Top Performing Countries at the Red Bull Air Race

Previously known as the Red Bull Air Race, the Red Bull Air Race World Championships is an international challenge where air racers compete to go through a challenging route in the fastest time. The championship was founded in 2003 by Red Bull GmbH. Pilots race against the clock through the course which has tight turns denoted by inflated pillars called air gates. The venue for the racing may be over a city, an airfield, or natural wonders. A typical championship event is held over a weekend with the Saturday being the qualifiers while the finals are on the following Sunday. There was a brief safety hiatus in 2011 but the games were back in 2014.

Top Performing Countries At The Red Bull Air Race

UK and US

The top performers in this sporting event are from the UK and the US. Comparing the two, the US has had 29 entrants compared to the UK’s 25 but the UK has been performing better. Both teams have each had four entrants taking the top spot while the battle for the second spot is won by the UK with two entrants compared to none from the US. The US has more entrants in third position (four) compared to the UK’s three. Adding the tally, the UK has more entrants in the top three (nine) compared to the US’s eight. Some of the notable names in the sport include extremely successful Paul Bonhomme from the UK and Mike Mangold from the UK.

Austria and Hungary

Aside from the two dominators, Austria, in the third position, has also been a strong performer. With only seven entrants, the nation has managed to have one entrant in the top position, three in the second place, and two in the third place. All these numbers bring their total tally to six entrants in the top three so far. The nation has even managed to do better than Hungary in the fourth position. All this is despite the fact that Hungary has submitted three more entrants than Austria for the races. By comparison, Hungary has had one entrant in the first position, three in the second place, and one in the third position. In total, Hungary has had a total of five entrants getting a podium finish in the championships. Notable names from the two countries include the likes of Hannes Arch from Austria and Péter Besenyei from Hungary.

Non-Placing Countries

A good number of nations have never known what it is like to have a podium finish. These unfortunate nations include Brazil, Lithuania, Slovenia, and many more. Perhaps the unluckiest of them all would France which has had an incredible number (16) of entrants. Spain had also submitted 11 entrants. South Africa, who have also not won anything so far, is the only African country on the list.

Safety Features

After the 2011 hiatus where new safety rules were introduced, things were slightly different. While the pylons look the same as before, they are actually different. For safety, they rip at the slightest touch. The pylons are also 16 feet taller with a slightly revised shape. The Quadro Air Gate was also removed because of the G-force acting on the plane.