Air racing

Air racing is a motorsport that involves airplanes competing over a fixed course, with the winner either returning the shortest time, the one to complete it with the most points, or to come closest to a previously estimated time.

The first heavier-than-air air race was held on May 23, 1909 - the Prix de Lagatinerie, at the Port-Aviation airport south of Paris, France. Four pilots entered the race, two started and nobody completed the full race distance though this was not unexpected as the rules specified that whoever travelled furthest would be the winner if no-one completed the race. Léon Delagrange who covered slightly more than half of the ten 1.2-kilometre laps was declared the winner.

Some other minor events were held before the Grande Semaine d'Aviation de la Champagne in August 22–29, 1909 at Reims, France. This was the first major international flying event, drawing the most important aircraft makers and pilots of the era, as well as celebrities and royalty. The premier event — the first Gordon Bennett Trophy competition — was won by Glenn Curtiss, who beat second-place finisher Louis Blériot by five seconds. Curtiss was named "Champion Air Racer of the World".

The first air race in the United States was held at Dominguez Field, just south of Los Angeles, from January 10 to 20, 1910, organized by pilots A. Roy Knabenshue and Charles Willard. Funding was raised from railroad magnate Henry Huntington and the Los Angeles Merchants and Manufacturers Association. William Randolph Hearst carried coverage of the event in his Los Angeles Examiner, and hired a hot air balloon with a promotional parse touting his newspaper. The event attracted 43 entrants, of which 16 appeared. It was there that aviation pioneer and military pilot Jimmy Doolittle, then thirteen, saw his first airplane.

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