American Aerobatic Pilot Mike Mangold Captures Inaugural Red Bull Air Race World Series Crown; Looks Forward to 2006.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Aerobatic pilot Mike Mangold (Victorville, Calif.) brought the curtain down on a superb season by winning the inaugural Red Bull Air Race World Series championship before more than 600,000 spectators who lined the San Francisco waterfront during last weekend's Fleet Week celebration.

Racing at speeds approaching 250 miles per hour and executing aerobatic maneuvers spanning 10 positive to 8 negative Gs through challenging slalom courses, the former U.S. Air Force Top Gun and current 767 commercial airline pilot has thrilled huge crowds around the world in his Edge 540 aircraft. He was the man to beat for most of the year, and he proved it once again when he wrapped up the World Series title in dramatic fashion.

"This result is a great culmination to a long year, a great season, and I couldn't have had a better outcome," said Mangold, who beat nine of the world's best aerobatic pilots for the first-ever world championship crown.

With the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz serving as a spectacular backdrop, it was Mangold who produced the best performance of the day to give himself an early present two days before his 50th birthday.

Mangold's dominance throughout the season -- five wins in seven races -- is ample proof of an athlete very much at the top of his sport, and justifies a comparison to Formula One ace Michael Schumacher's glory years.

But his world title did not come without a titanic battle during a tough season in which he had to race in seven different countries on three continents, including Abu Dhabi, UAE; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Zeltweg, Austria; Rock of Cashel, Ireland; Longleat, England; and Budapest, Hungary. The Budapest race attracted more than 1.2 million fans, making it the second-highest attended, single-day sporting event in history.

Hungarian archrival Peter Besenyei, winner of the other two races this year, kept Mangold within his sights all season, and he was only two points behind the American going into San Francisco.

During the San Francisco race, Mangold was pushed all the way by both Besenyei and American friend and rival Kirby Chambliss (Eloy, Ariz.), and needed to produce two faultless rounds to ensure the series win. In the end, Mangold, with a two-run time of 2:27.60, finished just 2.71 seconds ahead of Chambliss, while Besenyei was a mere 0.57 seconds further adrift.

Mangold scored 36 season points to become the first Red Bull Air Race World Series champion, while Besenyei took second with 32 points and Chambliss, who had a slow start to the season, finished third with 21 points.

Whether Mangold can dominate to a similar extent in 2006 remains to be seen. With an increased schedule of 10 races across four continents, including two U.S. stops, it promises to be another exciting season.

"Everyone has seen my performance this year, and I think they are going to make adjustments to both their tactics and airplanes, and it will be a really tight series next year," Mangold said.

For more information on the Red Bull Air Race World Series, including pilot bios, video, photos and more, please go to www.redbullairrace.com.