By Paul Osborne

The Air Race 1 World Cup has been announced ©Air Race 1Air Race 1, the international series for the sport of formula one air racing, has announced that it will hold three events in 2015 which will together form the official "Air Race 1 World Cup".

In the World Cup each race will include eight aircraft competing directly against each other at the same time reaching speeds of over 450 kilometres per hour on a circuit just 1.5km end-to-end.

The first one across the finish line is the winner.

It will mark the first time an international series of formula one class air races has been held since the sport began in 1947.

The Air Race 1 World Cup will bring together the three established and recognised governing bodies of Air Race 1 who will run each competition and sanction and ratify the results of each race in accordance with their rules and regulations.

The three official associations that founded and developed the sport of formula one air racing come from the United States, France and the United Kingdom.

The oldest association that first set the rules for the sport is the International Formula One Air Racing Association (IF1) from the United States.

IF1 has been organising races for almost 70 years and has been running the US National Championship for the formula one class at the Reno Air Races for 51 consecutive years.

The Air Race 1 World Cup will be formed of three races spanning across 2015 ©Air Race 1The Air Race 1 World Cup will be formed of three races spanning across 2015 ©Air Race 1



The French association, the Association des Pilotes D'Avions de Formules (APAF), has extensive experience in running formula one airplane races since 1976 and it fielded the most pilots - including the winner - in the Air Race 1 inaugural event in 2014.

The British association, the Formula Air Racing Association (FARA), a member of the Royal Aero Club, first brought the sport to Europe in the early 1970s to add to the country's rich history of famous air racing events.

"Following the great success of the Air Race 1 launch in 2014, we are delighted to have the continued collaboration of all three of the world's formula one air racing associations," said Jeff Zaltman, chief executive of Air Race 1.

"Their contribution to Air Race 1 and to the development of the sport is of monumental importance.

"Each association brings with it a large body of expertise and experience in competitive air racing and we are proud that such prestigious organisations are partnering with Air Race 1 to bring true air racing into the mainstream of the sporting world."

The three locations of the Air Race 1 World Cup stretch across three continents.

Each of the three events of the Air Race 1 World Cup will also be considered an independent cup title.

The location of each event will be released soon, according to Air Race 1.

Formula one air racing is the oldest existing class of air race and it is the only class of airplane designed to a strict formula and built solely for the purpose of racing.

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