Sydney was this morning treated to a jaw-dropping demonstration in the sky as Red Bull Air Race World Championship pilot, Matt Hall, performed aspects of air racing whilst flying at incredibly fast speeds of up to 370km/h and withstanding seriously intense forces of up to 12Gs.

Flying up the Parramatta River, over the Harbour Bridge and into Rose Bay, the Aussie race ace threw down a series of unbelievably difficult flying techniques traditionally used in the Red Bull Air Race including half cubans, several knife edge and low-level passes.

Rose Bay display

“Flying over Sydney Harbour was a great thrill and a great way to launch my season because it’s one of the most iconic sights in the world,” says Matt Hall, who became the most successful rookie in Red Bull Air Race World Championship history by placing 3^rd overall in 2009.

“Now that the start of the season in Abu Dhabi is just a few weeks away, I am very excited to get going. I have a new plane, new team and I have worked harder than ever over the last few months to improve in every area I can. We have had to overcome some obstacles getting the aircraft ready but I am confident that things are on track and that I can have a great season.”

“I am particularly looking forward to April’s race in Perth and having the support of hundreds of thousands of Australians alongside the Swan River,” says Matt.

2010 Season Launch

As the ultimate test of speed, precision and skill, Matt will join the world’s best race pilots as the Red Bull Air Race World Championship touches down in eight locations this year including New York’s Hudson River, Abu Dhabi’s beautiful shores and our very own Swan River in Perth.

Taking place on 17-18 April, 2010, Perth will be once again transformed into a motorsport enthusiast’s playground.  Nowhere else will fans see the world’s best race pilots fly in their custom-engineered race planes at high speeds, through challenging race tracks made up of air-filled pylons and withstanding heavy G forces, all just metres above the water.

Part of this video was filmed on Matt’s new onboard camera supplied by Race Recall

The team at Matt Hall Racing is pumped to give you the chance to be Matt’s wingman!

The first ever Matt Hall Racing YouTube video competition is up and flying – to see more click here.

How it works

Every month from now until the end of the race season we will award a Matt Hall Racing gift pack of a hat, t-shirt and Team Guide for the video featuring Matt that the team thinks is the best of that month.

At the end of the year one of the monthly winners and one other entrant drawn at random will win a joy flight with Matt.

Make sure your video is between one and three minutes long and you send us an email to team@matthallracing.com to let us know you have loaded it to YouTube.

Good luck!!

**Joy flight prizes will be redeemed at Maitland airport in NSW. Winners will have to get their own transport to Maitland.

Rio has been confirmed as the venue for the third round of the 2010 season…..see this media release from Red Bull Air Race HQ:

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – The Red Bull Air Race is returning to Rio de Janeiro in 2010, exactly three years after one million spectators packed the beaches to witness the biggest-ever sporting event in Brazilian history. Defending champion Paul Bonhomme won the race in South America in 2007 and the British ace will be leading the field of 15 of the world’s best race pilots on 8/9 May at the 3rd stop in the 8-race championship.

The return to Rio will be extra special this year because Brazil will have its first pilot, Adilson Kindlemann. The rookie from Curitiba, Brazil advanced through the rigorous Qualification camp and is the first South American pilot to compete in the world’s most exciting high-speed, low-altitude motorsport.

“Rio is a special place and we’re looking forward to another great race there this year,” said Red Bull Air Race CEO Bernd Loidl. “The one million people who watched the 2007 race made it the biggest crowd in race history and in Brazil’s sporting history. That’s quite an accomplishment by itself. The Brazilians are a fantastic and supportive crowd and I’m sure that with Brazil’s very own Adilson Kindlemann racing this year they will be even more enthusiastic.”

The race will again be staged over the picturesque Botafogo Bay and near the giant statue of Jesus, known as Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor) and Sugarloaf Mountain (Corcovado Mountain). The huge crowds will be able to enjoy spectacular views of the race track from the hotel-lined beaches.

Bonhomme beat Spain’s Alejandro Maclean in a thrilling battle for first place in the 2007 race to move into the overall lead in the championship for the first time ever. It was a special moment for the British ace -the first of three wins in 2007 and the second of his 11 career victories. It was also a career-best performance for Maclean.

