Silver Finish for McLeod in Russia
A brand new city, a brand new country, and a brand new racetrack, but a familiar result for Garmin pro Pete McLeod. The 33-year-old Canadian found himself standing on the 2nd step of the finalists podium in Kazan accepting a 2nd place trophy for the 2nd straight race. With five of the eight 2017 race stops complete, that makes three podiums for McLeod thus far, including one 3rd-place and two 2nd-place finishes.
Equally as impressive was that for the 3rd-consecutive race, McLeod posted the fastest qualifying time. That top qualifying spot earned him a Round of 14 matchup with rookie Master Class pilot Mikael Brageot of France. McLeod bested Brageot by more than five seconds moving him into the Round of 8 against Australian Matt Hall. Another penalty-free run topped Hall by more than two seconds and advanced McLeod to the Final Four.
A single penalty in the Final Four kept McLeod off the top podium step. North America dominated the Final four as the 1st and 3rd spots went to Americans Kirby Chambliss and Michael Goulian respectively. Just two points separate McLeod from the top spot in the World Championship rankings, where his recent success will hopefully continue into Porto, Portugal, September 2-3. Stay up-to-date on all the Red Bull Air Race action by following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.