Matt Hall will go into this weekend's Budapest round of the Red Bull Air Race (RBAR) series with plenty of confidence after three straight podium finishes.
The Australian finished second in the first two rounds and third in Rovinj, making him the only pilot to be on the podium in every race so far this year.
He is currently equal first in the championship, which is unfamiliar territory for him.
“It feels great because I’ve never had three podiums or been this high up in the standings,” Hall said from Budapest yesterday as he prepared for the race.
“I’m not looking for a specific place or result [in Budapest], I’m looking to fly as closely as possible to the flight line that we come up with and make as few errors as possible.”
Hall currently shares the lead with Briton Paul Bonhomme on 25 points with Austrian Hannes Arch third on 17 points.
It has been six years since RBAR has held a race in Budapest, the city which the series could call its spiritual home. It was Hungarian pilot Peter Besenyei who developed the concept, and Budapest was one of only two cities that featured in the inaugural 2003 series.
"I'm super happy to be back in Budapest after a six-year break," Besenyei said. "I know the other pilots are looking forward to it as well. It's one of the most lovely locations."
As well as being one of the most beautiful places RBAR visits, the course is made more spectacular with the pilots entering the track by flying under the iconic Szechenyi Chain Bridge.
"For the pilots that have done it before it will be much like any other race," Besenyei said, "but for the guys that have never done it, it will be exciting – but as they are very good pilots it won't be a problem."
Besenyei estimates he has flown under the bridge about 100 times, and has done it six times this year already.
Qualifying for this weekend's race is at midnight AEST on Saturday and the race starts at 11.00 pm AEST on Sunday night.