“Back to Rio? Fantastic,” said Bonhomme. “Back to the beaches and sunshine of Brazil and an incredibly emotional crowd. Let’s hope we have just as much fun as we did in 2007,” he added.

The 2007 Rio race was also significant for Austria’s Hannes Arch, a rookie that year who signalled great promise with getting fourth place in only his second race. Arch went on to win the championship in 2008. Kindlemann, Brazil’s national aerobatic champion for three consecutive years from 2001 to 2004, was one of the million faces in the crowd watching that first historic race in Rio.

“The vibes at the Rio race in 2007 were just amazing,” said Kindlemann, who set his sights on gaining a seat in the championship while watching that race. “I’m so happy to have achieved my goal to get in. I know it’s the dream of millions of Brazilians to see a compatriot in the Red Bull Air Race. Brazilians have a natural passion for speed,” he added, pointing to the popularity in Brazil of both Formula One and Red Bull Air Race. “The expectations on me are going to be high.”

Seven of the 15 pilots in this year’s championship raced in Rio. You can often see their eyes light up when they start talking about the amazing atmosphere there.

The Red Bull Air Race will touch down in a total of eight locations in 2010 beginning in Abu Dhabi (UAE) on 26/27 March followed by Perth (Australia), Rio de Janeiro, Windsor (Canada), New York, EuroSpeedway, Lausitz (Germany), Budapest and Lisbon.

For further information about the Rio race, please visit redbullairrace.com.

Hear Matt’s thoughts on training in his new MXS-R in North Carolina.

You’ll need the sound turned up as it’s pretty low!!

If last month was a busy one for Matt Hall Racing February has been even more so.

Matt has split his time with two freezing cold trips to the MX factory in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina and a dash across to Red Bull Air Race headquarters in snowy Salzburg, Austria for the annual pilots’ meetings.

The first trip to North Wilkesboro saw Matt’s new MX-S take to the air on its maiden voyage which was very exciting for Matt, Lenny and the crew at MX. Since then there have been a few of the usual challenges that come with a new engine and a new aircraft but after the Austrian sojourn things have really come along.

Fuelling up with snow in the background

The whole team has been with Matt and the plane for about a week now after Salzburg and it has been very beneficial with Matt starting to put some good hours into the plane and running in the engine well. Some tinkering here and some small mods there and things are on the up with just a few days to go before the aircraft is packed up for shipping to race one in Abu Dhabi.

Right before first flight

Sergey Rakhmanin, Alejandro Maclean and Adilson Kindlemann are also at the same factory and working very hard.

The meetings in Austria were intense but educational and had all the pilots and teams excited about what lay ahead.

Matt and Dave will be back in Australia next week for final preparations including our big season launch – keep your eyes out!

For your spot on The Official Supporters Tour to Perth – don’t forget to book right now. To book click here or call Karene on 0416 822 885.

To listen to Matt’s interview on the podcast Plane Crazy Downunder click here.

What would prompt a pilot who’s mastered gliders, hang gliders, micro-lights, the supersonic F-18, and the awesome manoeuvrability of a Red Bull race plane, to try his hand at flying a helicopter?  The sublime joy of hovering, that’s what!

In a unique venture put together by Matt Hall Racing, Newcastle Helicopters, and Vertical Australasia Magazine, on Wednesday 22 January Matt took to the skies for 45 minutes of ab-initio instruction in a Robinson R-22.  The results were nothing short of remarkable:  Under the trusting guidance of Newcastle Helicopters’ flight instructor Ian Sinclair, Matt was able to master the hover, take off, land, handle the helicopter through translational flight, and even had control through two complete autorotation manoeuvres.

Matt receiving instruction from Ian Sinclair

But the day’s fun didn’t end there.  Once Matt had completed his dual stint in the R-22, the tables were turned as Matt took instructor Ian Sinclair for the ride of his life – throwing his Giles 202 around the sky over Maitland, New South Wales.  For all involved in this special event, it was a day to remember.

But this won’t be the last time Matt finds himself at the controls of a chopper:  To find out why, read the full story of the day Matt strapped on an R-22 to try his hand at flying helicopters in issue 3 of Vertical Australia, available end March 2010.

Two Birds in action

Photos by Leighton Wells

Matt is in North Carolina helping with the final stages of building the new race plane. To check out a few images click here.