LAUSITZ, Germany – The Red Bull Air Race World Championship returns to Germany in 2010 with a race at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz, the first time the high-speed, low-altitude competition will be held at a motorsports race circuit. The world class track just south of Berlin will be the venue for the 7th stop in the 9-race 2010 championship. Taking place on 7-8 August, the race will be one of the highlights in a year of celebrations at the EuroSpeedway marking its 10th anniversary.

The EuroSpeedway grandstand, the largest and most modern in Europe, will provide spectators with a unique perspective of the race, enabling them to view not just the race itself but also the pit lanes where the hangars of the 15 pilots and their teams will be set up directly in front of the grandstand. This will give the crowd a first-hand glimpse of how the pilots prepare their powerful 540-kg propeller planes for the race and they will be able to watch the pilots take off and land from the runway which will be located close by. At other races around the world the race airport is usually set up far from the track.

“We are delighted to be able to present a top sports event to the fans of Germany and to the neighbouring countries Poland, Czech Republic and Austria, which will entice thousands of spectators to Lausitz,” said the managing partner of the EuroSpeedway Verwaltungs GmbH Josef Meier. “It will also be the highlight of the 10th anniversary of the EuroSpeedway Lausitz.”

“We’re extremely pleased to be returning to Germany,” said Red Bull Air Race CEO Bernd Loidl. The first German race was in Berlin in 2006 at Tempelhof Airport. “It’s a country with a rich motorsport tradition and millions of fans have been following the racing here on television. EuroSpeedway is going to be a fantastic venue. It’s going to be an exciting race weekend.”

German pilot Matthias Dolderer, one of the championship’s rising stars, is looking forward to racing in front of a home crowd. He joined the championship in 2009 and got the first podium of his career in the final race in Barcelona and became one of the top 3 pilots in the second half of the season.

“I’m thrilled that there will be a race in Germany this year,” said Dolderer. “It’s a great opportunity to make the Red Bull Air Race better known in Germany and it’s going to be brilliant to fly in front of my home crowd. Naturally I hope that we’ll have more races in Germany. It is one of the world’s top motor sport countries.”

The race at the EuroSpeedway will also be something of a homecoming for Martin Sonka, a 31-year-old rookie from the Czech Republic who recently qualified for a place in the championship. The race track is only 90 km away from the Czech border and about the same distance from Berlin. Sonka will be joined by another rookie in 2009 – Brazilian Adilson Kindlemann.

While most Red Bull Air Races are held over rivers, lakes or ocean shorelines such as London, Perth or Barcelona, there have been a handful of races held on land – such as Longleat (UK) and Berlin in 2006 as well as Monument Valley (USA) and Interlaken (Switzerland) in 2007.  The race at EuroSpeedway, Lausitz will be the only race held over land this year.