600,000 Pack Porto/Gaia 

600,000 spectators packed the banks of the Douro River in Porto/Gaia Saturday and turned the eighth leg of the Red Bull Air Race World Series into 'one of the most exciting venues the race has ever seen.' Traffic on local motorways came to a standstill, rail tickets to the city were sold out and virtually every inch of balcony space facing the course over the Douro river in the historic centre of the city was occupied. The entire city paused to watch Britain's Steve Jones (Team Matador) win his first race of the season under brilliant blue skies and upset championship leader Mike Mangold (USA/Team Cobra) in a breathtaking final.

Jones put in a sterling performance for the huge Portuguese crowd with a great run in the final through the 17-gate course beating Mangold, the championship leader, by 0.38 seconds. He posted a winning time of 1 minute 10.00 seconds. Paul Bonhomme (GBR/Team Matador) took third by winning the consolation race against Peter Besenyei (HUN/Team Red Bull).

"It was great", said Jones after the race.

"I was hoping to get into the 1:10s. To do a 1:10 level is amazing. I just think this track really suited my airplane. The airplane is doing very well so I'm extremely happy. I've also helped Paul a bit (by beating Mangold), which is good, even if it was not as much as possible. And it's good for the Matadors team, of course, getting points for the team competition as well."

Mangold leads the series, which has two more stops, with 41 points. Bonhomme is second with 39 points. Bonhomme had led for most of the season before Mangold moved ahead in Budapest.

Paulo Campos, Vice Minister of State for Public Works and Communications, who attended the event said, "We are extremely pleased to welcome this exciting competition to our country, surrounded by the spectacular scenery of the two host cities of Porto and Gaia. On behalf of the Portuguese government, I would like to congratulate the organisers for putting on such a fantastic event and I would also like to thank the public for their warm welcome and turnout along the banks of the Douro River".

The Red Bull Air Race pilots hit speeds of up to 400 kph and forces of up to 10G in the race finals flown on the compact slalom course just metres above the water. The final two stops of the series are in San Diego, USA and Perth, Australia.

FMI: www.redbullairrace.com