Japanese pilot Yoshihide Muroya will find himself hunted by the rest of the Red Bull Air Race pilots when the 2017 World Championship season moves to Kazan, Russia, this weekend for the fifth round.
Muroya leads the championship standings on 39 points, two points clear of Czech pilot Martin Sonka and 13 points ahead of third-placed Canadian Pete McLeod.
Although his lead is slender, Muroya has won two races so far this year and was third in the last round a Budapest, putting him on a hot streak of form.
But Sonka is having something of a form year himself, taking one win in the opening round at Abu Dhabi, third in Chiba and scoring good points in his other races. And if Kirby Chambliss' win in Budapest last round tells us anything, it's that nearly any one of the 14 pilots in the series is capable of putting together a winning run.
Catching the leaders will be a mammoth task for Australian Matt Hall, who currently sits in 11th place on only 11 points as he struggles with a new aeroplane and very limited testing time. Hall has won only one match race this season, and in the last two rounds in Chiba and Budapest, came up against a rampaging Muroya in the Round of 8.
Hall was disqualified from his race with Muroya in Budapest for subjecting his Edge 540 to more than the permitted 10 g. It's not something he regrets doing, as he was going all out to get the best from the aircraft on the day.
"After so many years of fighting for strong finishing positions, and podiums, Budapest provided probably our biggest learning curve in being prepared to lose," Hall says.
"As a team we have a clear objective for the season – turn our plane and personnel into a race-winning package. To do that we need to be testing new things, going out and making mistakes – all the while learning.
"We did that well in Budapest, and we came away much more knowledgeable than we were at the start of the week."
Hall will be hoping the Budapest experience will translate into a good performance this weekend, and the track being completely new to everyone might level the field somewhat as every pilot seeks the limits of their aeroplane.
"Every race is a chance to learn," Hall says in his usual optimistic manner. "The Kazan track is over a river, for example, but it’s very different to Budapest, as it is more of a circular flowing track, rather than an up-and-down drag race. There will be a lot more turning and the aircraft will end up with less energy and less over-g potential in Kazan.
"I think this Kazan race will be a great one; it’s an all-new destination for the air race, plus the country has been hosting major sporting events over the past few years, and I think they will really love and support the Red Bull Air Race!"
Round Five of the 2017 Red Bull Air Race World Championship series is in Kazan, Russia, this weekend. Masterclass qualifying is at 11.00 pm AEST on Saturday night with the Round of 14 commencing on Sunday at 9.00 pm. It can be streamed live from the Red Bull Air Race website.