ok so i signed up for a local MultiGP qualifier kind of on a dare from a guy at the field and now its actually happening in like 3 weeks and im lowkey panicking. ive been flying freestyle for about a year and a half and i can rip around pretty cleanly but ive never actually raced gates in a competition setting with other quads in the air and people watching and all that.

my setup is a pretty standard 5inch, running a F7 stack, ELRS on 250mw, HDZero goggle setup which i know isnt the most popular choice at races but the latency is fine. motors are T-Motor F40 2306s i think, been on this build for maybe 6 months without any major issues.

what do i actually need to bring and prepare. like i know spare props obviously but is there a list of stuff people usually forget. also any tips for not completely freezing up when the tone goes and everyone launches at once, because that sounds terrifying honestly

the freezing thing is real and pretty much everyone goes through it first race. honestly just accept youre gonna fly worse than in practice, like budget for maybe 70% of your normal ability and youll be less disappointed. the adrenaline does weird things to your throttle management especially in the first gate or two.

gear wise - way more props than you think, a soldering iron if you can bring one, a lipo checker, zip ties and heat shrink, and a printed copy of your video transmitter channel and power settings because they will ask you at impound and your brain will be empty. also check if the event uses Trackside or some other timing software and register your transponder early if needed because that always trips people up last minute.

HDZero is fine, dont let anyone tell you otherwise. latency argument is basically irrelevant at club level.

i did my first race last year in like the same situation lol, just make sure your video frequency doesnt conflict with anyone else's thats the one thing that actually caused me problems. had to repatch mid event because someone else was already on my channel and i didnt check ahead of time. most events post the frequency assignments beforehand if you ask the organizer