22 September 2026

Patrick Davidson Wins 2026 AIR RACE X Finale and Retains Championship

Gqeberha pilot Patrick Davidson won the 2026 AIR RACE X finale to retain the championship, securing a second consecutive title for South Africa.

Red Bull pilot Patrick Davidson in flying suit and cap, holding his helmet beside the race aircraft in a hangar. [Photo credit: ©Team 77]

Edited by:

African Pilot Newsdesk

Why this article matters
Davidson’s result gives South Africa a second consecutive AIR RACE X championship and keeps a South African pilot at the top of an international air-racing series. The competition also demonstrates the use of recorded flight data to compare real aircraft flown at separate locations within a shared digital race format.

Of Interest
- Pilot: Patrick Davidson
- Team: Team 77
- Country: South Africa
- Base: Gqeberha, Eastern Cape
- Aircraft: Edge 540 V3
- 2026 Result: AIR RACE X season finale winner and championship winner
- Previous Title: 2025 AIR RACE X Champion
- Aerobatic Record: Six-time South African national aerobatic champion

Red Bull pilot Patrick Davidson has won the 2026 AIR RACE X season finale and retained the championship, securing a second consecutive title for South Africa.

Racing for Team 77 in his Emotive-liveried Edge 540 V3, Davidson adds the 2026 crown to his breakthrough championship in 2025. The successful title defence brings another international sporting achievement home to Gqeberha and the Eastern Cape.

Patrick Davidson’s Emotive-liveried number 77 Edge 540 V3 banking in flight with smoke trailing behind. [Photo credit: ©Team 77]

Emotive, a European automotive aftermarket group based in Zug, Switzerland, supports Davidson’s AIR RACE X campaign. The company renewed its backing for 2026 after supporting his first championship-winning season, linking its Parts That Fly High campaign to the precision, preparation and performance of air racing.

AIR RACE X brings real aircraft and digital race presentation together. Pilots fly prescribed courses in high-performance aircraft at separate locations. Recorded flight data allows their performances to be measured, judged and presented in a shared competition for audiences around the world.

Rear view of Patrick Davidson in flying gear, with Red Bull and Emotive branding on his helmet. [Photo credit: ©Team 77]

Davidson’s career spans national aerobatic competition, the Red Bull Air Race Challenger Class and international display flying. A six-time South African national aerobatic champion, he grew up in an aviation family and entered flying competitions at 12 with a safety pilot before competing solo at 17.

He won the opening round and finale of the 2025 AIR RACE X season to claim his first series title. Winning the 2026 finale and championship builds on that achievement with a successful defence against the international field.

The official finale broadcast is available on the AIR RACE X YouTube channel.

Head-on view of Patrick Davidson’s Emotive-liveried number 77 race aircraft in flight. [Photo credit: ©Team 77]

From the African Pilot GA Desk

AIR RACE X combines real-world competitive flying with a digital race presentation built from recorded flight data. In its Multi-Location Race format, pilots fly matching courses at separate locations, with an onboard Remote Data Unit recording each performance for timing and officiating.

For the 2026 Race 4 finale, the series described an 800-metre course around five sets of markers, with 14 gate passages incorporating a chicane, high turns and low turns. AIR RACE X describes the format as involving speeds of up to 400 km/h and loads of up to 12G. These are series format figures and are not reported measurements from Patrick Davidson’s final run.

Davidson competes for Team 77 in an Edge 540 V3 carrying race number 77. Emotive is identified in the supplied media pack as Team 77’s principal partner for the 2026 campaign.