Red Bull Air Race

Along with 300,000 spectators, I decided to make the trek down to the banks of the Swan River to watch the Red Bull Air Race today. We decided to catch public transport there, as did most others, and after an hour of very slow trains and buses, we finally managed to get a vantage point on the South Perth foreshore.

The place had totally been transformed beyond recognition. A massive observation tower had been erected, there were viewing platforms for the more 'important' guests, and the Swan River had these massive inflatable gates floating on it.

The race is the self-dubbed 'Formula One' of the skies, in which planes time trial around a massive circuit specially created for the event. The pilots have to specially trained, needing to bank and turn very sharply as well as flipping their planes upside down and at times pulling up to 11Gs.

Our vantage point was great and we had an uninterruped view of the proceedings. In something that appeared to be almost like a computer game, there were speakers pumping out music that seemed to be more suited to a driving game as well as blaring out commentary of the race. It was a great spectacle!

Of course after that was the hellishly long public transport ride home. :(


Here's a video I found on Youtube of the qualifying on Friday.