Intro:

Canada's Pete McLeod takes pole position for first Red Bull Air Race World Championship event of the season on Friday (28th February) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Script:

It's one of the most spectacular events in extreme sports.

The Red Bull Air Race World Championships started again with the season's first race being held in Abu Dhabi.

The location proving to be the perfect back drop for the daring pilots who's level of skill and precision must be of the highest standard in order to compete.

Friday saw the qualifiers for the first race of the season and Canada's Pete McLeod will start on pole position after edging out defending champion Paul Bonhomme by just a few fractions of a second.

McLeod is the youngest pilot in the sport at the age of 30 - demonstrating that experience is key to competing in a sport with such a small margin of error.

The racers in fact must weave in and out of the set course and ensure they don't clip the pylons that create the outline.

McLeod went around in 57.93 seconds, while Bonhomme completed the course in 58.12 seconds. Nigel Lamb of Great Britain will start third on the grid.

The main race will take place on Saturday and is sure to wow the crowds.