Dramatic aerial race over the Thames

Planes will scream down the river Thames, flying at heights lower than Big Ben, as the best international pilots take to the sky over London as part of the Red Bull Air Race World Series.

This summer you can see Brit Paul Bonhomme battle to extend his six-point lead over Austrian Hannes Arch. Narrowly missing out on being crowned champion in 2007, Bonhomme is a serious contender for the title this year having won three out of the four races flown so far.

In total twelve pilots are taking part in the World Series, flying extremely light and agile planes through a low-level aerial race track. For the London race, giant inflatable air gates will be floated on the river Thames which the pilots will have to flawlessly navigate between if they are to avoid being given time penalties.

Each pilot will compete in the qualifying round on Saturday 2 August, flying at speeds of up to 370km an hour to try to clock up the fastest time to claim a place in the semi-finals on Sunday. The winner on Sunday will be awarded nine points which will go towards their overall total for the season as they fight for the Red Bull Air Race World Champion title, to be awarded in November.

The 2008 Air Race season touches down in nine different global cities, with the fifth race held in east London, opposite The O2 arena. Proceedings run between 11am-6pm on Saturday 2 August and 9am-5pm on Sunday 3 August. Some tickets are still available at www.redbullairrace.com