By Eric Dumigan | October 16, 2017 Estimated reading time 2 minutes, 9 seconds.
Of the eight Red Bull Air Races held in 2017, Canada’s Pete McLeod earned four fastest qualifying lap awards and the 2017 DHL Fastest Lap Award Trophy at Indianapolis, Ind. McLeod dominated qualifying sessions at Chiba, Budapest, Kazan and Porto.
Flying his constantly upgraded Zivko Edge 540 V3, McLeod has risen in the ranks and 2017 has been a breakout year. He earned points in every race except one, and he achieved three podium finishes in 2017.
Going into the final race of the year at Indianapolis, Pete McLeod had 56 points. Despite being knocked out in the round of 14, he finished the year with a third-place ranking which earned him two trophies at Indianapolis.
McLeod is the only Canadian to participate in the Red Bull Air Races, and in 2009, at 25 years old, he was the youngest pilot to join the elite sport.
On his father’s lap, he experienced controlling an aircraft at just three years of age. He earned his pilot’s licence at 16 and soon became an experienced bush pilot. At 19 years of age, McLeod achieved an aerobatic instructor rating. He also has an economics degree from the University of Western, Ont.
