Red Bull Air Race

Pete McLeod improved rapidly in his rookie season, impressing crowds and rivals alike with his smooth performance under pressure. The Canadian was especially strong on tracks with difficult turning manoeuvres, such as the high-G chicane in Barcelona. He had the heaviest, and slowest plane, in the field but still managed to the get the most out of his Edge 540 to put up a strong challenge for the 1 point up for grabs for 11th place in many races.

McLeod, the youngest pilot ever to fly in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship, spent his first season focused on gaining experience. He then spent the off-season trying to reduce the weight of his plane and increase the engine’s power. Standing 6-foot tall (1.83 metres), McLeod physically towers over most rivals. Many fear it is a matter of time before the former hockey player with jet black hair ends up towering over the championship. McLeod has said he wants to win the title by the time he is 30.

A confident bachelor with a university degree, McLeod grew up flying small float planes in northern Canada and took his first flight when he was 6 weeks old. He got his pilot’s licence at 16 – before his driver’s licence. McLeod believes flying in rugged conditions and dynamic environments proved to be an ideal training ground for the Red Bull Air Race.

McLeod grew up playing hockey, Canada’s national sport. He started aerobatics at 16. He flew in competition aerobatics and air show freestyle and was the youngest Canadian air show performer. He earned his aerobatics instructor rating at 18. McLeod spent 3 years training for the Red Bull Air Race after he finished his economics degree at the University of Western Ontario. He was born in 1984. His race number 84 derives from his love of hockey - he wore 8 on his hockey jersey and his father wore 4.

THE TEAM

Moving into a second season, McLeod is refining his team setup with a new team coordinator. Rob Hogan will help the ambitious Canadian team to progress within the sport alongside current tech Ted Reynolds. As part of the young ensemble, Reynolds is evolving in his role. After running a slow, stock Edge 540 in the debut season, he’s been working hard to reduce weight on the plane over the winter. Coming into 2010 Reynolds will be eager to see how the team’s new, more powerful engine performs and to assess just how useful the lessons learned in 2009 have been.