The National Championship Air Races (NCAR) recently completed its first-ever Pylon Racing Seminar (PRS) at its new home in Roswell, New Mexico. The four-day training event brought together race officials, volunteers, and pilots preparing to compete in the upcoming races, scheduled for September 10–14.
PRS is a long-standing requirement for pilots who are new to the event or have not raced in the past three years. Since 1999, it has served as a cornerstone of NCAR’s pilot certification program, combining safety instruction, race procedure training, and flight practice on the course.
“For our inaugural Pylon Racing Seminar in Roswell, we were thrilled to certify 60 pilots across our six closed-course pylon race classes,” said Tony Logoteta, president and chief operating officer of NCAR. “Not only did this year’s PRS provide pilots a firsthand look at our new racecourse, but it saw the return of the Biplane class with 17 certified pilots. We are thrilled by the outcome of PRS and look forward to welcoming all our racers to the first event in September.”
A total of 73 pilots and 59 aircraft attended the seminar. Sixty pilots were certified to race, and 12 additional participants are expected to complete their certification in September. Among the attendees were 13 student pilots—many of whom earned their certification—getting their first taste of competitive air racing.
Certification breakdown by race class:
- Biplane: 17
- Formula 1: 11
- Jet: 8
- Sport: 17
- T-6: 7
- Unlimited: 1
STOL Drag, NCAR’s seventh race class, follows an independent certification process due to its unique format and course requirements.
Pilots who were current as of the 2023 races will have an opportunity to recertify on the new course in a dedicated session prior to the September event. The full list of participating pilots will be released in late July.
To learn more about the National Championship Air Races and the upcoming September event, visit airrace.org.
