BARCELONA, Spain – With the 2009 Red Bull Air Race World Championship drawing to a close, Spain’s Alejandro Maclean has one last race to claw back his dignity after a disappointing season. Racing in front of his home crowd in Barcelona on 3-4 October, Maclean is determined to put the past behind him and finish the year on a high. With the race returning to the Catalan capital after a three-year break, the excitement is building as the teams prepare to battle it out for the final time this season. Maclean is pulling out all the stops to give the home fans a result to be proud of.
“Racing in Barcelona is just great but at the same time it brings a lot of tension and stress,” said Maclean, sitting in 12th place in the standings ahead of the Barcelona round. “There will be even more will and anxiety to be on the podium, however this year has been really frustrating for us as we have invested more in all respects to be competitive. Unfortunately this year has seen our worst results ever.”
I won’t give up
Moments of great potential throughout the season have been tempered with disastrous runs for the Spaniard, who appears unable to remain consistent in the track. Maclean started the season with a promising performance in Abu Dhabi in April, where he flew in the Super 8s and picked up an 8th place finish. In San Diego, however, he was knocked out in the Top 12 and the same happened in Windsor, Ontario. Moving into Europe, the team was only able to secure a 10th place finish in Budapest but it was in Porto that Maclean showed the greatest signs of improvement. With super fast times in both Qualifying runs, it looked as though everything had finally clicked into place and the pilot was flying well. Sadly Maclean’s high hopes were dashed in the Super 8 when he exceeded the G limit and received an immediate DQ. Still finishing in 7th place, it has been the high point of the team’s 2009 season but a good result in Barcelona would do much to ease the disappointment of the previous rounds.
“I want to prove to myself and to my team that we can do well,” said Maclean, who has difficulty putting a bad result out of his mind. “I’m eager to close the season having given the Spanish fans at least some satisfaction. I’ll always be in competition and am very persistent… I won’t give up! The Spanish audience is just incredible but also very demanding in what they see and how we perform. This gives me a huge responsibility and I need to really do my best. Getting on the podium in Barcelona is a personal obsession, perhaps to prove to myself that things can go well. I want to prove I can be there.”
Underpowered engine
Maclean says he has issues with the engine in his MXS-R but admits there are several factors which affect performance in this sport. “Many things could be the reason for our underperformance,” he explained. “But most of all I blame our engine, which is simply not delivering the power the other teams’ engines are. We have tried our best and invested a lot of time and money to catch up in this respect but we haven’t been able to succeed. We may have fewer means than other pilots but there is desire, enthusiasm and ability. My team is aware of how important the Barcelona race is for us and our supporters. They are working like mad to improve the performance for the last race.”
All teams are looking forward to the track in Barcelona which is more technically challenging than the all-out speed track in Porto. Squeezing the most horsepower from the Lycoming engine still remains a priority for the Spanish team as they pull out all the stops to end the season with a podium finish. “The track looks quite complicated with lots of turns,” said Maclean of the course. “We’ll see how it goes. We will be working on the power from the engine as this is our biggest handicap. One thing is for sure, we will give our best in Barcelona and will try to get better results. The aircraft has begun to respond quite well. In Porto we were powerful and made some final adjustments. The mechanical team has been working very hard to get the best and now we face the final.”
Avoiding distractions
As Maclean’s technician works hard to ensure there is as much power available to the pilot as possible, there’s no doubt the pilot himself is preparing psychologically for the most important race of the season. Working alongside the team coach – a dedicated sports psychologist – Maclean places great emphasis on the non-physical side of racing. He admits that avoiding the spotlight may form part of his strategy if he is to concentrate on race success.
“I anticipate a lot of media interest but at the same time I really want to focus on performing well so I apologise in advance if I am a bit ‘slippery’ with the press,” said Maclean, already conscious that the race will attract huge media attention. “Barcelona 2006 was tremendous, strikingly good. It was one of the most followed events in the history of competitive sport in Spain. I wish and hope for the best.”
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