Despite the tough weather conditions this latest round of Parabatix Dubai saw one of the most intense aerial races we have ever seen. Spectators came from all over the UAE to watch as Sky Racers from UK, UAE, USA, Spain, France, Netherlands and Czech Republic raced within milliseconds of each other.

WIth more focus on precision rather then just pure speed this year Parabatix Dubai kicked off with a Sky Race specially designed for ‘high-wind‘ conditions. With enough of a breeze the pilots can literally hover like a helicopter into wind as they have to pick up Batix balls and drop them in the drop-zone, sounds simple enough… However one downwind turn saw them screaming miles away from their target which means the pilots have to manoeuvre as precisely as possible while keeping an eye on the clock.

Even though the conditions were turbulent for this first sky race Spaniard Paco Guerra excelled in front of the rest, sending a chilling reminder to the other sky racers of his winning performance in 2012

In between Sky Races the team put on some incredible displays of daring manoeuvres and jaw-dropping synchronised flying that had been practised to perfection back in France specially for the event.
At one point even Nasser Al Neyadi and Ali Al Hammadi our hosts from Skydive Dubai and Skyhub paramotor

joined our synchronised stair case performance.

Next up the whole Parabatix team relocated 40km away far out into the desert where a special sky race course was set up on Dubai Lake (DLR1). The course was set in such a way that pilots would race at full speed round each letter of DUBAI.

French Sky Racer Jeremy Penone stepped up his game ripping up a three second time advance on his next opponents Thomas Migneaux (FR) & Nicolas Aubert (NL) who scored within milliseconds of each other.

After an epic sky race day out in the desert it was back to the majestic city skyline of Dubai Marina where Skydive Dubai palm drop zone is located.
Time for the final Sky Race (NBR7) a Bonus Race that mixed pure speed and precession into one spectacular and fast paced race where pilots had to fly a set course around the pylons while grabbing Batix balls from the ground and dropping them into their drop-zones. A great test of proximity flight at full speed all within a meter from the ground!

The conditions where turbulent but after a briefing and a weather assessment it was deemed safe to Sky Race.
This was the final sky race where pilots still had a chance to change the score board.
The game was clearly between Nicolas Paco and Jeremy. After some impressive track times there was an intense silence amongst the crowds as the last sky racer Jeremy Penone came in for his run with huge wing-over-turns and pylon-tight manoeuvres it was clear this French Sky Racer was on fire as he propelled himself to the top of the leader board!

Unfortunately for Spaniard Javi Guerra and local national pilot Helal Almansouri (UAE) despite there excellent performance some critical mistakes were made earlier on that would make it near-impossible for them to climb back up the scoreboard.

Parabatix rookie Sky Racer Matt Minyard from the USA had an excellent run for his first Parabatix Sky Race placing just ahead of UK’s Dean Eldridge. Was it beginners luck or will he be a force to be reckoned with in the future?
Bring on Parabatix Sky Racers 2015 world series!

Check out the Parabatix ‘event update’ videos (#1 to #5)  right here