Sunny San Diego, California is laying out the welcome mat for the second stop of the Red Bull Air Race on April 15-16, the first time the World Championship has soared over the bay since a three-year stretch that ended in 2009.
The three North American pilots of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship – Kirby Chambliss and Michael Goulian of the USA and Pete McLeod of Canada – got a panoramic view of San Diego Bay including the USS Midway (see images below) ahead of the second stop of the 2017 season, a long-awaited return to 'America's Finest City'.
Eight years has seen tremendous technological advancements in racing through the Air Gates at 230mph (370kph) with forces up to 12G, and the raceplanes are more sleek and stunning than ever.
However, in the end it’s all in the hands of the pilots, and with the top of the leaderboard completely up for grabs, 14 of the world’s best will be flying full throttle.
Every team is acutely aware that the pilot who triumphs at the second race of the season can go on to win it all: that’s what happened last year when Germany’s Matthias Dolderer dominated the standings from race number two right through to his World Championship victory.
At this Feburary’s season opener in Abu Dhabi, Czech pilot Martin Šonka out-flew Dolderer and the rest of the field to claim his first race win, with Spain’s Juan Velarde clinching a career first of his own with second place.
Can Šonka or Velarde continue the momentum, or will Dolderer charge back?
And then there’s the motivation of a home race for Chambliss and Goulian – former World Champion Chambliss has two San Diego podiums to his name already.
“This is one to look forward to. It’s a fantastic venue, right in front of the city,” says Steve Jones, a former Red Bull Air Race pilot who is now its Race Director. “The track is very similar to Abu Dhabi in terms of manoeuvring turns. It’s going to be a great race.”
Watch all the action this weekend live on Red Bull TV