Red Bull says the one year break its race series that happened this year will extend another year through 2012. The Red Bull Air Race series began in 2003 with just two events. By 2008 it had expanded to eight races in Europe, Australia, the middle east and the United States attracting more than 100,000 spectators at many events. But during the middle of the last season in 2010, the company announced the races would be canceled for 2011.
The reasons given at the time were for restructuring of the events including improvements to safety. Despite flying more than 200 miles per hour less than 100 feet above the surface, there have been no injuries during the history of the Red Bull Air Race series. The first accident occurred last year when a Brazilian pilot crashed into the Swan River in Perth, Australia. He was rescued in minutes and was not injured.
A spokesperson for Red Bull Air Race told the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association there will be no races again in 2012 saying, “a revamped concept and a fixed race calendar will be revealed in 2013.”
Up until 2010, pilots competing in the events flew one at a time through a course of soft, inflatable “air gates.” In addition to making turns around the fabric pylons, pilots were required to perform certain aerobatic maneuvers, usually as a way to turn around and fly back through the course.
After the crash at this year’s Reno Air Races, which are a completely different format and unrelated to the Red Bull Air Races, there was speculation in the aviation community whether the accident and death of several spectators would affect other air show type events. It is not known if the incident in Reno had any influence on the decision to cancel the 2012 Red Bull events.
Photo: Red Bull
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