American pilot Mike "Mungo" Mangold (Victorville, Calif.) feels confident he'll win the world championship title as he leads the Red Bull Air Race World Series by just two points going into the series' final race above San Francisco Bay during Fleet Week on October 8, 2005.

"I'm obviously in a good position going into the final race, but I need to look at the big picture and make sure to fly fast, make the gates, and fly defined and clean, with no mistakes," said Mangold, who flies a Zivko Edge 540.

"I've got an advantage and I want to protect it, so what's going to be running through my mind during the race is; 'don't blow it.'"

Fleet Week is considered one of the largest airshows in the nation with one million spectators expected over the weekend to flock to Aquatic Park and Marina Green to witness some of the best aviation has to offer. Steve Teatro of the Airshow Network, the event organizer, says that between the Blue Angels and the Red Bull Air Race, the crowd is in for a rare treat.

"Everything about this year's Fleet Week really taps into what aviation is about; the speed, the precision, the extreme athletic abilities of the pilots," Teatro said. "Everyone loves watching the Blue Angels perform, and we're excited to have them back. We're also thrilled to welcome the Red Bull Air Race, because it is a very unique series. You have the best aerobatic pilots completing against one another in what looks to be the future of air racing. I can't wait for the audience to witness this race firsthand."

The Red Bull Air Race pits an elite selection of ten world-class aerobatic pilots against the clock, and ultimately one another, as they navigate a timed slalom course of pylon obstacles and execute low-level aerobatic maneuvers. Each pilot flies a lightweight aerobatic plane heavy on horsepower that cuts the air at over 300 mph while pulling up to 11-positive and 8-negative G-forces. At each race venue the pilots face different track, climate and altitude conditions that make for an unpredictable, yet exciting race.

Competitors accumulate points throughout the international series. Mangold has won four of the six races held this season and leads Hungarian pilot Peter Besenyei by a mere two points heading into San Francisco. Fellow American pilot Kirby Chambliss (Eloy, Ariz.) stands third in the rankings.

Besenyei, a former world aerobatic champion, developed the race concept that became the world's first aerial motor-sport racing series. The first six races in 2005 were held in United Arab Emirates, Netherlands, Austria, Ireland, United Kingdom and Hungary. The World Champion will be crowned in the United States finale.

The debut of the Red Bull Air Race in the United States took place last year during the 2004 National Championship Air Races in Reno where Mangold won the world title after holding off Chambliss.

FMI: www.redbullairrace.com