Dolderers hot streak continues at Playboy Mansion

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Dolderers hot streak continues at Playboy Mansion

Dolderers hot streak continues at Playboy Mansion

by Erik Kay, Jan 4, 2010

LOS ANGELES, USA - Matthias Dolderer was one of the hottest pilots in the second half of the 2009 Red Bull Air Race World Championship season with an amazing 22 points from the final three races. And the German rookie kept his hot streak running into the off-season with a recent visit to the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles, where he met Hugh Hefner and a myriad of Playmates. Dolderer, who proudly wears a Playboy bunny on his helmet and is supported by the German edition of the magazine, said it was a trip he will never forget.

“It was a fantastic experience, just awesome,” said Dolderer, who spent an afternoon inside the mansion with his trusty technician Kelly Brow. “We were obviously thrilled to be there, as you can imagine. Playboy has been a sponsor since the start of my race career at the beginning of 2009. They bring good vibes. Just think about it: Which racing helmet do you remember the most from last season?”

The Gothic-Tudor style mansion was built in 1927 and sits on 5.3 acres. Dolderer and Brow saw many of its 29 rooms, including the game room, the zoo, the tennis courts, the swimming pool and the grotto. “It was like a castle right in the middle of Beverly Hills,” Dolderer said. “It’s a beautiful place.”

But Dolderer admits it was the inhabitants more than the furnishings that kept catching his eye.

“There were so many stunning women there,” he said, adding there were too many to count – but he estimated there were about 10 times as many women as men. “They were selected from a huge pool of candidates. They were all extremely friendly, good-looking and intelligent. A lot of them are also models, actresses or TV personalities.”

Dolderer said all the Playmates he talked with knew a lot about the Red Bull Air Race and many were eager to see a race live. He also invited Hefner, to see a race in North America next year.

“Every Playmate I talked to knew about the Red Bull Air Race,” Dolderer said, who admits he couldn’t resist the temptation to collect a few phone numbers. “Trust me: there were lots of them everywhere you turned. The word is out there about the Red Bull Air Race. They’ve seen races on television and knew an awful lot about it. They were all curious to learn more about the flying and the racing, and they asked me tons of questions. It was great to be there.”

Dolderer said he enjoyed meeting Hefner, the 83-year-old founder of the Playboy empire who started the famous magazine in 1953 with $8,000 he was able to raise from a group of investors that included his mother.

“I have wanted to meet him for a long time,” said Dolderer, 39. “He’s a strong personality and he is still very fit and full of vigour. He knew a lot about the Red Bull Air Race too. I asked him if he wanted to come to a race in 2010 and he said he would like to. I hope he comes. I am sure he will have a great time.”