By Huxley Pruitt, Sports

6/7- The first annual Pandion Aerodynamics Racing Circuit got underway this weekend in Walsh, drawing thousands of citizens from around the Triumvirate for some high flying racing action. For two days the best pilots in the empire showed those of us with our feet trapped firmly on the ground what a plane can do, and then pushed those planes just a little bit more.

The Legacy League provided fast action out of the gate, with a head to head race between Tobias Cuthbertson, former Captain of the Crowndon Air Corps, and “Bonzo” Doosly, retired pilot for Nor Easter. They were neck and neck for most of race, cutting close corners around the course’s obstacles. The turnaround occurred around the last turn, when Doosly clipped Cuthbertson, sending both air craft careening. The crowd watched in silence as Cuthbertson brought his craft under control and pulled ahead, winning the race with a two second spread and earning cheers from the mostly Crowndonian crowd. Cuthbertson would go on to dominate the weekend for the Legacy League, beating Walsh’s own Parker Behan and Toring’s Hardisty Pender for the top of the winner’s podium.

The second day of racing focused on the Horizon League, and if you asked anyone in the crowd, this league, made up mostly of amateur and trade pilots, is the reason they came out. Promising head-spinning stunts and a true sense of derring-do, the Horizon League did not disappoint.

The-Middle-of-Nowhere’s Gideon Hotoft shut down des Anges’ Micah Le Fleur in a stomach churning stunt race to open the event. This exhibition was followed by a heavily modified version of the head to head course the Legacy League raced the day before, featuring more obstacles and tighter turns. Hotoft once again put on a good show, but ultimately came in third on the podium. The first place pot ultimately went to Rommsbach’s Perys Kerby, while second place went to the controversial woman pilot, Marcy Quail.

After the races were over, we spoke to Mathis Galland, owner of Pandion and the creator of the races, about how he felt the event fared.

“I think it’s safe to say it was a rousing success!” he told us. “The crowds were going wild at every close call and photo finish, and we’re already getting requests from sponsors who want to enter their own racers for a second season.”

Tickets for the next event, two weeks from now in Des Anges, have already sold out.