• Matt Hall makes smoke over Lake Macquarie shortly after the city was announced as the Australian venue for the Air Race World Championship. (Matt Hall Racing)
    Matt Hall makes smoke over Lake Macquarie shortly after the city was announced as the Australian venue for the Air Race World Championship. (Matt Hall Racing)
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Air Race World Championship (ARWC) has canceled the 2022 race series, citing problems with COVID-19 and the global economic situation as barriers to the series going ahead.

The 2022 series was to have included a race at Lake Macquarie NSW in late November.

Australia's reigning World Champion Matt Hall said he was very disappointed that the series was not going ahead.

"I'm pretty gutted for many reasons as are the other pilots, fans and everyone involved.

"Air Race were passionate enough and brave enough to revive the series after Red Bull sold it, but the result probably shows what Red Bull achieved was quite incredible.

"It's an opportunity gone begging for Lake Macquarie. We’ve raced in many awesome locations, but Lake Macquarie was lining up to put on a spectacular event in a really true blue Aussie setting.

"I am personally extremely humbled, grateful and proud to say that the work people have done here in Australia at a local level has been first class."

ARWC was initially to have kicked-off at Goodwood in the UK in July, but the opening round had to be canceled because the race logistics couldn't be put in place in time. That left only Malaysia in September, Indonesia in October and Lake Macquarie as the only confirmed rounds.

Hall said putting on an air race series was a mammoth task, one which ARWC was clearly struggling with.

“The challenges back at Air Race sound like they are too big to overcome," he said. "Everyone understands how tough it is to put on events of this magnitude, especially right now, but I’m probably most disappointed that the organisers didn’t call this cancellation sooner.

"This isn’t the end of Air Race, but yes the reality is sinking in that we won't be racing at home or at all. At least not this year."

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