ABU DHABI, 21 March 2006 — The opening round of the Red Bull Air Race World Series held here on Saturday will be remembered for the display of aerobatics with precision and how American Mike Mangold, the reigning champion, lost the title to his fellow countryman in the last seconds of the event.

The entire race, part of this year’s series with eight more races to follow elsewhere in the world, turned out to be very impressive, although it had to be postponed by a day due to strong, treacherous winds.

Mangold, who was the favorite, was visibly disappointed at the final outcome. His wing hit the Air Gate, dropping him into second place and pushing his American compatriot Kirby Chambliss to the top of the heap.

 Despite a working day, thousands of fans were glued to their vantage positions watching the race above as pilots took their turns. With the skies overhead still heavy with clouds and a strong wind earlier in the day that threatened to cause the event’s cancellation, it came down to a mere 3:33.37 minutes and Chambliss was crowned the winner of the Abu Dhabi Air Race competition.

The Abu Dhabi harbor was transformed into the site of the Air Race slalom course for the second year running. “However, following 36-knot winds that forced the postponement of the Air Race the day before, Saturday proved to be the moment of reckoning for the 11 pilots,” said Dalal Harb, the race’s UAE-based communications manager.

Following two rounds of racing, Chambliss managed to overcome his disqualification in the Qualifier to soar high as champion. Despite his 10-second penalty, Mangold came second (3:37.94) and the “father of the Air Race” and last year’s Abu Dhabi Champion, Hungarian Peter Besenyei emerged third (3:41.72).  German Klaus Schrodt finished in last place, disqualified for touching a gate and deviating from the course.

In Round One of the day’s race, first place went to Mangold, followed by Kirby Chambliss and Spaniard Alejandro Maclean, respectively.

“The course was considerably more difficult and challenging than last year’s Abu Dhabi round, with the maneuvers being more complex and with shorter time to accomplish them,” Besenyei remarked.

In Round One, Alejandro Maclean was penalized for six seconds for going through the Air Gates too high and received six seconds in penalties in the second round for the same.  Paul Bonhomme got hit with a three second penalty for incorrect knife flying in the first round and incorrect flying level in the second. Frank Versteegh and Steve Jones were also penalized in the second round for flying too high. Only Kirby Chambliss, Peter Besenyei, Nigel Lamb and Mike Goulian finished penalty-free.

The competition began to heat up during Thursday’s qualifying round, which determined the race line-up for Round One. Reigning World Champion Mike Mangold had the fastest time, while Kirby Chambliss was disqualified during the second round, which placed him first up in today’s competition. But he ultimately emerged the winner.

As an introduction to what the crowds could expect from the Air Race competitors, an Abu Dhabi-based Formula One Racing boats Team entertained the crowds with speed exercises through the harbor, in addition to a Red Bull low-altitude parachutist. Following this, the sounds of the Red Bull Flying Bulls Aerobatic Team whizzing through downtown Abu Dhabi gave the audience a taste of some of the amazing stunts the competitors were to follow. Interestingly, the Flying Bulls are lead by Radka Machova from the Czech Republic. She is the first female aerobatic leader in the world. 

The set-up for the Air Race was a combination of intense preparation and construction, including the assembly of a 650m runway, five-story Air Race communications tower, seven specially built airplane hangars and a fully wired media station.  Nonetheless, the entire Air Race infrastructure will take a mere two days to deconstruct before it is rebuilt at the next competition in Barcelona, Spain. 

Abu Dhabi round’s overall ranking: American Kirby Chambliss 03:33.37 Edge 540, American Mike Mangold 03:37.94 Edge 540, Hungarian Peter Besenyei 03:41.72 Edge 540 T, Spaniard Alejandro Maclean 03:42.25 Edge 540, Frenchman Nicolas Ivanoff 03:49.11 Extra 300S American Mike Goulian 03:49.62 MX2, Britain’s Paul Bonhomme 03:49.85 Extra 300S, Steve Jones 03:51.74 Extra 300S and Nigel Lamb 03:56.42 Extra 300S, Frank Versteegh of the Netherlands 04:15.61 Extra 300L and German Klaus Schrodt DQ Extra 300S.