News & Press

Raiden Racing conquer Königssee to claim the 2025 DCL Championship

The 2025 Drone Champions League season ended exactly the way it deserved to: under the floodlights and snow of Königssee’s legendary ice channel, with two of the strongest FPV teams in the world sending it at full speed in real life.

After three Cups and months of competition, Spain Drone Team and Raiden Racing arrived at the DCL Super Final separated by just two championship points:

  • Spain Drone Team led the standings on 27 points, thanks to back to back victories at the Eagle Cup and Hawk Cup.
  • Raiden Racing followed closely on 25 points, powered by their win at the Falcon Cup, which was held as a real life racing final back in April.

All three Cups followed the same pathway: qualification on the official simulator DCL – The Game, followed by the top teams advancing to the Cup Finals and, finally, the Super Final invitation for the top two teams of the season.

On 19 December 2025 at 20:00 UTC, the story of the season reached its climax with the full DCL Super Final premiere from Ice Channel, Königssee, Germany on the DCL YouTube channel.

From sim grind to real world ice

The Super Final was where the sim grind met real world consequences.

The iconic Ice Channel in Königssee delivered a uniquely brutal test. With temperatures dropping to around –13 to –17°C, batteries, electronics and pilots were pushed to their limits. Every lap demanded precision, bravery and absolute trust in the hardware. Any mistake meant concrete walls and zero room for recovery.

Spain Drone Team were not able to field their usual full roster, and Raiden Racing ultimately secured the 2025 title on the day.
However, in true DCL spirit of camaraderie and sportsmanship, SDT still took to the track for fly for fun and entertainment runs, giving fans the chance to see both line ups sending it down the ice channel.

From Raiden Racing, the renowned DCL pilots Vicent Mayans and Yuki Hashimoto competed in the Super Final, bringing their trademark speed and control to the real life stage.
On the Spain Drone Team side, Hugo Marco Lopez made his DCL real life racing debut, adding an extra storyline to an already special night in Königssee.

Raiden Racing rise to the moment

On race day, Raiden Racing delivered the performance they had been building towards all season.

Heat after heat, they brought the pace that had already won them the Falcon Cup and combined it with calm, controlled racing on one of the most unforgiving tracks DCL has ever used. Their lines through the ice channel grew tighter with each run as they adapted to the cold, the walls and the pressure.

Spain Drone Team still showed flashes of the pace that made them double Cup champions, and their runs on the ice channel offered a glimpse of how formidable a full SDT roster could be in a complete real life campaign. But over the full programme in Königssee, it was Raiden Racing who put together the stronger overall package.

When the final packs were emptied and the last drone crossed the finish line, Raiden Racing were confirmed as Super Final winners and crowned the 2025 Drone Champions League Champions.

The victory marks Raiden Racing’s third DCL title, underlining their status as one of the most successful teams in league history.

Season awards: excellence across the grid

The Super Final also closed the book on an outstanding individual season for several pilots.

  • Pilot of the Year: Salie1 from Spain Drone Team105 heat points
  • Rookie of the Year: TheBoB from Wild Card Team59 heat points

Both awards reflect consistent performance across the season and highlight the depth of talent competing in the Drone Champions League.

Respect, rivalry and real sportsmanship

One of the lasting images from Königssee had nothing to do with drones in the air.

As the event wrapped up, pilots from both teams crossed the stage to congratulate each other. Despite the pressure, cold and the weight of a world title, the atmosphere between Spain Drone Team and Raiden Racing was defined by genuine respect.

Spain Drone Team, who carried the favourites’ tag into the Super Final after winning both Eagle and Hawk Cup, showed real class in how they embraced the result, celebrating Raiden’s achievement and recognising their own journey from early season setbacks to double Cup winners and Super Final contenders.

Raiden’s pilots, in turn, acknowledged that without Spain Drone Team pushing them all year, this title fight would not have reached such a high level. The camaraderie between the squads underlined what DCL is ultimately about: teams and pilots pushing each other, and the sport further every season.

A season to remember

Looking back, the 2025 campaign delivered:

  • Three major Cups, Falcon, Eagle and Hawk, with qualifications on DCL – The Game and a couple of real life racing finals
  • A season long fight where Spain Drone Team and Raiden Racing traded blows across every stage
  • A return to physical racing with two spectacular live events: the Falcon Cup Final and the Super Final at Königssee
  • A championship decider that felt like a true world title showdown

 

Spain Drone Team leave 2025 as double Cup winners and overall runners up, confirming their place among the elite teams of the current era.
Raiden Racing leave as three time Drone Champions League winners, having proven they can dominate both in the simulator and on ice.

What’s next: the road to 2026

With the 2025 Championship now in Raiden Racing’s hands, attention turns to what comes next.

Behind the scenes, DCL is already working on something bigger for 2026, new formats, new locations and new ways to connect real life racing, simulation and the global FPV community.

2025 raised the bar. 2026 is where we plan to push it even higher.

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