MinChan Kim of South Korea won the 2026 MultiGP Championship in Dallas, claiming his third world title in the sport. The win came after nearly two years away from elite FPV racing, during which he had turned to 3D helicopter flying. His entry was a last-minute decision that followed a message exchange with MultiGP's Chris Thomas.
A two-pilot final decided at the line
Kim set the tone in qualifying, posting a three-consecutive-lap time of 33.18 seconds to take first place. Minjae Kim followed at 34.20 and Yuki Hashimoto at 35.33. For the first time in Championship history, the four fastest qualifiers all reached the final.
The final turned on the opening moments. A mid-air collision between Minjae Kim and Yuki Hashimoto came right after the start, ending both pilots' hopes and leaving a two-pilot race. From there Kim led home Killian Rousseau of France, who pushed him all the way and crossed about two seconds behind.
He swept the A Main Winners Bracket without losing a round, and that undefeated run gave him his edge under the Chase the Ace format, where a single race win sealed the crown. In Race 8 he had already fought off 12-year-old Alikhan Nsanbaev, finishing about two seconds clear. The course, designed by Anthony Knight and Mr. E, mixed high-speed straights with technical gates, dives and rapid direction changes.
Back on top after 2022 and 2023
The win places Kim alongside his earlier titles from 2022 and 2023. MultiGP's Wall of Fame now lists him as a three-time champion of an event first contested in 2015. Of 64 pilots in Dallas, 16 reached the A Main, a group MultiGP called arguably the strongest it had ever seen.
The result also ended a notable bid. Minjae Kim had taken the 2026 MultiGP World Cup in June and the European Championship in Germany in September, and arrived chasing all three major titles in one year. Defending champion Joaquin Ybanez crashed on the second lap of Race 10 and finished tenth.
Rousseau had reached the final the hard way. A crash in Race 8 dropped him into the Redemption Bracket, and he came through its semifinal just two hundredths of a second behind Minjae Kim. For the runner-up, MultiGP offered a quiet forecast, writing that "surely, his moment will come."
