History
The Air Race World Series had its beginnings in 2001, in a think tank organized by energy drink manufacturer Red Bull to come up with ideas for new types of sports competition.
The original idea was simply to stage a kind of slalom air race, in which maneuvering would be as important to the outcome as sheer speed.
The first step in creating such a race was to develop a pylon for marking the course that would not cause any damage if a plane struck it. The solution was a tall column filled with compressed air--essentially a kind of cone-shaped balloon.
Six pilots participated in the first air race, which was held at the AirPower Air Show in Zeltweg, Austria in 2003. A second race was held that year near Budapest, Hungary. Red Bull sponsored three races in 2004, in Kemble, United Kingdom; Budapest; and Reno, Nevada.
In 2005, the Air Race World Series was inaugurated, with seven races in seven countries, from the United Arab Emirates to the United States. That increased to 12 races in 2006 and will remain at 12 in 2007.
An overall champion is determined by a point system in which 6 points are awarded for a first-place finish in a race, 5 points for second place, and so on down to 1 point for sixth place.
The race course is about 1.4 kilometers (.87 mile) long, marked by a series of inflatable pylons. Most pylons are paired as "air gates." If a gate is marked blue, the pilot passes through horizontally. However, if it's red, it must be passed vertically, that is, with the wings at right angles to the ground.
At some places in the course, three pylons might be arranged as a slalom gate (also known as a chicane), in which case the pilot has to weave through them.
Various errors call for penalties or disqualification. A penalty results in a certain number of seconds added to the elapsed time for the race.
