The first 'heavier-than-air' air race was held on 23 May
1909 - the
Prix de Lagatinerie, at the
Port-Aviation aerodrome (often called "Juvisy Airfield") in
Viry-Châtillon south of
Paris, France. Four pilots entered the race, two started, but nobody completed the full race distance; though this was not unexpected, as the rules specified that whoever travelled furthest would be the winner if no-one completed the race.
Léon Delagrange, who covered slightly more than half of the ten laps was declared the winner. Some other minor events were held before the ''
Grande Semaine d'Aviation de la Champagne'' in 22–29 August 1909 at
Reims, France. This was the first major international flying event, drawing the most important aircraft makers and pilots of the era, as well as celebrities and royalty. The premier event — the first
Gordon Bennett Trophy competition — was won by
Glenn Curtiss, who beat second-place finisher
Louis Blériot by five seconds. Curtiss was named 'Champion Air Racer of the World'. in a
Farman III at the
1910 Los Angeles International Air Meet at Dominguez Field The first air race in the United States was the
1910 Los Angeles International Air Meet at Dominguez Field, just south of Los Angeles, from 10 to 20 January
1910. The event was organised by pilots
A. Roy Knabenshue and Charles Willard, who raised funding from railroad magnate
Henry Huntington, and the Los Angeles Merchants and Manufacturers Association.
William Randolph Hearst carried coverage of the event in his
Los Angeles Examiner, and hired a hot air balloon with a promotional parse touting his newspaper. The event attracted 43 entrants, of which 16 appeared. It was there that aviation pioneer and military pilot
Jimmy Doolittle, then thirteen, saw his first airplane. In the years before the
First World War, popular interest in
aviation led to a large number of air races in Europe; including the
1911 Circuit of Europe race, the
Daily Mail Circuit of Britain Air Race, and the
Aerial Derby. In
1913, the first
Schneider Trophy seaplane race was held. When the competition was resumed after the war, it was significant in advancing
aeroplane design, particularly in the fields of
aerodynamics and
engine design, and would show its results in the best
fighters of World War II. On 19 October
1919, the
Army Transcontinental Air Race began along a route from
Long Island, New York to
San Francisco, California, and back, which would see widespread carnage; including seven fatalities (two en route to the race). Of the 48 aircraft that started, 33 would complete the double crossing of the continent. on his
Curtiss R3C-2 Racer, the plane in which he won the 1925
Schneider Trophy Race In
1921, the United States instituted the National Air Meets, which became the
National Air Races in
1924. In
1929, the
Women's Air Derby, nicknamed the 'Powder Puff Derby', became a part of the National Air Races circuit. The National Air Races lasted until
1949. The
Cleveland Air Races was another important event. In
1947, an All-Woman Transcontinental Air Race, also dubbed the
Powder Puff Derby was established, running until
1977. In
1934, the
MacRobertson Air Race from England to Australia took place, with the winning
de Havilland Comet flown by
C. W. A. Scott and
Tom Campbell Black. From 1934 until 1938, the
Flight Around Latvia competition took place. In
1964,
Bill Stead, a
Nevada rancher, pilot, and unlimited
hydroplane racing champion, organised the first
Reno Air Races at a small dirt strip called the Sky Ranch, located between
Sparks, Nevada, and
Pyramid Lake. The National Championship Air Races were soon moved to the
Reno Stead Airport, and have been held there every September since
1966. The five-day event attracts around 200,000 people, and includes racing around courses marked out by pylons for six classes of aircraft: Unlimited,
Formula One, Sport Biplane, AT-6, Sport, and Jet. It also features civil airshow acts, military flight demonstrations, and a large static aircraft display. Other promoters have run pylon racing events across the US and Canada, including races in Las Vegas, NV in
1965, Lancaster, CA in 1965 and 1966,
Mojave, California in 1970-71, and 1973–79; at Cape May, NJ in 1971, San Diego, CA in 1971, Miami, FL in 1973 and 1979,
Moose Jaw,
Saskatchewan in 1984;
Hamilton Field, California, in 1988; at Dallas, TX in 1990, in Denver, CO in 1990 and 1992, in Kansas City in 1993, in
Phoenix, Arizona in 1994 and 1995; and in
Tunica, Mississippi in 2005. Numerous other venues across the United States, Canada, and Mexico have also hosted events featuring the smaller Formula One and Biplane classes. In
1970, American Formula One racing was exported to Europe (Great Britain, and then to France), where almost as many races have been held as in the U.S.A. Also in 1970, the
California 1000 Air Race started at the
Mojave Airport with a 66 lap unlimited air race that featured a
Douglas DC-7, with one aircraft completing the circuit. heat held at
Kemble airfield, Gloucestershire. The aircraft fly singly, and have to pass between pairs of pylons. In 2003,
Red Bull created a series called the
Red Bull Air Race World Championship, in which competitors flew individually between pairs of pylons, while performing prescribed manoeuvres. Usually held over water near large cities, the sport has attracted large crowds and renewed media interest in air racing. The inaugural season had stops in Austria and Hungary. In 2019, Red Bull decided not to continue the Red Bull Air Race World Championship.
Aero GP has multiple aircraft racing together pik around pylons, and is based in Europe where it has held an air race each year since
2005. In June 2005 against all odds and extreme pressure from the Reno Air Race Association not to start another race, entrepreneur Jeff Landers, a Memphis native, organized the Tunica Air Races in Tunica, Mississippi with Unlimited, T-6, and Sport classes represented. After the successful and safe race in 2005 RARA fought any and all efforts for the growth of this motorsport and any effort for a 2006 race there and one in Tucson Arizona.
Powered paragliding or
paramotor races have been organised by the Parabatix Sky Racers made up of the world's top paramotor pilots. The first occurring on 4 September
2010 in an airfield in
Montauban, Southern France. These are foot-launched ram-air wings powered by small
two-stroke engines, and allow for much smaller race venues such as city parks or beaches, where the audience can see the pilots up close as they carry out spectacular manoeuvres swooping close to the ground-pylons during the race. In November 2021, the first remotely-piloted
eVTOL drag race between two
Airspeeder craft took place. In
2022, The remotely-piloted racing series (Airspeeder EXA Series) began in 2022 with Zephatali Walsh named as the inaugural season champion. The aircraft, built by Alauda Aeronautics, use electric vertical take-off and landing (
eVTOL) technology and are designed to be crewed by human pilots.
Historical championships ==Active air races==