Red Bull -king of the air in Hatteras

[KiteVol]

Great weekend and great competitiors. The guys at "REAL" did a great job. I was really surprised (good & bad) by some kites and kiters. Personally was pretty surprised by the new black-tips..nice hangtime by 2 different riders. Also it was incredible to see a 14 yr girl win the ladies competition and a 11 yr old boy compete and compete well in the mens division.

KV

[chemosavi]

Ted B. took a third on a Titan 15.5, yea you got it right, one of those "ram airs" that new poster was so careful to point out the flaws of. Jeez, he must be one hell of a kiteboarder to overcome all those deficiencies and still place in a competition!

[Pump me up]

Ted B. took a third on a Titan 15.5, yea you got it right, one of those "ram airs" that new poster was so careful to point out the flaws of. Jeez, he must be one hell of a kiteboarder to overcome all those deficiencies and still place in a competition!

I don't want to diss Ted (again) but ram lovers holding up these sorts of results as evidence of the superiority or just adequacy of ram airs are FULL OF IT.

Coming 3rd in a QUALIFIER event means NOTHING. Ram lovers holding up these sorts of minor results actually works in reverse. If ram airs can't cut it in the major competitions with the big boys, they can't be very good.

New Zealand - March 13-16, 2003
  Dubai - April 9-11, 2003
  Mexico - April 9-13, 2003
  Italy - April 11-13, 2003
  Belgium - April 19-20, 2003
  Italy - May 1-4, 2003
  Mexico - May 29-June 2, 2003
  Israel - June 2003
  Italy - June 27-29, 2003
  France - July 11-13, 2003
  The Netherlands - July 12-13, 2003
  Texas - July 26-27, 2003
  North Carolina - August 15-17, 2003
  Sweden - August 29-30, 2003
  Michigan - September 4-7, 2003
  Poland - September 12-15, 2003
  Venezuela - September 13-14, 2003
  Puerto Rico - September 20-21, 2003

There are 18 qualifying events for the King of the Air. The WINNER from each qualifier wins a trip and spot in the TRIAL rounds of the main event. 2nd, 3rd etc get nothing.

If Ted Bautista on a ram air came 3rd in Nth Carolina, he ranks approx 3rd amongst the other qualifying rounds ie 18 x 3 = 54. So he ranks between 54 and 36. Adding in other competitors like Lou Wainman, he probably ranks a lot lower.

Because of aerodynamic inferiority, ram airs simply CANNOT cut it in the BIG competitions with the BIG boys. At the main Red Bull King of the Air, Ted Bautista and other ram lovers will not make it into the top 50. If an event is small enough and the field is small enough, anyone can win riding anything.

Ignore the lies. Ignore the ram air propaganda. Ram airs are aerodynamically inferior to inflatables and nothing can change this.

[KiteVol]

I'll just say that I was surprised by the lift and hangtime of the black-tips and although I was very excited to see the new Titan, it didn't seem to be very special but just like any average kite. I don't want to take anything away from the competitors but it was quite obvious the contest was a 2-man race from the beginning(for the men and women).
KV

[chemosavi]

ALRIGHT, got him again. It's a little like giving candy to a baby. Now PMU, you should be ashamed of yourself, dissing a guy who enters a competition and gives his heart and soul to do his best and then making him fell like a piece of sh%t in the "BIG" lineup. I hope you have a deep hole to crawl into when six degrees of seperation takes effect. But don't stop because the responses are better than the Sopranos or Richard Pryor live!

[KiteVol]

One thing I forgot to mention is that at one point this weekend, Damian Leroy (Finsihed 1st and rides the new BlacK-tips with Recon) had to come in to attend to his RECON bar. I couldnt see why but it needed attention on land but was fixed in 3 minutes.

KV

[Ted B.]

Kite Vol thats a pretty bad comment saying it was a 2 man race.There was a top level of riding going on and I was really impressed with most of the riders abilities!From slim chances to big kite loops it was all going on!!!And by the way Dimitri won the hang time comp on the Airrush lift 15.5 by a full second over the rest.It was a really fun event thanks to Real and Red Bull. TED B

[KiteVol]

Ted B.

I guess I should clarify..Once you got tied up it became a 2man race ifrom the beginning in the final. I personally think that if you didn't get tied up but also rode the Psycho..well who knows...sorry for the confusion.

KV

[h2oslider]

I just want to say CONGRATULATIONS to DAMIEN LEROY!!!!!!!! I'm stoked a fellow Texan won the event. Damien is an awesome rider and I can't wait to see what else he'll bring to the table. Congratulations Damien, you earned it!!!!!!

Paul Pearce

[R]

Could someone please post a detailed review of this event? What were the winds like, who was doing what? What were the hang time results?
Congrats Ted B! Great result!