Red Bull has announced that the world's newest, fastest and most exciting motor sport will be touching down in London for the first time this summer.
The Red Bull Air Race World Series will bring the world's best pilots to the UK to battle for supremacy of the skies, racing just metres above the River Thames on 28th & 29th July 2007.
It will be the first time an event of this nature has taken place in the Capital and it promises to be a spectacular showdown with the racing set against the stunning backdrop of London's famous skyline. Ticketed spectators will be able to view the action from the banks of the Thames as the pilots fly at speeds reaching close to 250mph, coping with forces of up to 10G whilst navigating a complex course in the sky.
The challenging race course, made up of 20 metre pylons called 'air gates', will be built on the Thames = framed by the Thames Barrier, the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf and the Greenwich Peninsula which is dominated by London's newest entertainment destination, The O2.
Fourteen of the world's best pilots will be competing against each other in London, including 3 Britons - Nigel Lamb, Steve Jones and Paul Bonhomme, who is currently leading the World Series standings after superb performances at the first two rounds.
The London Air Race, which will be a totally carbon neutral event, has the backing of the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, as well as the Metropolitan Police and the boroughs of Greenwich, Newham and Tower Hamlets - all of whom are looking forward to bringing an International sporting event to this area of the Capital.
The event can only be viewed from the designated ticket areas. Tickets will be available for the qualifying rounds on Saturday 28th July and the heart-stopping action of race day on Sunday 29th July. Prices start from £20 and tickets can be purchased at redbullairrace.com from 9am on 17th May 2007.
Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone says: 'The Red Bull London Air Race is another exciting addition to the Capital's events calendar and will have the wonderful backdrop of the River Thames and the London skyline.'
Six million spectators were wowed by the dramatic high-speed, low-level flying at the eight Air Race World Series races in 2006 - this brand new motor sport has developed incredibly in the past two years and exceeded all expectations. The pace has stepped up a gear in 2007 by extending the World Series to twelve international races. Events have already taken place this year in Abu Dhabi and at the foot of Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, and the series will travel to destinations as diverse as Monument Valley in Utah, Budapest and San Diego, California - where the planes are set to take off from an aircraft carrier.
