Malaysia to host famed Red Bull air race for first time

Spectators looking on at an acrobatic flight demonstration by Hungarian pilot and former champion Peter Besenyei at the launch in Putrajaya today. - MOHD SAHAR MISNI/The Star

Putrajaya is one of seven new locations to stage a leg of the Red Bull Air Race World Championships next year.

For the first time ever, Malaysia will be hosting a leg of the Red Bull Air Race World Championships, the world’s premier low-level acrobatics flight race competition. Putrajaya was announced as the site for the second leg of the 2014 Championships at the launch of the event at the Putrajaya Marina today. The Championships will kick off in February.

Red Bull Air Race GmbH chief executive officer Erich Wolf described the nation’s administrative capital as having a “very impressive background, and a very modern city, which fits with our brand”.

Returning after a three-year hiatus, the flight competition will be held at seven new locations, with only Abu Dhabi retained as the starting leg from previous editions.

The seven are Putrajaya; Gdynia, Poland; Ascot, Britain; Dallas and Fort Worth in Texas, United States; Las Vegas in Nevada, US; and an as-yet-undetermined city in China.

With safety and reorganisation being the key factors in the Championships’ long break, Red Bull Air Race Head of Aviation Sergio Plá announced that next year will also see new safety features in place. This includes extending the height of the pylons the pilots must fly between by five metres, and ensuring that all competitors use the same type of engine.

A Challenger race is also being introduced as a compulsory step for pilots who wish to compete in the Championships proper.

Plá said that this race would be an easier version of the Championships race, to test pilots for their ability and readiness to join the Championships proper. “The pilots who pass this race will be able to join the Championships once a competitor decides to stop flying or not participate,” he said.

Twelve former participants of the Championships will be returning to compete in the 2014 air race, including previous champions Peter Besenyei, Paul Bonhomme and Kirby Chambliss.

-thestar online.