Fliteboard RACE

As eFoil racing grows from a hobby into a true sport, innovation is accelerating to keep up. And as the name implies, Fliteboard’s new RACE is built for one thing. It’s aimed at riders who already know how to fly and want the fastest, stiffest, most reactive setup available. With more grunt than any other Fliteboard, it can reach 30 knots without trouble in flat-water conditions, though only riders with the balls to hold it there will find out how fast it really goes. We joined Flite’s Senior Engineer Simon Axmann, one of the minds behind the new board and a rider set to compete in the upcoming Dubai eFoil Festival this November, for a quiet test session ahead of its debut competition run. The day brought strong onshore wind, short chop and shifty swell lines, messy conditions, but the kind that show how a board really performs.

At 4’10 × 20.5” and 58 liters, the RACE looks compact and ready to move, even on land. It’s slimmer and more pulled in than the Ultra L2, with crisp rails and a low rocker design that helps it lift clean off the water and track steady against the wind. The red carbon fiberweave on the base glimmers in the light and matches the red RACE impeller, giving it a sharp black-and-red finish with a Formula One feel. A small Flite × Mercury Racing insignia now sits low on the rail, a quiet nod to the behind-the-scenes collab helping drive this next phase of eFoil tech.

Beyond the board shape, the drive system has been tuned for more punch. The Jet 2 motor runs a redesigned, higher-pitch RACE impeller that pushes more water with each rotation. It takes a bit more torque to spin but pays off with stronger thrust, smoother ramp-up and better power delivery at the top end. The system will come standard with an 80cm aluminum RACE mast, but there’s a full-carbon option for those chasing the lightest, stiffest feel possible. This test used Simon’s carbon mast, the purest racing format, which gave a noticeably sharp, connected response through quick pitch changes and accelerating turns.

For this session we rode the FLITELab* FLUX_707 front wing and a prototype 195cm² stabilizer set at -0.5°. The 707 sits between the ultra-fast 606 and the more forgiving 808, giving a balanced mix of lift and control. All Flite wings now use the same conical interface, meaning any wing in the Flite ecosystem can be fitted to the RACE. This extends to the FLITELab* tail shim we used with the stabilizer, which has clever locking tabs to make adjustments quick and predictable when offsetting changes to the wings or battery.

The RACE can accommodate all three FliteCell sizes: Explore, Sport and Nano. The largest, the Explore, holds its voltage longer for maximum top speed, punch and endurance. The Nano, tested here, cuts weight for quick, technical runs where instant response and agility matter most. The Sport provides a balanced blend of power, endurance and handling.

On the water, the RACE truly feels built for riders chasing quick takeoffs and flat-out speed. It has that familiar Fliteboard feel but hits harder, like an engine that’s been freshly tuned. From the first squeeze of the trigger, the RACE impeller came alive, driving smooth, powerful thrust that lifted the board clean even while punching straight up the guts into short, messy wind bumps. The Jet 2 drive, known for its quiet, faded beneath the hiss of wind as speed built past 20 knots. At those speeds, balance and confidence become everything. Even in rough surface conditions, the 707 wing, paired with the stabilizer and RACE mast, kept the setup composed and predictable. It held its line through cross-swell and chop without twitching or skipping, and everything felt super stiff and locked in.

The handheld Flite controller made throttle changes feel intuitive, offering fine response through each power level and just enough trigger resistance to feather power smoothly to stay in control at high speeds. By level 15, roughly 75 percent power, we were absolutely hooning across the bay before chickening out, and even then it was clear the RACE still had more to give than most riders – myself included – would dare to chase.

This setup delivers as promised, purpose-built to reach a new level of speed while staying composed under pressure. The RACE, which is released into the world in January ‘26, proves Fliteboard are serious about competition, and next month Simon will line up in Dubai on the full RACE platform, a fitting debut for a board that already feels ready to win.