Hero photograph: a black L-39 Albatros rotating off a desert runway at Mojave.

Everything, at once.

JATO stands for jet-assisted take-off. You strap rockets to an airplane, light them, and get off a runway that is too short. We are a founding team in the Jet World Championship, with two Aero L-39 Albatros jets, two pilots and two gamers racing fourteen rounds in 2029.

See the season Partner with the team

AirframeAero L-39 Albatros BaseMojave, California NextR01 Doha, 24 Feb 2029

Round 1, Doha

A JATO bottle burns hard for about twelve seconds and then it is empty. We fly the same way. The first race is a two-hour Grand Battle over Lusail with all ten teams in the air at once.

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Night in the Mojave hangar: two black L-39s nose-on.

News

All news

Around the team

Your name on the nose of a jet, fourteen Sundays a year.

A team deal costs a fraction of a league deal. Your brand rides on two jets, two pilots and two gamers, with a shot at the podium every race. On top of that, the league spends five million dollars on marketing at each round, and none of it comes out of your budget. Title, Primary, Associate and Digital spots are open for 2029.

See the positions

Sixteen people, two Albatros.

It is a small team. Two pilots, two gamers, a strategist, a chief mechanic and the inspectors, four crew on the floor, and a few of us in the office. Most names stay private until the league announces the grid.

How a unit works

In this championship, a unit is one jet, one pilot and one gamer. The pilot flies. The gamer sits at a station on the ground and runs the combat system, meaning the locks, the shots and the flares, which is where the points come from. The strategist talks to both of them. We run two units, and the league has to clear both before either one can race.

Three league rules shape how we are set up. We fly one aircraft model all season. We tell the league exactly who is on the roster. And at least two inspectors sign the maintenance log every day.

Unit 01

Lead unit

Pilot portrait, black flight suit with one red band across the chest at the cut angle, helmet under the arm, face turned into shadow.

Pilot, Unit 01Unannounced. Commercial certificate, L-39 type rating, ICAS ACE Level 4 with dogfight endorsement.

Gamer portrait, black team jersey, red band, headset at the neck, visor and shadow hiding the face.

Gamer, Unit 01Unannounced. Runs the combat system for aircraft 01 from the ground station.

Studio side profile of L-39 number 01, black with the red cut band, on bone.

Aircraft 01Aero L-39 Albatros. Competition airframe. See the Albatros

Unit 02

Second pilot portrait, same framing, thin red rim light.

Pilot, Unit 02Unannounced.

Second gamer portrait, same framing.

Gamer, Unit 02Unannounced.

Studio side profile of L-39 number 02.

Aircraft 02Aero L-39 Albatros. Competition airframe.

Reserve, strategy, the floor

Reserve pilot and reserve gamer

We carry a third pilot with the same ratings and a third gamer registered with the league. If someone cannot fly on Thursday, the reserve is in the seat for Friday morning practice.

Race strategist

One voice in both headsets during the Grand Battle. The strategist decides who attacks, who holds back, and when to use flares.

Chief mechanic and inspection team

The league gets their names ninety days before the season. Nobody else gets to call a jet airworthy.

Pit crew

Four people handle fuel, turnarounds, the canopy and the chocks. They wear fire-resistant gear, and nobody walks past the engine line without a reason.

Leadership

Team principal portrait, black jacket, red background, face in profile and shadow.

Team PrincipalSigns the team license with the league and answers for everyone on this page.

Commercial director portrait, same treatment.

Commercial DirectorRuns partnerships and the livery.

Chief mechanic portrait, black workwear, in the Mojave hangar.

Chief MechanicLead inspector. Signs off each jet before it taxis.

Mojave

Rocket country.

Night in the team hangar at Mojave Air and Space Port: two black L-39s nose-on, the red bands lined up, a single work light, crew at the ladder.

Rocket-assisted take-off was worked out in the early 1940s by a small group testing motors in a dry riverbed outside Pasadena. The same group went on to start Aerojet. Mojave is still a rocket town, with a long runway, dry air and hardly any neighbors. Our hangar fits three jets, a room for the competition stations, and the simulator. We keep two race jets and one spare, all the same model, because the rules require it.

The jet a generation of fighter pilots learned on.

