20 JUL 2026
NEWIn the semifinal, Muroya beats long-time rival Martin Sonka; in the final, he holds off 2025 champion Patrick Davidson in a head-to-head duel.
Race 2 of the AIR RACE X 2026 series took place on Sunday, July 19, and from qualifying through to the final race not a moment allowed anyone to look away. Four storylines collided – the breakout star of the season opener, last year’s series champion, and two long-time rivals. The pilot who came out on top was Japan’s Yoshihide Muroya (LEXUS PATHFINDER AIR RACING), fighting back after a third-place finish in Race 1.
Watch Race 2 in full on the official YouTube channel.
Muroya topped qualifying, followed by Race 1’s breakout winner Aarron Deliu (Australia) and European powerhouse Martin Sonka (Czech Republic). With Deliu looking to carry his opening-race momentum into the series standings, and 2025 champion Patrick Davidson eager for redemption, both pilots were already inside the top tier heading into the final race, a result that raised expectations even further.
Reigning 2025 champion Davidson faced Deliu, who had just taken his first win in the season opener in only his second year in AIR RACE X. Still smarting from a fourth-place finish after losing the Race 1 third-place match to Muroya, Davidson brought the full weight of his experience to bear and advanced to the final - a result that showed exactly why he’s the reigning champion.
Semifinal B was personal, Sonka, who finished second in the Race 1 has raced Muroya since their former Red Bull Air Race days, and their head-to-heads have always drawn attention. After a back-and-forth battle that gave no ground, Muroya came out on top by the narrowest of margins - beating his old rival.
Deliu and Sonka met in the third-place match. The rematch between Race 1’s two breakout stars stayed tight to the very end. Drawing on his former Red Bull Air Race experience Sonka flew a composed run to take third. Deliu finished fourth, the result confirmed that in just his second season, he’s already one of the series’ key players.
The final pitted 2025 series champion Davidson against on form Muroya, who led throughout the race and despite a one-second smoke penalty held on to win. It capped a remarkable turnaround from his third-place finish in the Race 1 and delivered him the Race 2 title.
After the disappointment of finishing third in the opener, I went back to basics with my tactician and rebuilt my flying from the ground up. I think what made the difference this time was really honing my gate entry angles, how I build my turns, and a new turning technique we brought in.
The final came down to the wire right to the end, all the work the team has put in paid off, and we were able to turn it into a win. That said, the series is still long. I’m not going to be satisfied with one win - we’ll keep sharpening our precision and preparing to deliver a stable performance.
Race two for me was quite a tricky one. We were fast, but we weren't consistent. The track itself was also quite difficult, so race one and two for me was quite demanding. There were a lot of hard Big G turns. The smallest margin pushed the times out drastically. So to get it so consistent all the time was, for me anyway, was virtually impossible.
I think we did well to sort of stay so close to Yoshi. I can only hope that we can maintain the sort of momentum going forward.
I felt good because this time we were lucky with the weather.
We had more or less calm winds and just very slight
headwind for the track entry and it makes the whole thing actually,
you know, that makes the race.
We were not that happy or lucky with the other races so
that changes everything.
1st: Yoshihide Muroya - jumps to the top of the series from third in the opener
2nd: Aarron Deliu - the second-year breakout star keeps his opening-race momentum going
3rd: Martin Sonka - the former Red Bull Air Race pilot with the experience to match
4th: Patrick Davidson - AIR RACE X 2025 champion, unable to build on his fourth-place opener
The order has shifted dramatically since the end of Race 1 and the season is shaping up to be a battle with several contenders. A rising star’s breakthrough, a former champion’s comeback bid, and a long-standing rivalry renewed - Race 2 turned out to be essential viewing. Eight points separate first and second in the series standings, Race 3 is pivotal.
Race 3 of the 2026 series streams Sunday, August 16, from 21:00 JST on the official AIR RACE X YouTube channel.
