Impressions from my first Red Bull Air Race visit
Accreditation I applied the same way as for Ascot (freelance photographer). I got the Ascot one (though logistical problems meant I couldn't get there). The notification that I wouldn't receive accreditation here came a few days before the event — due to the high number of journalists (it was the final race). Despite that, I spotted families with children among the "journalists"... So I bought a ticket for the Red Bull Tribune, which was an excellent choice! I could see the entire course, my spot was right in front of the stage. The runway was directly in front of said tribune.
People Tens of thousands of people attended the race weekend. Especially in the fan zone and around the Red Bull Tribune it was quite packed. Mostly Austrians, though I also ran into Czechs, Americans and Japanese. Here and there I encountered fans who were almost aggressive — mainly at the food queues, where they didn't want to let anyone through even though they were blocking the entire walkway. The same was true when crowd favourite Hannes Arch lost victory in the race and the championship due to a mistake. At that moment it wasn't exactly wise to be celebrating among his fans. They did not look at me kindly.
Atmosphere Amazing! Red Bull Air Race is one big show from start to finish. There's always something happening. You can take photos next to a replica plane, there are pilot interviews, autograph sessions, a band concert, and performances by various athletes Red Bull sponsors. There's always something to watch, and it doesn't matter much whether it's a qualifying or final day. From my perspective the most exciting moments came towards the end of the day — on Saturday Petr Kopfstein won, and on Sunday Martin Šonka took a podium finish.
The Czechs (Šonka, Kopfstein): Petr flew an excellent time on Saturday and won the Challenger Class. On Sunday Martin followed up with great times and took 3rd place in the Master Class. On Saturday evening, after Martin returned from the press conference, we exchanged a few words about the next day's race. He was in positive spirits and believed in success — which then duly arrived. Smoke on!
