Air racing

Decked out in high-tech goggles, pilot Steve Zoumas dives low and sees the final gate zooming toward him: a 20-foot-tall metal-framed box ringed with neon. Boom! His sight goes black. The crowd lets out a collective "Whoa!" as pieces of his aircraft, which has just smashed into a concrete barrier, go flying.
     

With fine weather forecast for the weekend, the Red Bull Air Race is set to kick off on Saturday in the old town of Rovinj on the western side of Croatia's Istrian peninsula.

Sponsored by the world-famous energy drink Red Bull, the two-day event, running for only the second time in Rovinj, is a part of an eight-race world championship for acrobatic pilots.