On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers took their first powered flight 20 feet above the ground at about 7 mph, covering 120 feet in 12 seconds. Fast forward 115 years, Red Bull Air Race hosts the most maneuverable planes in the world that propels through an aerial racetrack 50 to 80 feet off the ground, pulling up to 14 G’s of force at 260 mph (the approximate max G-load for the F-22 Raptor Fighter jet is 9 G’s).
Before the final race in Fort Worth to determine this year’s World Champion, the competition in Indianapolis was intense as 14 Master Class and 10 Challenger Class pilots gave their all to win the honor of stepping on to the podium.
I asked one of the racers, Mika Brageot, about mental preparedness and focus before the race: “I have an established mental routine that I’ve been doing for years now. It prepares me to move in the direction I need. We have to stay relaxed. Its a moving process. This is a big part of the game. Once everything is ready, it’s down to the pilot and of course it is mental.”
With the weather having turned from stormy skies to calm winds to unpredictable bumpy conditions, a great many of them received penalties before the main event. I was able to interview many of them right before the Round of 14 to ask what happened and what strategy do they have in mind.
Pre-Indianapolis Rank 13 – CB5 Racing – Plane # 5 – Christian Bolton
“Penalties always come. The target is always to fly clean and not have penalties. This track is very tight and the winds here are creating a big challenge for us especially at Gate 2. The winds were pushing from southwest to northeast which was completely different from Friday. These planes are so light and fast-responsive, that when it’s bumpy, they’re difficult to keep steady. There is also the Static Start -if you’re slow there, you wind up with a huge angle of attack. Besides flying the track, you need to build speed especially on lap 1. Everyone was pushing hard yesterday because you need to cut corners, and the wind had a large affect. The track design plus the weather forces the pilot to make a mistake since they’re pushing harder.”
Aki: Today the weather seems a lot calmer but very humid which also affects the flight of the planes. What are your plans for these changes?
“We’re watching the engine data now because we need all the power for the race. The humidity will be a big factor because these engines get hot really fast. Our lines though should not change too much from yesterday.”
Aki: What’s your favorite track you flew in so far?
“I loved Ascot! One of my favorite tracks for sure. I also like this one -it’s a special track for me because I flew my first Master Class here so it’s closest to my heart.”
Pre-Indianapolis Rank 10 – Team McLeod – Plane # 84 – Pete McLeod
“Penalties yesterday were to be expected. The track’s tight, and there’re two things that fell into play -one is the wind was a lot stronger than out on the track and turbulent air. And because of the static start, three quarters of the track you’re at a lower energy than what we’re used to. It’s really a big challenge on the timing. A lot of what we do to get level at a gate and go, we’ve gotten really, really good at it -with milliseconds and feet of distance. A lot of this is muscle memory timing. When you change the plane dramatically from what you’re used to flying at a race track, that timing also shifts. Kinda like if you’re used to driving a really fast race car, but when you step into a slower car then you’re going to brake early at every corner. Your perception is a little different. I flew a bunch of clean runs yesterday so I’m happy with that. Knowing how much to risk is part of the game. If the winds stay low today as it is now, you’re going to see some cleaner flying.”
Aki: Today you’re facing the Round of 14. What’s to be expected from you?
“We’re happy with the set up of the plane. That’s the key thing here -the engine setup. We just need to go up there and fly clean and make sure we have the right balance of aggressiveness on the vertical turn depending on the wind.”
Pre-Indianapolis Rank 8 – FLV Racing Team – Plane # 12 – Francois Le Voit
“It was due to the wind with bumpy conditions on a very technical track -the track is fast and there are more gates than usual. Here we have 19 gates total, whereas a standard race is 14-15 gates. So we have 4 more gates, which means 4 more opportunities for penalties, with a lot of wind, many laps, an intense pace, makes it a difficult track.”
Aki: You’re going to be racing against Matt Hall for the elimination during the Round of 14. Any strategies?
“We’ve gone through the results from practice – we were faster than him. It was during Qualification when my timing collapsed – a reason we still don’t know yet.”
Aki: But do you have confidence you’ll pull through?
Pre-Indianapolis Rank 7 – Team Chambliss – Plane # 10 – Kirby Chambliss
“We got a pretty tough battle coming up against Martin Sonka -he’s fast here.
We’ve been trying to figure out the line but we haven’t found it. We’re usually really fast but not this time.
We’ve been looking at the data on the airplane – I wish we had it all figured out and I can tell you the answer but hopefully we’ll figure it out before we go running.”
Pre-Indianapolis Rank 5 – #11Racing Team – Plane # 11 – Mika Brageot
“The track is the same as last year, but the wind condition was different -for sure a factor. We’re pretty happy with the lines and the tactics -we just have to improve the tactics a little bit by putting it all in the same run. We know gates 1 through 3, the first part of the track. We have to get well set up after those. Then we have the 2 VTM’s (vertical turning maneuver) that have to be done perfectly because we have to put pressure on the others. Yesterday I was very good with the lines on 1, 2, and 3. I had the fastest VTM of the day. Then suddenly there was too much focus on the lines and went too wide on the 2nd VTM which gave me the slowest of the day. I had some small mistakes on different sectors but all in all we know what to do, where to flow, and put it all together for the Round of 14 today.”
Aki: Last year you finished 10th place. Your current rank now is 5th, and here you are facing the Round of 14. Strategies?
