Budapest will be the setting for the seventh leg of the Red Bull Air Race World Series on 19 and 20 August, returning to the Hungarian capital for the fourth time. The world’s best pilots will navigate a hair-raising slalom course just meters above the River Danube racing at speeds reaching 400 km/h, coping with forces of up to 10G and flying underneath the city’s famous Chain Bridge.
Last year, over one million spectators crowded the banks of the Danube during the holiday weekend to watch the race. The Chain Bridge will again mark the start and finish of the track and the action will take place right in front of the Parliament building, with thirteen pilots competing in a series of knock-out rounds.
At the last race in London, American Mike Mangold scored his second win of the season, but it’s Peter Besenyei, a hero in his native Hungary, who’ll be the hot favourite with local crowds in Budapest. Besenyei is currently third place in the World Series standings with 24 points, behind Mangold with 30 points and Britain’s Paul Bonhomme who leads with 31 points.
After Budapest, the Air Race heads to Porto, Portugal on the 31 August and 1 September, followed by two more competitions in the USA and Australia. Last year, a total of some six million spectators turned out for the eight races held worldwide.
