Red Bull cancels its 2011 air race series

August 2, 2010 — Red Bull Air Race officials said last week that the world championship series will take a one-year break in 2011 to develop and reinforce “strong host city partnerships” and secure a "long-term race calendar." In addition, Red Bull said the organization will spend the next year working to "fast track the technological advancements currently in the making which would further improve the already high levels of safety." The announcement came after two races were canceled during the 2010 season. Red Bull organizers said the race in Budapest, Hungary, set for August 19-20, was canceled “due to lengthy delays in the permissions process,” while its last race in Portugal was canceled because of delays in finalizing a host city there. In addition, two accidents raised safety concerns this season. Brazilian pilot Adilson Kindlemann crashed into the Swan River during a training session before the race in Perth, Australia in April, and Australian pilot Matt Hall’s airplane touched the Detroit River during a qualifying session at the Windsor race. In both cases, the pilots were not seriously injured. Red Bull spokeswoman Barbara Proske told the Windsor Star that it's too soon to say if there will be changes in the race venues. "Following 10 years of rapid growth, the organization had decided that it needed to make the tough decision to take a break for 2011 in order to implement the changes required with regard to the restructuring of the organization and, importantly, to develop the various commercial areas of the business," she said. However, fans are worried that the one-year break means the races won’t be back. “Times are hard all over the planet, and the Red Bull Air Race was one of the few things that got our mind off all the worries we had for a few days,” wrote one fan on the Red Bull Web site. “I hope Red Bull sticks to their word and comes back stronger and more organized in 2012.” Another fan wrote: “Sad, but if it is needed to ensure a safe and reliable event, have the re-group time. RBAR - please keep all your fans informed. We soooo want the series back!” Paul Bonhomme won the 2010 Red Bull Air Race World Championship at the at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Germany.

Paul Bonhomme of Great Britain is in the lead in the Red Bull Air Race championship series, going into the final race in Germany on August 7-8. Photo courtesy Red Bull Air Race New York was the site of a Red Bull race earlier this season. Photo courtesy Red Bull Air Race

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