The Red Bull Air Race is an international series of air races participated in by competing pilots who have to negotiate a challenging obstacle course that consists of pylons or Air Gates in the fastest time. The races are held usually over water near certain cities or urban centers on weekends, with the first day devoted to qualifying flights and the next day for the knockout finals. Established by Red Bull in 2003, the races feature high-speed air racing at low altitude. Since its creation, the series has steadily grown to become as a tourist attraction in many cities where it is held.
Beginnings, current times. The race was conceived by Red Bull in 2001 and officially began in 2003. The purpose of Red Bull in creating the air races was to develop new aviation racing, or a race in the sky that would showcase a pilot’s speed, precision and skill. The first test flight for the race over the pylons was successfully made by Hungarian pilot Peter Besenyei in 2002, and in 2003 the race officially took off in Austria, to be followed by another race in Budapest, Hungary during the same year. Three races were held in 2004—in Kemble, England, Budapest, Hungary, and Reno, United States. Ten pilots competed in the race in 2005 after it was expanded to World Series, and the number of competing pilots increased to 11 in 2006 when eight races were held. In 2009, the race attracted 15 pilots—the biggest number—from 12 different countries. After Brazilian pilot Adilson Kindlemann accidentally crashed his plane into the Swan River in Perth City, Western Australia, Red Bull cancelled the races for 2011 and 2012 for restructuring purposes.
Race format. In 2005 and 2006, pilots ran two qualifying rounds to determine the starting order, with the fastest time to start last. In succeeding years, organizers introduced a new knockout format, which was modified in 2008. Flying sessions make up the race format, such as Training, Qualifying, Wild Card, Top 12, Super 8, and Final 4 sessions. The Training Sessions precede the Qualifying Day and require pilots to take at least two mandatory training sessions. Qualifying Sessions are held a day before race day, while the Wild Card Sessions on race day with the five pilots having the slowest time from Qualifying Sessions to compete for the two available spots in the Top 12 Sessions in which the fastest 10 from Qualifying day and the fastest two from the Wild Card to compete for a spot in the Super 8 sessions. In the Super 8, the fastest four pilots advance to the Final 4 Sessions to fight for the first, second, third and fourth place positions.
Rules of the races. The following rules govern the race series: (a) Pilots must complete five to six kilometers (3.1 to 3.7 mi) long track and fly between the pylons or Air Gates, otherwise, their failure to do it correctly will result in penalty seconds added to their race time, (b) Specific manner of crossing is required for any of the different types of gates, as follow: Blue gates should be crossed by the plane in level flight; Red gates by the plane in vertical or “knife-edge” flight and slalom or zigzag flying should be done through the chicane or artificial gates, and (c) Air Gates should be made up of one to four pylons to allow pilots to do their maneuvers.
