Air Sports: Red Bull Air Race to hit Perth!
There’s a new high performance motor sport sweeping the globe and now it’s headed for Australia. Referred to as the ‘Formula One of the sky,’ this global phenomenon is the Red Bull Air Race. It will be held for the first time in Australia on 19 November 2006. This free spectator event will touch down in Perth for the final leg of the 2006 Red Bull Air Race World Series above the picturesque waters of the Swan River.
Launched in 2003, the Red Bull Air Race is a thrilling new aviation event that puts the world’s most talented pilots up against each other in a race based on speed, precision and skill. The race features a dynamic new discipline of flying, where the objective is to navigate a challenging obstacle course in the sky in the fastest possible time.
During each Red Bull Air Race event, the pilots are required to fly individually against the clock and complete tight turns through a slalom style course consisting of specially designed 60ft high pylons, known as ‘air gates.’ They use some of the lightest and agile planes that exist but it is the pilot’s stamina and skill that determines the true champion. There is no margin for error either; only the best of the best can take part and these guys are at the top of their game.
The first World Series kicked off in 2005, taking place in seven venues across the world with ten internationally acclaimed pilots competing. American Mike Mangold, a former U.S. Air Force Top Gun pilot was last year’s champion. Eleven pilots are currently taking part in the 2006 Red Bull Air Race World Series taking place nine spectacular international locations including for the first time Perth, Australia.
The first race of the 2006 World Series took place on the 18 March, along the famous ‘Corniche’ stretch in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. American Kirby Chambliss succeeded in beating the other ten world class pilots to win the first competition of the season with a total time of 3:33.37. More than 200,000 spectators lined the shores to witness plane and pilot perform a range of difficult manoeuvres as they raced through a unique obstacle course in the sky at top speeds reaching more than 400kph.
The other races in the 2006 Red Bull Air Race World Series still to come are Barcelona, Spain (6 May), Berlin, Germany (27 May), St Petersburg, Russian Federation (17 June), Istanbul, Turkey (29 July), Budapest, Hungary (20 August), Longleat, UK (2 September), San Francisco, USA (7 October) and Perth, Australia (19 November). The pilots competing hail from Hungary, the United States, Germany, Spain, Zimbabwe, The Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom.
All of the Red Bull Air Races are free spectator events, including Perth, and the pilots compete to claim the prestigious title of Red Bull Air Race World Series Champion. As for whom that will be? Keep watching the skies…
If Aviation is your passion, check out http://www.aeroclub.com.au/