When the Red Bull Air Race World Championship made its Russian debut in Kazan last year, Canada’s Pete McLeod was part of a North American podium sweep. This weekend, he’s back in the sporting capital – can he find success again on a brand-new track?

The race in Russia is spectacular, with the onion domes of Kazan’s Kremlin as a backdrop and sports-loving spectators cheering when the pilots challenge each other in skies that can be turbulent given the region’s changeable winds and weather.

In 2017, McLeod mastered the Kazan conditions, flying his #84 to a net time that was over a second faster than anyone else in the Final Four. Only a penalty for imperfectly leveling his wings put him on the second step of the podium instead of the top. So what does he anticipate at this edition?

“Unfortunately for me, they completely redesigned the racetrack this year!” McLeod says with a smile. “It’s a new track and a new season, so anything can happen.”

Kazan is the fifth of eight stops on the calendar, and so far, McLeod’s best 2018 result has been strong fourth place in Chiba, Japan. But he is far from satisfied, especially after finishing third overall in 2017.

“I haven’t had the speed of the point leaders yet this year,” acknowledges the Canadian, who as a 30-year-old in 2014 became the youngest race winner in the history of the sport. “I just need a solid race.”

The fact that McLeod didn’t have an appropriate airplane to train with as he awaited delivery of a new aircraft for his home hangar hasn’t helped his efforts this season, but there’s great news on that front.

“We have stayed very busy with summer operations at home since the last race in Budapest, and I finally have an aerobatic aircraft flying in Canada for the first time this season after a 10-month delay. So it will be nice to be flying a bit in advance of the next race!” McLeod states.

He concludes, “Kazan is the start of the second half of the season, followed by a steady flow of races in the calendar, so I’m looking forward to flying here and getting back to racing.”

Team McLeod will race in front of Kazan’s historic Kremlin on August 25-26, 2018. For tickets and all the World Championship updates: www.redbullairrace.com.