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 exciting locations are left on the race calendar with Berlin up next in just three weeks time.
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Red Bull Air Race World Series 2006
Results – Race 1, Abu Dhabi 18.3.06
1 Kirby Chambliss USA 3:33,37
2 Mike Mangold USA 3:37,94
3 Peter Besenyei HUN 3:41,72
4 Alejandro Maclean ESP 3:42,25
5 Nicolas Ivanoff FRA 3:49,11
6 Michael Goulian USA 3:49:62
7 Paul Bonhomme GBR 3:49:85
8 Steve Jones GBR 3:51:74
9 Nigel Lamb GBR 3:56:42
10 Frank Versteegh NDL 4:15:61
dq Klaus Schrodt GER dq
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
