Challenger Cup plane
EXTRA 330 LX MANUFACTURER: Extra Aircraft GmbH LENGTH: 7.2m WINGSPAN: 8m ENGINE: Lycoming AEIO 580 B1A, 315hp, six-cylinder engine PROPELLER: Mühlbauer, three-blade TOP SPEED: 420kph (220kts) MAX G: +/-10G WING DESIGN: Symmetric, carbon-fibre
Game of Thrones
A new generation of pilots is set to oust the seasoned crew. Eight men have one aim: grab the Unrestricted Superlicence and get a cockpit in the Master Class
The Challenger Cup is a new element of the Red Bull Air Race giving a new generation of pilots the chance to experience the thrills of the sport. Eight new pilots from seven nations will be racing for Challenger Cup points and valuable Red Bull Air Race experience on the Qualifying Days of the World Championship. The twin aims of the Challenger Cup are to give promising pilots the chance to develop their low-altitude flying skills under racing conditions and further enhance the safety of the world’s fastest motorsport series. Tom Bennett of Great Britain, Mikael Brageot of France, Petr Kopfstein of the Czech Republic, Francois Le Vot of France, Peter Podlunšek of Slovenia, Daniel Ryfa of Sweden, Claudius Spiegel of Germany and Juan Velarde of Spain are the 2014 Challenger Cup pilots. They are all holders of the Restricted Superlicence, obtained in Qualification Camps held in 2013. In the Challenger Cup they will be working towards acquiring the Unrestricted Superlicence required to fly in the Master Class of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship. “I’m very excited to be part of the next generation of Red Bull Air Race,” said Brageot, who has been getting tips from his Breitling teammate Nigel Lamb. “I’ve been following the guys and the racing for years, and to now be a part of it is a dream for me. My goal is to gain as much experience as possible during the Challenger Cup races to hopefully step up and compete in the Master Class before too long.”
Lamb said he was pleased to have the chance to tutor Brageot and admitted it was a learning experience for him as well. “For a newcomer, to enter the World Championship now is a huge step, so it is important to have a lot of support. Newcomers do need a lot of support, not just with the flying, but also with what happens around the flying, such as the pressures from the media. You need to manage your time very well to be mentally prepared at the right moments.” The pilots will be racing in a single-plane-class cup with Red Bull Air Race providing the aircraft – an Extra 330 LX. As for the racetracks, they will generally be the same for the Challenger Cup as in the race itself, but it is possible that on especially difficult tracks the course could be made less challenging by deflating a few of the pylons, according to Sergio Pla, head of aviation at Red Bull Air Race. Each pilot is obliged to fly a minimum of three races, but can take part in all of them. The best six pilots of the season are invited to the final Challenger Cup race, where they are battling for a cockpit in the Master Class.
RED BULL AIR RACE MagazinE 31