F3 Pylon Racing World Cup: races in Qatar for the first time
By Barrie Lever, CIAM F3 Pylon Racing Chairman
The exciting World of RC Pylon Racing visited Doha (Qatar) between the 22nd and 25th November for the 2023 Qatar International Pylon Race Meet.
The Qatar RC Sport Centre were the hosts for this prestigious event, all four CIAM RC pylon racing classes (F3D, F3E, F3T and F3R) were flown at the meeting. Competitors came from around the World to experience for the first time this inaugural RC pylon race meet in the Middle East.
The great thing about running all four classes of pylon racing at an event like this is that the knowledge sharing and advise from the top competitors filters down to the younger competitors and those who are making their first foray into International pylon racing. This was especially fruitful for many local competitors from the Middle East as they got many tips and tricks from experienced European and Australian competitors that they had never met before.
The flying site facilities and organization were World Class and all of the competitors were made to feel very welcome by the hosts. In addition, the competitors had the opportunity to taste a bit of Qatari culture with local food and drinks that were served during and after the race.
The Rise of young talent in F3R
Home talent Abdullah Al-Hemaidi flew in the F3R class against very experienced competitors as well as relative newcomers. Abdullah set his mark in the competition by flying the fastest time in the F3R qualification rounds but he saved his best flying for the final and deciding competition flight against two highly experienced International competitors and winning by over 4 seconds in the 10 lap race.
F3R results
- Abdullah Al-Hemaidi (Qatar)
- Paolo Mucedola (Italy)
- Bruce de Chastel (Australia)
Experience battles youth in F3D
The F3D class can be considered as the Formula 1 of RC pylon racing and in the same way that young drivers battle against highly experienced drivers, the same happens in F3D pylon racing.
The F3D final was won by the retiring Czech flier Roman Pojer from experienced Dutch pilot Robbert van den Bosch and young Belgian pilot Bram Lentjes. Overall World cup top points were shared between Roman and Bram due to Bram getting higher qualifying points but lower final points.
F3D final results
- Roman Pojer (Czech Republic)
- Robbert van den Bosch (Netherlands)
- Bram Lentjes (Belgium)
Czech Republic dominates F3E
The pilots from Czech Republic dominated the electric pylon race class F3D. All three top positions were taken by the dominate Czech fliers. The Czech team certainly understands the secret to winning F3E in Qatar!
F3E results
- Jan Sedlacek (Czech Republic)
- Kamil Vydra (Czech Republic)
- Jiri Klein (Czech Republic)
Experience dominates the F3T final race
As always, the F3T class was very competitive at the Doha World cup races. The competitors were both experienced and fledgling International competitors. The scale like F3T racing aircraft made a spectacular view against the desert back drop.
The final race was won by the experienced Australian pilot Bruce de Chastel from local pilot Fahad Al-Hemaidi and in third place the experienced Italian pilot Paolo Mucedola.
F3T results
- Bruce de Chastel (Australia)
- Fahad Al-Hemaidi (Qatar)
- Paolo Mucedola (Italy)
Summary
CIAM wished to thank the organisers and competitors alike in making the inaugural Doha F3 Pylon race event a success and everyone looks forwards to further competitions in Qatar.
