Windsor Mayor welcomes pilots at Red Bull Air Race Airport

Red Bull Air Race Windsor kicks off with official airport

opening as excitement builds for race weekend

Bryn Lennon / Getty Images for Red Bull Air Race

Mayor of Windsor, Eddie Francis speaks to the media at the Race Airport during
 the Red Bull Air Race Official Opening on June 2, 2010 in Windsor, Canada.

WINDSOR, Ontario – June 2, 2010 – Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis welcomed the Red Bull Air Race pilots back to southern Ontario on Wednesday at a ceremony formally opening Red Bull Air Race Airport. This opening marks the official kick off to the fourth round of the eight-race 2010 season which takes place this weekend on a now-famous track over the Detroit River straddling the Canada-U.S. border.

“This is perhaps the best part of my job, once a year I get to stand here and declare ‘Welcome to Red Bull City’,” Francis told the pilots and journalists at a press conference at the Race Airport. “It’s the opportunity for us as a community to come together and turn our attention to one of the most spectacular sporting events that we’ve come to be a part of. We too feel like part of a family. The people of Windsor are really excited to be part of another great event.”

Defending champion Paul Bonhomme of Britain said he was looking forward to another thrilling battle on the difficult track between Windsor and Detroit after he mastered a nerve-wracking shift in winds to win here on race day a year ago. Northern Ontario native and first-ever Canadian pilot Pete McLeod, who is fifth in the championship this year, said he will be looking for a career-best result in front of hundreds of thousands of fans from his home country after getting his best finish as a rookie last year in Windsor. “I’m just stoked to be racing again on my home soil. There’s so much positive energy here in Windsor,” said McLeod. “I’m hoping to have a good race. I like the track, it’s a challenge – tight and technical.”

Red Bull Air Race CEO Bernd Loidl said he and the pilots have been looking forward to returning to Windsor after being overwhelmed by the enthusiasm at last year’s race, witnessed by 215,000 spectators on both the Windsor and Detroit sides of the river. “We arrived here as guests last year but we left as friends and true partners,” he said. “It was clear from the start that this location was special. We experienced something really outstanding, a great warm welcome and tremendous cooperation from not only the authorities involved but also from the people of Windsor and from Ontario and from far beyond.”

Loidl said the tremendous warmth and enthusiasm for the race in Windsor is a telling illustration of Red Bull Air Race’s rapid development. “It is the fastest growing motorsport in the world and we’ll prove that once again in Windsor. We’re looking forward to a great race weekend.”

Bonhomme leads the championship with 31 points but compatriot Nigel Lamb (28 points) and Hannes Arch of Austria (27 points) are hot on his heels. Lamb and Arch said they were feeling confident for the race in Windsor. Bonhomme, who has been on the podium for a record-breaking 10 straight races, said it would be another tight battle. “We love Windsor because everyone looks after us so well,” he said. “We’re looking forward to another great race. The wind can cause a bit of drama here. Last year we trained all week with an easterly wind and then on race day it turned westerly. It should be an interesting race.”

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