Air Race is to flying fanatics what Formula 1 is to car race lovers
By Usman Ghafoor
Accept no hyperbole. But if you were in Abu Dhabi this spring, you couldn’t not be hit by the ‘mass mania’ for what happened to be UAE’s most breathtaking — not to mention, spectacular — sports event of the year, called the Red Bull Air Race World Championship. Everyone in and around town knew about it, from your hotel check-in counter to your cab driver and so on. For somebody like me who was better acquainted with Formula 1 and stuff, it was nothing short of a ‘rediscovery’. And, trust me, being there at the sports venue and watching the race planes pull stunts over the turquoise waters of the Arabian Gulf is what made the experience all the more fulfilling.
I was lucky enough to be a witness to the mega championship that had returned to the sparkling clean UAE capital for sixth straight year. A roster of 15-odd pilots, from different parts of the world, had descended on the Race Airport at Muncipality Harbour on the famous Corniche Road, where a customised runaway waited for them to launch their lean, mean fighting machines in the air.
Through the huge glass window of the chilling Media Centre, perfectly oblivious to the soaring temperatures and gusty winds outside, we — a whole bunch of world media folk — had a vantage-point view of an amazing show of aerobatics, as we settled excitedly next to each other, laptops in tow, anticipating a thrilling game ahead.
Though I must admit I found the game rules a bit confusing, initially. Starting with the (approx.) 6-kilometre long race track that needed a map for me to understand how a series of inflated Air Gates (20-metre high pylons) had been laid out, to the fact that the pilots were supposed to fly through the ‘gates’ in a particular order only and, of course, in the fastest time possible, incurring as few penalties as possible. The penalties, I learnt, were ‘seconds’ that were added to the pilots’ time. For instance, a 1-second penalty was slapped on the pilot whose plane failed to emanate smoke (as a trail). A 2-second penalty was given for “incorrect passing of an Air Gate”. It included flying “too high” or on an “incorrect level”. Exceeding the maximum entry speed of 370km/h through the start gate also translated into a 2-second fine. Similarly, a 6-second penalty was due if a part of the plane touched an Air Gate. For more serious breaches of the rules, pilots could be disqualified.
There were 6 flying sessions for each participant — Training, Qualifying, Wild Card, Top 12, Super 8 and Final 4. Training consisted of two mandatory sessions, and the time of the final training session would determine the starting order for Qualifying which, again, included two mandatory sessions. Here, best time counted; 1 World Championship point was awarded to the fastest pilot. Wild Card took place on the very Race day. It had the five “slowest from the Qualifying” competing for the two available places in the Top 12 which also took place on the Race day. Now the “fastest ten from Qualifying and the fastest two from the Wild Card” competed for a place in the Super 8. Results in the Super 8 determined 5th to 8th place race positions. Finally, the fastest four from the Super 8 were to compete in the Final 4 for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th places.
Of course, the one with the maximum points would top. But, for a pilot to become the champion, he would have to finish with the most points at the end of the eighth race which is officially the last in the series spanning five different continents over a period of six long months. At Abu Dhabi’s kick-off season, Paul Bonhomme — defending champion from Britain — finished 1st, ahead of fellow countryman Nigel Lamb (2nd) and Hungary’s Peter Besenyei (3rd), in an action-packed battle that lasted March 26 through March 27, 2010. Austria’s Hannes Arch, who had won the Abu Dhabi race last year and was considered a favourite especially after he went off with the Qualifying point on day 1, was disqualified in the Top 12 round on account of “dangerous flying”.
Bonhomme’s winning time was 1:14.06. Lamb was 0.86 seconds behind and Besenyei was 7.12 behind.
Abu Dhabi has been a popular host for the championship’s opening, ever since the event’s official inception in 2005, despite tough geographical and climatic challenges it poses to the participants, what with its swiftly shifting winds, high-G turns and an ever changing skyline. But, that is what adds more zing and zap to the game, especially for the audiences. I was particularly awestruck by the way the TV cameras captured the race planes right from inside — videoing the pilots’ POVs and MCUs — making you fancy as if you were a part of the flight.
Finally, I have to quote a friend who told me prior to the event that “Air Race is to flying fanatics what F1 is to car race lovers”. I believe it now wholly.
Originally published in The News On Sunday – April 4, 2010
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Good Publicity (with UG) 