Minjae Kim wins FAI World Drone Racing Cup in Italy

Minjae Kim won the FAI World Drone Racing Cup in Sassuolo, Italy, finishing first in the World Drone Cup Italy 2026 final ahead of Killian Rousseau, Yuki Hashimoto and Jonny Exner. The top four came from Korea, France, Japan and the United States, a final-order snapshot that showed how international the front of FPV racing has become at the sharp end of the world cup circuit.

The result came from the 2026 FAI World Drone Racing Cup Italy, held on 11-12 July in Sassuolo as an official FAI World Drone Racing Cup Cat. 2 competition. That classification matters in a sport where access and legitimacy are part of the competitive structure, because FAI-sanctioned category 2 drone events require either an FAI Sporting Licence or an FAI Permission for Drone Racing. In practice, the Sassuolo final was not just a weekend trophy race; it was a sanctioned measuring stick for pilots trying to prove they can deliver under world-cup pressure.

FAI describes the Drone Racing World Cup as the premier global FPV racing event it sanctions, and the Sassuolo result fits that frame. Kim’s win adds another major line to his season record, while Rousseau’s second place, followed by Hashimoto and Exner, shows how little room there is between the contenders once the bracket narrows. In a format where gate hits, line choice and recovery speed decide whether a pilot survives the final run, the order at the finish is the most important margin of all.

The diversity of the top four also points to the current shape of elite drone racing. A Korean winner, a French runner-up, a Japanese third-place finisher and an American in fourth reflects a field where the best pilots travel, qualify and adapt across the same global benchmark. That matters for teams, sponsors and series organizers because world-cup results now map the sport’s pecking order across borders, not just within national circuits.

The Sassuolo event sits inside a broader 2026 FAI drone racing calendar that includes multiple world cups across different countries and formats. FAI also says its e-Drone Racing World Cup, launched in 2024, is a separate remote-piloting format, which makes the Italy event part of the in-person F9U world cup ladder rather than the sim-style series. With the 2026 season still unfolding, Kim’s win in Italy gives the field a fresh reference point and gives every rival a result to chase in the next round of qualifiers and championship races.