If there’s one thing London lacks, it’s pilots in tiny aeroplanes racing each other along the Thames and slaloming around giant inflatable cones. Well, not for long: the Red Bull Air Race is coming up. Previously the race has taken place in Perth, Berlin, Barcelona, San Francisco, and a dozen other cities. This weekend, it’s London’s turn.
(Picture by hamedog at the 2006 Perth race.)
The Air Race pits its pilots against each other in a race along the Thames, winding to either side of special air gates but being careful not to touch them. On Saturday the 28th, it’s the qualifying races, with only the fastest twelve pilots going through; and then on the Sunday, there’s successive elimination rounds as the twelve race for a place in the quarter-finals, and then in the semis, and then finally there’s a race for the overall winner. The planes reach speeds of up to 400 kilometres per hour,
Because the race has never been held in London before, there’s no way of telling whether anyone will be able to get a decent view outside of the designated (and ticketed) viewing areas. The race organisers say no, claiming that it isn’t possible to see the race at all from outside the ticketed areas. This seems unlikely to be completely true: after all, the race in the air, over a pretty wide, open part of the Thames. However, the pilots will generally be flying pretty close to the water, and it’s certainly not impossible that only ticketholders will be able to see anything. If you’re living or staying in Greenwich it can’t hurt to try for a free peek, but you definitely shouldn’t make a special trip to the race unless you have tickets.
With England’s unpredictable summer weather, there’s no real way of knowing whether there’ll be cheery sunshine or knee-deep puddles, roaring winds or arcing rainbows, but it should at least be sure to be exciting.
Red Bull Air Race: The O2 or Peruvian Wharf, near North Greenwich tube and bus station. Saturday 28th July, qualifying races: gates open at 9 a.m., opening ceremony at 12:30 p.m., races till 5:00 p.m. £20 standing or £40 sitting. Sunday 29th July, finals: gates open at 8 a.m., show starts at 10 a.m., finals 10:45 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. £30 standing or £50 sitting.
