hours on racing!  This was the longest stretch between cautions of the day, and of any Mayhem!  Towards the end of the third hour of flying, the White Goats changed strategy and start to overtake Team Wrekd after some spectacular head-to-head racing.

After three hours, balance and uncertainty reign supreme, with the top three teams separated by only 7 laps!!! White Goat (317) Wrekd (316) and Flight Club (310). And White Goat and Wrekd will exchange the lead again for a couple of hours to follow as they battle winds gusting to 40 mph!

But in endurance racing, with 12 hours without stopping, going fast is not enough. It takes discipline, concentration and endurance. And by the 6th hour, the Wrekd seemed to start feeling some fatigue, allowing on the one hand the White Goats to start widening the gap and on the other hand the team Flight Club  to catch up to the point of being overtaken by the latter for 2nd overall.

In the end, the last two hours of the race saw all teams, with tremendous difficulty, maintain their positions fighting lap after lap to keep their positions. Especially the exciting race in the race between Wrekd and Bay Area Racing for the 3rd place on the podium, with the latter recovering as many as 25 laps coming in the last 10 minutes just 1 lap behind Wrked!!! Bay Area Racing’s attack on the podium failed to materialize by a single lap, but it still remains the greatest comeback in Mayhem’s history.

Congratulations to all the pilots participating in this crazy, incredibile endurance race that drives pilots to the limit of their strength, every year. To complete Mayhem is more than experience, is a path to glory, is a battle against oneself.

Congratulations to all MultiGP team, the Master of Mayhem himself Shannon Broussard, and all the volunteers for making this happen once again. Of course to Joe Scully, a legend, commenting for 12 hours straight the livestream and Doug and Adrian for producing it behind the scenes. 

Congratulations to Team White Goat for becoming the first three time winners of Mayhem!

April is not over yet! We have 4 important appointment with Drone Racing!

April 13-14 Collegiate Drone Racing Championship
April 20-21 Sharjah Drone Racing Champions
April 25-28 ICESTORM 2024

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