The Red Bull Air Race will close out its 13th season Nov. 17-18, at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. The venue, one of the largest stadiums in the U.S., can accommodate up to 190,000 fans, and tickets are on sale now online, with prices starting at $29 for adults and $10 for kids 12 and under. Fan favorite Michael Goulian, from Massachusetts, is in the lead for the championship this year, for the first time in his 10 years of competition. Getting there has been a team effort, Goulian said: “The team has to work together really well. You have to have a common goal, and everybody needs to know their piece and to do it.” He added, “It’s not a secret how to get there, but it’s freaking hard.”
Goulian flies a modified Edge 540. The main modification to the standard aerobatic plane is a longer wing chord, which the team says enables the airplane to “hold on” at a higher G without losing too much energy. Goulian goes into the final race with a season score of 70 points. His closest rivals are Martin Sonka, from the Czech Republic, with 65 points, and Australia’s Matt Hall, at 63. Pilots can score up to 15 points in each race, so all three are still in contention.