“I’ve been in the Round of 14 three times this year with a 2nd place finish. We’d like to repeat this here in Indy as well as Dallas next month. I just have to push everything to the limit to get to the final four and get podiums, and podiums, and podiums. That’s the target now.”
Pre-Indianapolis Rank 4 – Team Falken – Plane # 31 – 2017 World Champion Yoshi Muroya
“Free Practice and Qualification is all in the tactics – not pushing too hard yet. Kind of like the practice for the final. I have a good plane.
And with consistent flying, we should be able to get through the Round of 14 and maybe the Round of 4 with a little bit of push.”
Pre-Indianapolis Rank 3 – Team Goulian – Plane # 99 – Michael Goulian
“The wind yesterday changed a lot. But during training day it was very smooth so that lulled everyone into thinking this is a nice and easy track. Then yesterday the winds came making it bumpy on the track, as well as being directly across the two most critical gates. To get the lineup perfect there with the strong crosswind was quite difficult as you saw. I struggled with a couple of Wings Level penalties at the same place. It was just a difficult place for the race yesterday. I think today will be more like it was on the first training day. It’ll be smoother on the track, but might have to worry about some strange wind. Other than that, it should be a good day for us to fly the race.”
Aki: With Sonka in the big lead and coming out strong, for the Round of 14, what’s your take on it and what strategy will you be taking?
“Our game is to do just what we’ve done all year, and that is fly our flight, and if we’re lucky enough to get to the final 4, we’ll see what we’re up against and make a strategy whether to go for a win or just fly really solidly and hope the other guys makes mistakes.”
Pre-Indianapolis Rank 2 – Matt Hall Racing – Plane # 95 – Matt Hall
“I think everyone may have been trying too hard. We flew penalty free yesterday. We’re going to stick with what we do. Fly cleanly, do it well, and let everyone else make mistakes.”
Aki: You’re among the top 3 spots this year. What’s the difference from last year?
“The difference is last year we had a brand new plane, so we had to spend time working on it. We built the new plane up. Now this year’s all about running it.”
Pre-Indianapolis Rank 1 – Red Bull Team Sonka – Plane # 8 – Martin Sonka
“It’s simply not an easy track, and with the wind condition we had. If you want to fly a really fast trajectory, the angles of approach to the gate is on the edge. And you only have a few centimeters between the wingtips and the pylons. The same with being on the correct level -if you have time to fly straight before the gate, it means you’re losing time. The turn must end right at the front of the gate -of course there are some moments whereas it’s not the case. So if you want to level the plane just right in the gate, sometimes it’s easy for a strong wind to push you forcing the corrections you need and get a penalty if you’re angle is more than 10-degrees. So the track is not easy, the fastest trajectory is simply right on the edge where you can fit into the gate.”
Aki: It seems today’s weather conditions is much better than yesterday. During the Round of 14, is there anything different you’ll do with your strategy, or keep it the same as your previous flying?
“It’ll be a little different. It looks like the winds will be a little calmer, The line has to be adjusted. We’ll be flying against Kirby so we have to fly fast and we’ll see. The pilots here are so fast and so strong that there are no weak points. It’s always a tough race. Whoever makes a mistake and get a penalty will have no chance to get through.”
Aki: I noticed the different flying styles up there, some were flying fast and wild, while others smooth and steady. What’s the strategy between the two?
“It depends. The aggressiveness and style is because sometimes you’re behind the airplane and cannot control it at the correct moment which then causes more aggressive maneuver in the next moment. And the next tactics you simply fly with sharp maneuvers like a digital style of steering the airplane. This doesnt work for us. For us, we clean up the flight and do as less movements as possible. Like Paul Bonhomme once said, when the airplane looks like it’s flying slow, it’s fast. Because if the airplane is not doing anything more than needed, then it’s flying effectively and fast. Yet, sometimes when the airplane looks like it’s flying slow, it actually is flying slow.” We both laughed.
Indianapolis Final Race Result:
Indianapolis Champion – Michael Goulian 1:06.208
2nd place – Pete McLeod 1:06.736
3rd place – Nicolas Ivanoff 1:06.951
11th – Matthias Dolderer
14th – Francois Le Voit
World Championship Ranking Before Final Race:
1st – Michael Goulian 70 points
2nd – Martin Sonka 65 points
3rd – Matt Hall 63 points
4th – Mika Brageot 36 points
5th – Yoshihide Muroya 34 points
6th – Pete McLeod 27 points
7th – Kirby Chambliss 25 points
8th – Ben Murphy 22 points
9th – Francois Le Voit 21 points
10th – Nicolas Ivanoff 20 points
11th – Juan Velarde 20 points
12th – Matthias Dolderer 17 points
13th – Petr Kopfstein 16 points
14th – Cristian Bolton 12 points
Indianapolis 2018 Race Day Press Conference
Indianapolis 2018 – Qualifying Press Conference
Challenger pilot Florian Berger of Germany poses for a photograph after he won the Challenger Cup at the seventh round of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States on October 7, 2018.
Venue is seen at the seventh round of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States on October 7, 2018.
Team Goulian celebrates after Michael Goulian of the United States won the finals at the seventh round of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States on October 7, 2018.
Spectators watch the finals at the seventh round of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States on October 7, 2018.
Red Bull Air Race Indianapolis 2018 On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers took their first powered flight 20 feet above the ground at about 7 mph, covering 120 feet in 12 seconds.
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