Sun, May 07, 2006
1 Million Watch Besenyei Conquer In Barcelona Air Race
Around 1 million
spectators descended on Barcelona’s Bogatell Beach to see
Peter Besenyei beat ten other world class pilots in the second leg
of the Red Bull Air Race World Series on Saturday 6 May. Hungarian
Besenyei edged out American favourites Kirby Chambliss and Mike
Mangold to win the race with a total time of 2:33.82.
The pilots reached speeds of over 400kph as they raced through a
specially constructed obstacle course positioned over the water.
Skill, stamina and precision are crucial in the Red Bull Air Race.
The pilots have to negotiate 19m high ‘Air Gates’ and
battle with acceleration forces that can reach up to 10G.
The crowds tied up traffic for miles as the southern coastal
roads came to a standstill. Avoiding the streets, scores of
spectators arrived in sailboats and yachts to watch the event from
the sea. It was a phenomenal turnout considering that rival
Barcelona teams FC Barcelona and Espanyol were playing in nearby
Camp Nou Stadium in front of 65,000 fans. More than 10 times that
number lined the shores to watch the Air Race.
Spaniard Alejandro Maclean received huge support from his home
country but unfortunately only made it to 7th position.
It’s currently a close competition between Besenyei, Mangold
and Chambliss who are leading the World Series standings with an
even score of 10 points each.
Besenyei suffered problems with his plane in the first race of
the season in Abu Dhabi and was forced to fly a heavier two-seater
in that competition. He was ecstatic about his win attributing it
to his new plane, the Edge 540.
“I’m really happy with my new plane”, he
said.
“It’s so much faster than the previous one and
really gave me the edge! But more than anything it was a great
feeling to beat Mike Mangold by six seconds”.
Among the prominent guests at the event was Catalonian President
Pasqual Maragall as well as Barcelona Mayor Joan Clos. Seven more
locations are left on the race calendar with Berlin up next in just
three weeks time.
|
Red Bull Air Race Calendar
2006
|
|
Abu Dhabi,
UAE
|
18th March
|
|
Barcelona,
Spain
|
6th May
|
|
Berlin,
Germany
|
27th May
|
|
St Petersburg,
Russia
|
17th June
|
|
Istanbul,
Turkey
|
29th July
|
|
Budapest,
Hungary
|
20th August
|
|
Longleat,
UK
|
2nd September
|
|
San Francisco,
USA
|
7th October
|
|
Perth,
Australia
|
19th November
|
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