Martin
Šonka
Czech Republic
·
Air Racing
Date of birth | March 26, 1978 |
|---|---|
Birthplace | Dvůr Králové nad Labem, Czech Republic |
Age | 47 |
Nationality | Czech Republic |
Career start | 2010 |
Disciplines | Red Bull Air race World Championship |
Martin was a fighter pilot in the 211th Tactical Squadron for 17 years, and was also a member of the prestigious Czech Air Force display team. However, in February 2014, he decided to give it all up to focus on flying in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship full-time. Martin got his first taste of the Red Bull Air Race while working as a TV commentator for Czech television. He has admitted that he was in awe of the high-speed, low-altitude flying and the beauty of the race as a sport for the masses. He later joined the World Championship in 2010 at the age of 31 and was the second-youngest pilot in the sport’s history behind only Pete McLeod from Canada.
During the finale of the 2014 season in Spielberg, Austria, Martin picked up his first podium. The Czech pro finished third behind 2014 World Champion Nigel Lamb and Frenchman Nicolas Ivanoff. He also took a career-best second-place finish behind Hannes Arch at the third stop of the 2015 season, and behind Yoshi Muroya at the Japanese pilot’s home race in 2016.
2017 saw a real step up in terms of results, with Martin winning two races outright – in Abu Dhabi and Porto – and taking two more podium places to finish the season second in the overall standings.
Martin went one better the following season by putting in a series of impressive showings to win the 2018 edition of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship. It was the perfect end to a resurgent season which started with two DQs but finished with some huge victories.
And in 2019 Martin was in contention again on the final race day of the season in Chiba when he, along with Matt Hall and Yoshihide Muroya, had the title between them.
A disappointing 13th place on the day saw the title go the way of Hall, with Sonka settling for third place overall.