King Joshy International Races - Turning Up The Heat

From Paris Air Show to Italian and Riyadh FAI World Cup, we chatted with Joshy for a glimpse into the international world of Drone Racing

Drone racing is rapidly becoming a high-octane sport where pilots compete not only locally or nationally, but internationally. Battling the elements, challenging environments, failing equipment and the intense pressure of competition, Joshua Stevens AKA King Joshy, one of the UK’s brightest talents in drone racing, recently shared insightful experiences from three major events this season: the prestigious Paris Air Show Invitational Race, and the Italian and Riyadh FAI World Cup races. 

The Paris Air Show Invitational Race: A Tight Track, Hot Weather, and a High-Paced Challenge

Joshy described the Paris Air Show race as “probably my best international performance and race experience I’ve done so far.” The invitational event was a three-day affair packed with qualifiers and finals, taking place right next to the airstrip of a bustling air show. Thousands of spectators were drawn to the drone track, an enclosed cage with exceedingly tight turns and gates, some only meters from the excited crowd.

This suited Joshy’s style, saying “It was so good because when I practice it's usually on tight tracks not as tight as that obviously but it's on that level and because I was kind of used to that. I think I had somewhat of an advantage”. Joshy’s favorite aspect was the track itself. “man it was so fun. Some people didn't like it because of how tight it was but it was just, like, so easy. It flew well”

Joshy explained, “The track was super tight because you’re in an enclosed cage, so it could only be so big, and then you had spectators almost right up against the netting. You are really penned into the small area.” Despite the crowd and intense atmosphere, Joshy was unfazed, remarking that he only felt nervous when racing against the highest skilled pilots during the finals.

Being such a long event meant there was plenty of time to race his best race, “I think I did like 15 to 18 qualifiers, something like that”. But the summer heat and the speed of the racing meant that back in the pits, Joshy’s dad, Dan, was frantically repairing and getting quads ready. “Two races in a row I melted the xt60 to the battery. So in between the races my dad was panicking to unsolder it and sold it back on with a new one. It was pretty stressful.”

Out in the French summer sun, the extreme heat reaching 35 degrees Celsius was more of a factor than some had considered “It was so hot, there were people queuing up for the water fountain as well,” he said. This heat affected the quads recalling a crucial moment in eliminations, “ when I took off I got a de-sync over the first gate. I literally stalled and like two people hit me. And yeah, I was out”. Frustrating as this was, Joshy was still pleased with his result securing an impressive 8th place finish overall. 

FAI World Cup Race in Italy: The Battle of Endurance and Consistency

Following Paris, Joshy traveled with fellow British pilots Steath and Danbuster to the FAI World Cup in Italy, an event characterized by a longer track and a more open setting. However, this race did not go as smoothly.

Joshy candidly reflected on the difficulties faced: “I did have a little bit of a bad start though throughout the whole weekend. My start was so bad because it was off a flat block. And you have to go around the corner before the start gate. It kind of threw me off” Not being used to taking off from a flat block this is now on Joshy’s practice schedule along with being prepared off the sticks. The greuling schedule to get to the race wasnt the best way to start, “the drive was about 16 hours in the end, because we had loads of delays… so by the time it got to actually racing I had loads of caffeine in the morning. 

Photos courtesy of DSUK Dan Stevens & Speedy Pizza Drones

Despite the rough start and frustration from crashing, Joshy managed to post some good qualifying times, “I did my first two qualifiers which was actually pretty decent… but after that I literally just crashed. I couldn't race at all. I just hit everything I wasn't flying consistent, all my lines are bad.” Reflecting on this, he knows what needs to be done to get better results, “But I definitely need to work on getting more sleep and also not having loads of caffeine in the morning….just eating the right food and not having those sugary drinks”

Italian FAI World Cup Drone Race

Joshy advanced through several brackets, and ultimately finishing 18th. He acknowledged mid-air collisions and bad luck as hindrances but recognised his own preparation affected him. On top of that, he is motivated to focus on improving consistency and speed ahead of future races, saying “The track was too big and open for me… I think I could have done better than Paris.”

At the event, Joshy also expressed a desire to socialize more with international pilots, spending time with competitors like Danbuster, Steath, Foxur and BonFPV. However, the long 16-hour drive with his dad both before and after the race limited his energy for anything beyond the racing.

The Challenging Riyadh Race: Overcoming Illness and Adversity

One of Joshy’s most harrowing experiences came earlier in the season during a race in Riyadh, where he competed despite battling a severe flu. “The day before I went, I got the flu. I was literally dying the whole event, I kept getting nosebleeds” he recalled.

And that wasn’t the end of the challenges. The event was incredibly well put together with some top pilots and a cool looking track, but being housed in a big exhibition hall, the video signal was terrible.

Photos courtesy of DSUK Dan Stevens 

He described the event as “the most horrible experience in my whole life,” noting that while his results were not terrible, the combination of illness and poor video connectivity made concentration nearly impossible.

“Every time there’s bad signal, Steath (Edward Dalton) somehow does really well. I don’t know how he can see like half the gate through all the interference.” Despite the challenges, Joshy saw the race as a valuable experience and was proud to have participated in such a unique event.

