American Goulian Soars to Lead of Red Bull Air Race Practice at IMS

American Michael Goulian continued his quest for the Red Bull Air Race World Championship by leading both Master Class practice sessions Friday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Florian Berger of Germany led the sole practice in the Challenger Class, the last training ground before the premier Master Class. The first Challenger Class practice was canceled due to rain and low cloud cover.

Fourteen Master Class and seven Challenger Class pilots are flying this weekend on a course above the IMS oval infield. Planes race against the clock at 50 to 60 feet above the ground while exceeding 200 mph, navigating a low-level slalom track marked by 82-foot-high, air-filled pylons called Air Gates. Each timed run is three laps after a standing start, navigating a total of 19 Air Gates.

Pilots turn as quickly and efficiently as possible, pulling up to 10 G’s in some turns before flying toward the next gate. Penalties are assessed for hitting the Air Gates, for speed and altitude violations or for not flying in the proper formation through certain Air Gates. The quickest pilot against the clock in each round wins.

Veteran Goulian, from Winthrop, Massachusetts, flew the top time today at IMS of 1 minute, 4.123 seconds during the first session.

Yoshihide Muroya of Japan, who clinched the 2017 world title with a dramatic victory last October at IMS, was second overall today at 1:04.517 during the second practice.

Master Class championship leader Martin Sonka of the Czech Republic was third overall at 1:04.704. 2016 World Champion Matthias Dolderer of Germany was fourth at 1:04.757, while Petr Kopfstein of the Czech Republic rounded out the top five at 1:05.124.

Just 1.001 seconds separated the top five pilots despite drastically different conditions in both practices that challenged team strategists and technicians to adapt their race planes. The first session took place after heavy rain, with thick cloud cover and high humidity. The second session took place under sunny skies with less moisture in the air.

Sonka, Goulian and Australian pilot Matt Hall are locked into a three-way fight for the World Championship with two races remaining, each seeking their first career title. Sonka leads with 64 points, followed by Hall with 58 and Goulian with 55.

Hall struggled Friday, 10th overall at 1:06.082.

American Kirby Chambliss, a two-time World Champion, was 12th at 1:06.462. But Chambliss incurred a two-second penalty on that run for an incorrect Vertical Turning Maneuver, so he would have been second overall with a clean run.

In the Challenger Class, two-time reigning series champion Berger produced a top time of 1:10.529. Dario Costa of Italy was second at 1:11.129.

American pilot Kevin Coleman was fifth at 1:11.837. Kenny Chiang of Hong Kong, tied with Polish pilot Luke Czepiela for the series lead with 26 points, was the slowest of the seven pilots at 1:14.223.

Aerial activity Saturday at IMS starts at 11:15 a.m. with the final practice for the Challenger Class, followed by the last practice for the Master Class at 1:10 p.m. Challenger Class qualifying is set for 2:45 p.m., followed by Master Class qualifying at 4:05 p.m.

Red Bull Air Race tickets are available at IMS.com. Children 15 and under are admitted free to general admission areas Saturday and Sunday when accompanied by an adult general admission ticket holder.

Global electronic music superstar Kaskade will perform Saturday at IMS, with opening acts Mielo and Hugh Jeffner. The show starts at 5:30 p.m. near the Red Bull Air Race Hangar Area. Visit IMS.com to purchase tickets.

A variety of World of Red Bull athletes will demonstrate their skills throughout the event weekend, both in the air and on the ground. Performers include Geoff Aaron (motorcycle trials riding), Aaron Colton (motorcycle street freestyle riding), Robbie Maddison (freestyle motocross with the SCSUNLIMITED team), Luke Aikins and Miles Daisher (Red Bull Air Force Skydive Team), Aaron Fitzgerald (The Flying Bulls aerobatic helicopter), Jim Peitz (aerobatic airplane) and Pal Takats (paragliding).