Matthias Dolderer
Matthias Dolderer from Germany advanced into the elite circle of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship after years of determined effort. Dolderer has 24 years of flying experience and runs his own flight school on the rim of the German Alps. He knows the race hierarchy will be torn wide open in 2009 with the arrival of four hungry rookies but believes with a bit of luck he could crack the top 10.
?It?s hard to describe how proud I felt when I found out I?d been selected,? said Dolderer, who says dealing with high pressure situations is one of his great assets. ?I?ve always felt that this is a sport that was made for me; it?s got everything I love about flying and airplanes. At first, I?ll be focussing on safety and avoiding penalties and then start attacking for points by mid-season. Naturally it would be a dream come true to get on the podium once in my rookie year. But I?ll still be satisfied if we get off to a good start, learn quickly and improve the performance continuously from race to race. A top 10 finish for 2009 would be cool.?
Dolderer has, like most rookies, closely monitored the career of Hannes Arch who won the championship in only his second year. ?Hannes? performance explosion has launched our sport into a new age,? said Dolderer. ?He showed what can be done with good analysis, a great race plane and a strong team. He proved that being consistent and having a healthy amount of aggressiveness is the key to success.?
Dolderer, the owner and operator of the Tannheim Air Field and the Tannheim Flight school with its 11 aircraft, said he realises it will be difficult to get on the scoreboard and will probably take even longer for his podium dream to come true. But he has already seen one dream - to get into the race - come true so is brimming with optimism about his chances to shake up the hierarchy before long. He considers himself a quick learner and has one of the world?s most enthusiastic countries for motorsports behind him ? two further assets.
Dolderer, who once colourfully compared the precision-flying of the Red Bull Air Race to trying to park a car in a garage while travelling at nearly 400 kilometres per hour, first went flying with his father when he was three years old.
He was raised at his parent?s flight school and at the early age of five became hooked on machines and fast cars making his first solo flight at 14. His life has revolved around aviation ever since. ?Flying was my passion from the very first moment and my inspiration. I?ve spent my whole life in hangars, on airfields and in cockpits,? says Dolderer.
He gained a glider and ultralight licence at the age of 17 and the following year obtained his private pilot?s licence. Just a few days later he finished 3rd in the German Championships. At 21 he became the youngest flight teacher in Germany. He and his sister Verena took over Tannheim Airfield to continue their family?s vision: ?To establish a meeting place for aviators, enthusiasts, amateurs as well as professionals.? The legendary Tannkosh event, Europe?s biggest Fly-In, became a reality in 1993.
Dolderer has spent almost 300 days of his life in the cockpit in more than 100 different aircraft types, with 23,000 landings all over the world and has performed in many air shows across Europe since 1993. In 2002 he became an official pilot of the Flying Bulls, Austria, where he still performs with different aircraft.
Dolderer describes himself as ?extremely passionate, very ambitious and straightforward with a fearless style of flying?. To endure the physical demands of each flight session, he maintains a demanding training schedule, working out 250 days a year.
Until his 15th birthday he was training hard for careers in skiing and tennis and has also trained hundreds of students in his flight school. He is the father of an 11-year-old daughter, who he is already teaching to fly. He picked race number 21 because it?s his lucky number. It is also the sum of his daughter?s birthday: 11.10.