Barcelona finale kicks off

September 30.

The Red Bull Air Race Airport at Sabadell, Barcelona was officially opened today in front of a large gathering of Spanish and International press representatives.

The showdown looming between Reigning Champion Hannes Arch and this years Championship leader Paul Bonhomme is the main topic of conversation around RBAR circles here in Barcelona.

Last night two events were held in downtown Barcelona near the race track.

The first was the Pilot activation/autograph session at the beach restaurant "SHOKO".
Enthusiastic Red Bull Air Race fans were able to get up close and talk to the pilots and ask questions of them while getting their autographs.

The second was a party held for departing Teams Dell and Mangold. A traditional Spanish meal was enjoyed with a desert including chocolate pieces with the images of the pilots. A very nice touch to end a great night of comradeship amongst the teams.

Budapest 5

17:00
First day of training on the course in Budapest went well considering it was the first time under a real bridge for Yoshi! Race 31 is performing well and we look forward to improving our times bit by bit over the next 3 days.

Well done Team Maclean and Team Sergei now having their aircraft back flying after some long hours work changing equipment. In the case of Sergei they had to change the whole engine and they are in the air testing the plane as I write.

Hoping to post a video of our 2nd practice run later this evening.

Budapest 3

Race day -5
Yesterday evening we were able to do a test and training flight. The engine is running well and seems to have more power in line with our expectations. This morning Yoshi and Rob checked out the race course area on the Danube River. We walked over the famous Chain Bridge which is now the "traditional start/finish" for the Budapest leg of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship. Late afternoon training saw Team Sergei suffer an over speed of the engine/propeller and it looks like they are in for some late nights to rectify the problem. Same applies for Team Maclean. Their hanger door remained closed all day today while some serious work is taking place on their engine to enable it to pass scrutineering after modification work during the break between races. For race 31 we had another training flight and Yoshi is happy with the plane and got some secret practice inflying under the bridge!

Budapest 2

Race day -6.
For our fans in Japan, Fuji TV will be on site in Budapest to record the entire event as part of their 3 part 3 hour TV programming featuring Yoshi and the Red Bull Air Race World Championship 2009. We will be looking forward to seeing the Red Bull Air Race Fuji TV programs in Japan!

Fuji TV is well known for its coverage in Japan of Formula 1 motor racing and other major sporting events.