Great VLog of the race by VeeFPV

Preparation, Challenges, and Technology: Keys to Competitive Success

Through all his races, a recurring theme for Joshy has been preparation. He stressed the importance of sleep and nutrition, recognizing how bad habits in these areas can heavily impact performance.

“Eating well always makes you perform better. I think I definitely need to improve in getting enough sleep and not relying so much on caffeine before races,” he said. It’s something simple that anyone can do but under the pressure of the race build up it can be easy to overlook. Maybe this could be key to reaching the peak of his game at these international races?

Technological setups were also a vital part of Joshy’s preparation. He worked with Chris Rossa on tuning his drone, particularly adjusting the radio packet rates to improve control consistency. The change to 500Hz rate significantly reduced missed control inputs, making his drone a lot more manageable in the air.

Photos courtesy of DSUK Dan Stevens 

Joshy also shared insights into drone equipment damage challenges, especially with the delicate but highly maneuverable Tiny Whoop drones. “Whoops are good for starting to fly and racing because you break a lot less when you're learning. But I always hate how easily you break them — motors, cameras, even the VTX can go funky.”

During the Paris race no matter all the preparation there were still challenges costing a qualifying race. “my [camera] lens started to come unfocused. At the very end [of the race] it got so unfocused, I was like ‘where am I on the track?’ so when I was trying to look where I was I'll literally just flew full throttle into a metal pole.” Luckily by this point Joshy has secured an excellent qualifying position so this mishap didn’t cost him anything. 

Tiny Whoops: Training Ground for the Big Leagues

Joshy swears by Tiny Whoops as effective training tools to hone skills on bigger drones. “I think it's such a good gateway into this hobby” he enthused. And while acknowledging that going at his world class speeds he does break things regularly, he still says, “flying at world level competition speed so it's not surprising you break something when you hit but everybody else getting started? They're gonna crash loads when they're going to be fairly low speed low damage hits. Whoops are such a good benchmark, because even though we're saying we break loads of stuff, if you're a beginner and you've got a Moby six or something like that. They're just not gonna break it” 

He also loves how whoops allow for creative track designs without the size constraints of five-inch drone races. “you can make as wild of a track you want, you could do loads of stuff with [whoops] because you haven't got the limitations like you do with like a five inch track”.

In preparation, Joshy has been focussed on the outdoor racing drones training at his local club Ware FPV. The speed of the drones is significantly more than whoops and so protection is key to avoid damaging the drones. “It’s all key clamped stuff like what they make scaffolding out of. We tie around that foam” This summer the team plans to fully refurbish and cover the foam in tarpaulin to avoid damage from hitting the metal poles. This not only saves on repair costs but also keeps practice sessions more consistent. 

Speaking of the training grounds at WareFPV Joshy said, “That's like my favorite thing about it because we've got soldering iron and a container and the generator. Because I'm at the track and I'm going to fly, it motivates me to build.” This combination of flying regularly at a track where all the equipment is set up and ready to use to build and fix drones makes it easy for Joshy to put in the stick time.

Looking Ahead: Ambitions for Whooptopia and Birmingham International Race Days (BIRD)

Building on his recent experiences and progress, Joshy shared exciting goals for the coming seasons. He’s keen to compete at Whooptopia in the US, one of the largest Tiny Whoop racing events globally.

“Whooptopia has always been a big goal for me since I started flying whoops. It’s probably the biggest race I could go to, and now I think I’m finally up to speed to do well there.”

Joshy mentioned possibly competing alongside friends like Carb and Dan Buster, hoping to represent the UK as a strong competitor in the international whoop racing scene.

Regarding the Birmingham International Race Days (BIRD), a signature UK drone racing event, Joshy is considering a return in 2026. “If I do Whooptopia, I’ll do BIRD” confident that if he does well out in the US, he will do well at the showcase UK race. “I wasn’t the biggest fan of the 2024 [BIRD], but the last one you did definitely look pretty good. I kind of wish I went.” 

The 2024 BIRD event was held in a huge exhibition hall with a 4 storey open atrium. The track team used this cool architectural feature to full effect hanging gates right out in space and a huge dive gate. It was an amazing spectacle but drew polarised opinions from pilots. Some loved the crazy shape of the building and the huge area whereas some preferred tighter and more compact tracks.

Unfortunately Joshy did not have the best luck at BIRD 2024 and so didn’t achieve the position he knows he can. “I'm definitely really not satisfied with my results at that one. So it’s worth going back to another BIRD. To redeem myself, I guess you could say.” And given the friendly competition between Joshy and his training partners, Steath, Danbuster and Carb (who won BIRD 2024), we are confident he will want to beat them on home turf.

BIRD 2025 - Leasowes High School

Final Thoughts

Joshy’s season was a rollercoaster of achievements, challenges, and learning experiences — from blazing through the tight Paris track to enduring illness in Riyadh, and battling consistency issues in Italy. His openness about mistakes, preparation struggles, and equipment issues illustrate the demanding nature of professional drone racing.

With a clear focus on improvement both during and before the race and exciting goals like MultiGP European Champs, Whooptopia and BIRD, Joshy is proving to be a rising star in the sport. And his advocacy for Tiny Whoops as a foundational tool emphasizes the importance of starting small, learning fast, and building up the skills to conquer the big sky.

If you're new to drone racing or just interested in the fast-evolving sport, watch out for Joshy’s name — he’s flying fast and aiming high.