Abu Dhabi hailed ahead of Red Bull Air Race World Championship opener

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi’s status as a prime location for sporting extravaganzas has been hailed as the UAE capital prepares to host the Red Bull Air Race World Championship opener for the eighth time this weekend.

The event is part of an international series of air races, in which competitors have to navigate a challenging obstacle course in the fastest time.

The eight-race 2015 championship will feature two new stops in Japan and Russia, along with a return to Budapest, Hungary, between February and October.

Abu Dhabi has hosted the most races of the world championship since it was inaugurated in 2003, much to the delight of Faisal Al Shaikh, Director of the Events Bureau of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority.

Speaking at a press conference at the Wave Breaker on Tuesday ahead of the event on Friday and Saturday, he said: “Whether it be land, sea or air, we in Abu Dhabi have a strong affiliation with motorsports and the Red Bull Air Race allows us to again show our ability to stage major events that thrill visitors and residents alike.

“This race is a key component of Abu Dhabi’s thriving events calendar, which now spans not only great sporting events, but also cultural, arts and entertainment scenes as well.

“It brings heightened impetus to a very active first quarter for the emirate and gives us a fantastic opportunity to show the beauty of our stunning Corniche.”

Erich Wolf, General Manager of the Red Bull Air Race, added: “We are very happy to kick off the Red Bull Air Race World Championship here in Abu Dhabi once again. We’ve already had seven races in this beautiful city, which has always opened its arms wide to accommodate us.”

The event involves pilots using the fastest, most agile and lightweight racing planes to navigate a low-level aerial racetrack of air-filled pylons (air gates), with the aim of finishing in the fastest time possible and incurring as few penalties as they can.

Defending Red Bull Air Race world champion Nigel Lamb, from Great Britain, will have past champions Paul Bonhomme and Hannes Arch breathing down his neck in the 2015 season opener.

Also competing will be Nicolas Ivanoff (France), Pete McLeod (Canada), Matt Hall (Australia), Matthias Dolderer (Germany), Martin Sonka (Czech Republic) and Yoshi Muroya (Japan) — all of whom won podium places in 2014. Former Abu Dhabi winners Peter Besenyei (Hungary), who won here in 2005 and 2007, and Kirby Chambliss (USA), who triumphed in 2006. will also be back.

Completing the field are Michael Goulian (USA) and two newcomers, Francois Le Vot (France) and Juan Velarde (Spain), who achieved promotion from the last year’s inaugural Challenger Cup.

The Red Bull Air Race takes place at the Abu Dhabi Corniche on Friday and Saturday. The beach will be open to the public and tickets to hospitality areas are available from www.redbullairrace.com.