Juan Velarde, Pete McLeod Also On The Podium At Day's End

What a way to start the Red Bull Air Race 2017 season, with Martin Sonka storming to victory. The day had all the thrills and excitement to welcome back the World Championship in the UAE capital.

Juan Velarde took second in the season opener, and Canadian Pete McLeod finished on the podium in third.

"I'm super happy, the whole race week went very well and the team was a perfect machine, I couldn't be happier," Sonka said of his victory. "It means I've finally won my first race and it's given me some confidence. Hopefully this is the start of a new story."

"It feels like a victory for me and the whole team. Just to make it through to the Final 4 was a success, to be on the podium is a huge success, and second even more," said second place finisher Juan Velarde. "It's great to have this result in the first race. Everything is coming together, last season we had very good moments, but we were very inconsistent. I needed to manage the pressure in important times. We've reviewed internal processes, changed many things, not just me, but the team, working in a smoother way. I felt more relaxed for this race, the most relaxed race since I started racing."

"I can't ask for a better start," said Pete McLeod. "It's so competitive out there, and I wanted to pick up where I left off last season. I flew clean and disciplined which was enough. I made some mistakes, but that's the first race of the season, mistakes are to be expected. I now want to work on being faster. Today was a good day, my team made it easy for me to go out and fly. Everyone says it's a team effort, and it all kind of came together."

The series now moves to San Diego, CA for the second race of the season April 15-16.

(Source: Red Bull Air Race news release. Images from file)

FMI: www.redbullairrace.com/en_US