Pete McLeod of Canada performs during the training for the sixth stage of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo-Joerg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool)

McLeod wraps up Friday's training to leave his rivals in his wake

Pete McLeod was atop of the timesheets in the third full training session at the Red Bull Air Race stop at the Great American Speedway in Fort Worth Texas on a blisteringly hot Friday ahead of the weekend's racing.

McLeod was clearly pleased to post the fastest time in the most important training session on a sweltering afternoon ahead of Saturday's Qualifying session for the the sixth stop of the eight round 2014 World Championship.

The Canadian, who had finished a disappointing 11th in the last race in Ascot after taking first in Qualifying, flew with his trademark aggressiveness and stopped the clock in 54.728 seconds in the second of Friday's two timed training sessions on the high-speed, low-altitude course set up on the Texas Motor Speedway. McLeod is in fifth place in the overall championship but eager to move higher in the standings.

Hall was a close second in training on a hot and windy afternoon session and stopped the clock in 54.940 while Britain's Paul Bonhomme took third in 55.026 seconds and compatriot Nigel Lamb was fourth. American Kirby Chambliss, a Texas native and 2006 world champion, was seventh while Michael Goulian of Massachusetts took 11th place. Austria's Hannes Arch, who leads the championship with two victories, was a distant ninth in 56.547.

As the 12 pilots get to know the track and tricky winds inside the stadium, the training times are gradually speeding up in each session ahead of Saturday's Qualifying and Sunday's race, the sixth stop of the season. Earlier on Friday, Lamb had posted the fastest time of the day's early training session, a 53.366, with Bonhomme second and Germany's Matthias Dolderer third. In Thursday's first training session, Hall had posted the quickest time

Mcleod Sticks To Aggressive Style Despite Penalties And Pylon Hits

The youngest pilot in the 2014 World Championship is pushing harder than the rest

Pete McLeod said he has no plans to abandon his aggressive racing style even though the accumulating penalties and pylon hits that sometimes result have sent him tumbling in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship standings from third to fifth place.

The Canadian, who has won two Qualifying sessions this season but has just one podium for a third place to his name, said before the weekend's race in Fort Worth that he wishes some of the other pilots in the field would go as all-out to win as he does.

"My style of racing is no secret: I push hard and get some really fast times," McLeod said after a pylon hit in the last race in Ascot in the Top 12 round knocked him out of the race even though he won pole position by virtue of his victory in Qualifying. "But as we've seen multiple times this season, after I won some of the training rounds and qualifing, it hasn't quite come together for me in the final rounds yet."

McLeod finished a disappointing 11th in Ascot, a race that he possibly could have won, and now has 18 Championship points. His season-best result was third place in Abu Dhabi before getting fourth in Rovinj and fourth in Putrajaya – hurt by costly late mistakes and penalties. He slumped to eighth in Gdnyia. He defended his aggressive style and said he wished some of rival pilots would try a little harder to win a race.

"I've definitely made mistakes," he said. "But if you're going to push hard to win the race, there are going to be mistakes at time. I prefer that strategy than the strategy of some of the other guys who go out there and just fly the track. They're never fast. Maybe they won't ever be last. But they're never going to win a race."

McLeod said he is soaking up the rich motorsport tradition and heady atmosphere at the Great American Speedway in Texas and is looking forward to racing in hot conditions in North America. "It's great to be here," he said. "It's all about motorsports. It's hot and windy but it's nice to be in Texas." McLeod said he believes the hot and windy conditions will be an advantage to him because Canada has been hot all summer as well. "I think we're probably better adjusted to this heat than anyone coming from Europe," said McLeod. "It's been really hot up home all summer long."