2 minute read
Prop idols
from GOODWOOD | ISSUE 22
by Uncommonly
In its heyday Red Bull Air Race was the world’s largest live sporting event, attracting more than a million spectators at races in Barcelona, Porto and Rio de Janeiro. That’s not to mention the 230 million fans at the business end of the broadcast, watching on screens in 187 countries around the world. But after 16 years of breakneck aerobatics (try 10G for size) and all-round derring-do, Red Bull discontinued the championship in 2019, leaving a stunt-plane-shaped hole in the world of competitive aviation.
That hole soon proved too big to ignore, so the Air Race World Championship (ARWC) stepped in, with ambitious plans for a relaunch involving some of the world’s most accomplished pilots. “Building on the amazing Red Bull legacy, Air Race is well positioned to deliver one of the world’s most thrilling and pioneering global sporting events – focused on future tech, innovation, clean energy and spectator experience,” says Willie Cruickshank, race series director at ARWC. “Through the introduction of new race formats and categories, we hope to attract even more fans and deliver a captivating spectator experience.”
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ARWC hopes to launch the Elite XR\1 category – which will feature 12 teams headed by crack pilots such as the reigning Air Race champion, Australia’s Mat Hall, and his Czech arch-rival, Martin Šonka – this autumn at Goodwood. “Set in the beautiful West Sussex countryside, Goodwood Racecourse is a perfect location to host what looks to be our only land-based race circuit this year,” says Cruickshank, who was an RAF fighter pilot for 26 years before joining the Norfolk-based Wildcat Aerobatics team, then Red Bull Air Race. “Goodwood is obviously an iconic venue in the UK – for many, it’s the home of motorsport.”
For that’s exactly how Cruickshank and his team view the championship, branding it the fastest motorsport in the world. The planes and Air Gates will remain the same, but the format has changed slightly, with a three-round elimination competition similar to qualification in Formula 1.
As well as providing aerial thrills and spills, ARWC intends to become carbon-neutral by 2025. To this end it is working with technical partners such as Prometheus Fuels, an American energy company that seeks to create fuel from air by stripping CO2 molecules from the air and converting them into hydrocarbons, which are then made into fuel.
This progressive approach is reflected in all aspects of the sport. “Air racing is one of the few sports where male and female competitors can compete head-to-head, without any competitive advantage,” says Cruickshank. “We currently have one female pilot [reigning British Unlimited Aerobatic Champion Mélanie Astles] racing in the Elite XR\1 category and a further three female pilots developing their racing skills at the Academy, with the aim of competing in the Aero SR\2 category. Diversity of ethnicity and sex is something we’re keen to support as we go forward.” Air Race World Championship’s inaugural meet will be at Goodwood Racecourse, September 3-4.
The thrilling sport of air racing was once the world’s largest live sporting event. It’s back after a three-year hiatus – and its daredevil pilots are coming to Goodwood this autumn
Words by Alex Moore
