Detroit River Serves as Race Track for the Third Stop of the Red Bull Air Race
Global Motorsport Soars Over the Detroit River June 13 and 14
| Source: Red Bull Air Race
DETROIT, MI--(Marketwire - May 27, 2009) - The Red Bull Air Race World Championship pilots
are tuned up and ready to face the daunting Detroit River track June 13 and
14. With 750,000 fans attending both days of the race in 2008, the race
will be once again a must see event hosted by Windsor, Ontario. The
excitement kicks off June 12 in Detroit with various Red Bull Air Race
concerts, parties and special events leading up to Race Day.
The 2009 six-city worldwide tour kicked off in Abu Dhabi, UAE on April 17
and 18, where 2008 World Champion Hannes Arch won the race. San Diego
hosted the second stop of this year's World Championship on May 9 and 10
where Nicolas Ivanoff of France took home first place. The third race of
the season on June 13 and 14 is officially hosted by Windsor, Ontario with
strong support and cooperation from the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy,
City of Detroit and Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau to ensure
a stellar Detroit spectator experience equal to 2008.
Qualifying will take place on Saturday, June 13, and Race Day will take
place on Sunday, June 14. The Red Bull Air Race World Championship
revamped its already successful race format in the 2009 season as part of
its quest to perfect scoring and spectator enjoyment. The new format
features a Qualifying Day with all pilots racing to be one of the ten
fastest to take them directly through to the Top 12 session on Race Day.
For the first time ever, Qualifying will also be a race for one
championship point which will be awarded to the pilot with the best time in
Qualifying.
The new format will also be adopted to accommodate the largest field
expansion ever in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship -- from 12
pilots in 2008 to 15 in 2009. The expansion includes four rookie pilots
from four continents who join the seasoned pros this year. At age 25,
Canada's Pete McLeod will be the youngest ever pilot in the high-speed,
precision flying race and will be joined by three other rookies -- Japan's
Yoshihide Muroya, Australia's Matt Hall and Germany's Matthias Dolderer.
These elite 15 of the world's best pilots will push their skills to the
limit, flying through the challenging, twisting race tracks just feet above
the water with points awarded for the fastest times and least number of
penalties.
Spectators will have the opportunity to experience the best view of the
track and excellent sound including on-site activities from the two
countries -- once again, the Detroit Riverfront will offer a spectacular
view of the race along with concessions, music and fun for the entire
family.
Tickets for the Red Bull Air Race weekend are $35 for a 2-day general
admission pass and can be purchased and printed at home from
www.redbullairrace.com.
Other activities include a Red Bull Air Race Terminal in the lobby of the
GM Renaissance Center featuring interactive displays, live music and
aircraft displays, and for those over 21, a $5 pub crawl on Saturday, June
13. For updated entertainment schedules and tickets, visit
www.redbullairrace.com.
New this year, fans can watch the last three seasons of the Red Bull Air
Race on Hulu, at www.hulu.com/redbullairrace.
For press information please register on the Red Bull Air Race Newsroom
which can be accessed via the 'Press' link on www.redbullairrace.com. The
Red Bull Air Race Newsroom is a full media service providing print news,
photography, radio, TV and web video.