4 February 2014
The Red Bull Air Race is set to return to the skies in February, and an eighth race has been added to the 2014 calendar, on 12-13 April. The addition of the Croatian town of Rovinj, on the Adriatic Sea near Slovenia, Austria and Italy, extends the series to a total of eight stops in seven countries on three continents.
“It is a great honour and pleasure that the Red Bull Air Race is coming to Rovinj providing us with the opportunity to show the whole world how beautiful and unique our town is,” said the mayor of Rovinj, Giovanni Sponza.
The announcement of the eighth stop in 2014 comes just four weeks before the kick-off of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship in Abu Dhabi on February 28/March 1. Britain’s Paul Bonhomme, who won the last two titles, will be looking to win a third consecutive championship against 11 of the world’s top pilots from nine other nations in the high-speed, low-altitude sport. There will also be races this year in Malaysia, Poland, Great Britain, the United States and China.
The challenging race track in Rovinj will be set up along the north beach close to the old town and will provide thousands of fans with a spectacular backdrop for the second stop of the 2014 season. “The track is going to be tight with high G turns and the big challenge could be the Bura winds,” said Pla, referring to the gusty winds from the north that can wreak havoc throughout the Adriatic east coast and entire region. “If the winds show up, the race conditions will become marginal,” Pla added. It will be the first race staged on the Mediterranean Sea since the final race of the 2009 season in Barcelona.
Look out for more from FLYER columnist Paul Bonhomme, as he shares his experiences of the air race circuit in future issues of the magazine.
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