Red Bull Air Races - Goulian places 5th
Red Bull Air Race CEO Bernd Loidl paid tribute to the birthplace of naval aviation for the second Red Bull Air Race of the 2008 season. On North Island across the bay from San Diego, he made welcoming remarks at the Red Bull Air Race airport before the final training sessions. Speaking to scores of reporters on the tarmac in front of the 12 Red Bull Air Race World Series pilots, Loidl said the race was proud be back in San Diego for the second consecutive year.
“It’s an historic place because this was the birthplace of naval aviation and at the same time it’s an historic moment for the relatively young Red Bull Air Race World Series that is growing so fast,” Loidl said. “Just three weeks ago we opened the fourth season and Hannes Arch, a pilot from Austria, got the first podium of his career by finishing second. It was another clear sign of how fast the sport is developing. And Nigel Lamb will be flying his new MXS plane for the first time in San Diego, a plane developed specially for the Red Bull Air Race. I wish the pilots all the best in showcasing this in front of the marvelous San Diego city skyline. I’m looking forward to a spectacular race weekend and a great cooperation with Fleet Week.”
Every track layout is different which is why two days of training takes place before each race event. The San Diego track was packed with many twists, high speed sharp turns and Air Gates that were difficult to negotiate. Pilot judgment is critical in order to fly a perfect race line. If a pilot misjudges it or cut corners too much they risk being unable to complete the turn into the next Air Gate, which could result in a slower time, penalty seconds or in the worst case disqualification. If you’re not familiar with the Red Bull Air Race World Series scheme, it’s where the world’s best pilots race through a low level aerial track made up of 20 meter (65 feet) high inflatable pylons known as ‘Air Gates’, at speeds reaching 370 km/h (230 mph) and pulling up to 10 g.
There were long lines of spectators heading to the shores of San Diego Bay to watch the Qualifying sessions in early May. More than 120,000 fans were estimated to have lined the shores of San Diego Bay and crowded into the Naval Air Station’s, North Island for the two day event. Many enjoyed the traditional Public Pit Lane Walk ahead of the second race. The lines were also long inside the high-security Naval Air Station on North Island where the Red Bull Air Race airport had been set up, especially to meet defending champion Mike Mangold and get a closer look at his Edge 540 that takes him up to 230 miles per hour at forces of up to 10Gs through the obstacle course set up just 10 metres above the water.
The Atlantic Flyer is following Michael Goulian (5th place in San Diego) who has had a difficult start in the 2008 Red Bull Air Race season. With Abu Dhabi’s disqualification behind him San Diego’s race offered a fresh start. Mike said, “It’s so competitive now. I mean, look at guys like Nicolas and Jonesy. They’re not even in the top eight and they’re super fast guys. This is going to be one of those deals where you’ve just got to go for it every single time. I actually struggled here all week. I don’t know why. I just wasn’t friends with the track. I didn’t know where to push, where to back off. I was just searching. Finally it worked out today, it was a good one,” flashing a wide smile. “I was sitting there and watched Alex pull off a really good run and then watched Nigel pull off a good run and said to myself: Well, you’ve got to go for it, there’s nothing else you can do”.
Talking with Goulian, he pointed out the difference between a first place and third place may only be a fraction of a second. Any of the top five aircraft and their pilots could take the lead in any race. There are enhancements to performance all the time. His Edge 540 aircraft has a new larger engine for the 2008 Red Bull Racing season with additional performance enhancements in plan. He said, “You know the biggest changes that you’re gonna see are really the changes that the pilots do to their machines themselves and to their own flying style and learning, everybody’s learning all the time so I think a lot of the innovation is coming from within the pilots.”
Goulian, has felt the growing popularity of the sport in the United States, said he’s eager to land on the podium more often in 2008 and he believes he knows how to make that happen. “There are so many places to save time: the chicane, the Quadro and the half-Cuban,” he said. “If you’re sloppy through any of those parts of the track you’ll be watching the others make the podium while you’ll have an early dinner.” He has watched rival pilots put a lot of effort into modifications but he believes the pendulum will soon swing back to a renewed emphasis on better flying. “Red Bull Air Race want to make the race more interesting by allowing different modifications to the planes,” he said. “In my opinion, the mods will more or less stop within a year or so and then we’ll be back to testing pilot skill and not aircraft speed.”
Paul Bonhomme after winning the season opener in Abu Dhabi three weeks ago earned nine points and added to his point valuation winning in San Diego. He is the leader with 18 points, Mike Mangold who has run a close second has 15 points while Michael Goulian is currently in eighth place with five points. There are seven races still to unfold at the writing of this article making the Red Bull Air Race season very young.
Keep tuned to how Michael Goulian gains on the leaders point advantage over the next few races as he stays focused on taking the podium.
Story by John Cilio and photo by Balazs Gardi