The 2016 Red Bull Air Race World Championship was the eleventh

Red Bull Air Race World Championship The World Championship Air Race is a series of air races sanctioned by the World Air Sports Federation (FAI). Originally established in 2003 as the Red Bull Air Race, and created by Red Bull GmbH, the event involves competitors navigating a ...

series.

Aircraft and pilots

Master Class

Pilot changes

* Reigning champion

Paul Bonhomme Paul Bonhomme (born 22 September 1964) is a British aerobatics and commercial airliner pilot and owner/race pilot of Team Bonhomme, the Red Bull Air Race World Champion for 2015. Racing career Bonhomme was born into a family of aviators. His f ...

and

inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...

champion

Péter Besenyei Péter Besenyei (born 1956) is a Hungarian aerobatics pilot and world champion air racer. Biography He was born on 8 June 1956 in Körmend, Hungary. He lived near the airport of Budapest and became interested in flying when he was a child. Fro ...

retired from the sport following the

final round A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

of the 2015 season. *

Petr Kopfstein Petr Kopfstein (born March 18, 1978) is a Czech aerobatic pilot, representing the Czech Republic in flying aerobatics in an Unlimited category, and most recently a racer in the Master Class category of the Red Bull Air Race. He is the first winn ...

and

Peter Podlunšek Peter Podlunšek (born May 25, 1970) is a Slovenian aerobatics pilot. He competes in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship Challenger Cup competition. His first Red Bull Air Race was on 12 April 2014 in Rovinj where he took third place. ...

made their debuts in the Master Class, having finished equal 1st and 5th respectively in the previous years' Challenger Class standings.

Mid-season changes

Cristian Bolton Lieutenant Colonel Cristian A. Bolton (born 10 October 1973) is a Chilean aviator and former fighter pilot in the Chilean Air Force. He was a competitor and instructor in aerobatics, most notably in the Red Bull Air Race. He is Latin America's ...

stepped up to the Master Class following the death of

Hannes Arch Hannes Arch (22 September 1967 – 8 September 2016) was an Austrian pilot who competed in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship from 2007 to 2016. Arch won the World Championship in the 2008 season. Early life Hannes Arch was born in Le ...

before the Indianapolis round of the series.

Challenger Class

* All Challenger Cup Pilots used an Extra 330LX.

Pilot changes

Mélanie Astles Mélanie Astles is the reigning aerobatics champion of France. Biography Melanie Astles was born on 30 May 1982 in Rugby, England, to a French mother and a British father. Melanie and her parents left for France when she was three years old. Br ...

, Kevin Coleman, Luke Czepiela and

Ben Murphy Benjamin Edward Murphy (born Benjamin Edward Castleberry Jr., March 6, 1942) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Kid Curry in the ABC television series ''Alias Smith and Jones''. Early life Murphy was born in Jonesboro, Ar ...

will make their debuts in the Challenger Class. Astles will become the first female

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

to compete in a Red Bull Air Race event.

Race calendar and results

The eight-event calendar for the 2016 season was announced on 16 December 2015.

Championship standings

Master Class

;Master Class scoring system * Arch finished 4th but was later excluded from the results; thus the points for 4th place were not awarded to any pilot.
** The final four wasn't held because of bad weather, 75% of points were awarded for this situation.

Challenger Class

;Challenger Class scoring system

References

External links

* {{World championships in 2016 Red Bull Air Race World Championship seasons

Red Bull Air Race The World Championship Air Race is a series of air races sanctioned by the World Air Sports Federation (FAI). Originally established in 2003 as the Red Bull Air Race, and created by Red Bull GmbH, the event involves competitors navigating a c ...