July 16-17: Red Bull Air Race over the Danube

The cityscape of the Hungarian capital will feature as the backdrop of the international air race series once again. The Red Bull Air Race World Championship returns to Budapest on the 16^th and 17^th of July, mmonline.hu reports.

Dubbed the most exciting motorsport in the world, the Red Bull Air Race typically attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators to the banks of the Danube. The competition made a comeback last year after 6 years of absence.

The weekend of the race starts on Saturday, July 16 at 10:45am with the free practice of the challenger class, then from 3:20pm the qualifying round begins. The qualification of the master class starts at 4pm.

Sunday kicks off with the Challenger Cup at noon, then, starting at 2pm three rounds of races will decide the winner of the master class. In between the races there will be side acts and show flights to entertain the spectators.

This year, Hungarian aerobatics pilot and world champion Péter Besenyei will not be competing in the race, but he will be part of the programme on both days.

Besenyei, who announced his retirement last autumn, was part of the core team that organised the first aerobatics championship in 2003.

“Red Bull approached me with the idea of an air race where pilots are competing in a slalom course on a time limit. I had been thinking about how to make aerobatics more exciting. When I heard the idea, I knew: this is what I’d had in mind all along,” Besenyei recalled the origins of the competition in a previous interview.

The success of the first championship marked the beginning of a new era in the world of air races.

The Budapest air race takes place between the Chain Bridge and Margaret Bridge, and it can be seen from both sides of the Danube. The event is free, grandstand tickets can be purchased for a better view. For more info on the programme, click here.

Photo: MTI

Copy editor: bm

Source: mmonline.hu