Aero built close to three thousand L-39s in Vodochody, near Prague, starting in 1971. For decades it was the first jet that air force students flew across Eastern Europe and well beyond. It is simple and tough, and it does what the pilot asks. That is why we picked it.

Three-quarter rear view of a black L-39 in a hard level turn over the Mojave desert, the red band catching the sun, stencil JATO on the fin, vapour off the tip tanks.

Why the Albatros

It tells the truth

It has a straight wing, gentle stall behavior and one Ivchenko turbofan. The controls run on cables, not computers. In a sixty-second period, you want a jet that goes exactly where you point it. This one does.

Two seats, one pilot

The L-39 is a two-seat trainer. In a race the back seat stays empty. The pilot flies from the front, and the gamer fights from the ground station.

Parts and people

Plenty of L-39s still fly on civilian registrations, so engines, canopies and experienced instructors are not hard to find. When something breaks, we can usually get the part in days, not months.

The rules allow it

The L-39 is on the league's list of approved aircraft. Bank Angle Sports picked it too, so two teams on the grid will fly the same jet. We plan to fly ours differently.

Specification

L-39C, civilian register, competition configuration.

Length: 12.13 m
Wingspan: 9.46 m
Height: 4.77 m
Empty weight: 3,455 kg
Maximum take-off weight: 4,700 kg
Engine: One Ivchenko-Progress AI-25TL turbofan
Thrust: 16.9 kN
Limit load: +8 g, −4 g
Maximum speed: 750 km/h, Mach 0.8, limited to the championship envelope
Take-off run: About 530 m at maximum weight
Seats: Two in tandem, one occupied in competition
Combat system: League-supplied, operated from the ground station by the unit's gamer

The name, in numbers

In August 1941, an Ercoupe with rocket bottles under its wings left the ground in about half its usual distance. Move the slider to add bottles to our Albatros and watch the take-off run shrink.

530 mground roll

Bottles0Total thrust16.9 kNThrust to weight0.37Roll saved0 m

Clean. The AI-25TL on its own, 4,700 kg, a long Mojave runway and plenty of time.

This is a rough estimate. It assumes each bottle adds about 4.4 kN for twelve seconds and that the take-off run shrinks in line with the extra thrust. Our race jets do not carry rockets.

The livery

The jets are black all over, with one red band across the fuselage behind the canopy. The band sits at the same angle as the cut through our logo. The numbers are bone white.

Technical side profile of the black L-39 on bone background, one red band at the cut angle through the fuselage behind the canopy, bone number 01 on the nose, stencil JATO on the fin.

Gallery

Cockpit close-up, throttle and stick, the stencil J on the glove.

Intake and tip tank from below, number 01, hangar light.

Fin close-up with the stenciled wordmark, jet pipe in the background.

Spare airframe under a black cover, the red band visible at the edge.

The competition station: three screens, telemetry overlay, gamer's hands on a button panel, no joystick.

Full-motion simulator in the Mojave hangar, L-39 cockpit shell, red work lights.

Hold to ignite

Press and hold for two seconds. If you let go early, it counts as an abort.

T−2.0Armed. Hold the button.

Fourteen Sundays.

The first season starts in Doha in late February, right after Eid. From there we race one event at a time through the Gulf, Asia, the Americas and Europe. The calendar pauses in September so the freight can move, and the season ends in Miami the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Calendar Results Standings

Round 1, Doha

Lusail. Grand Battle Sunday 24 February 2029, 14:00 local.

—days

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Ten teams, one table

Both units score for the team at every round. For now the table just lists the 2029 entries, so the order means nothing yet.

	Team	Airframe
1	JATO Motorsports	Aero L-39 Albatros
2	Throttle Jet Team	BAE Hawk
3	Gravity Jet Team	F-16 Fighting Falcon
4	KCNO Motorsports	A-4 Skyhawk
5	DARTS Motorsports	SEPECAT Jaguar
6	JDM Team	Harrier
7	Azurion	F-16 Fighting Falcon
8	N11 Motorsports	A-4 Skyhawk
9	Bank Angle Sports	Aero L-39 Albatros
10	Inverted Motorsports	BAE Hawk

Where we go

Fourteen cities, from Doha to Miami.

Thursday to Sunday.

A race weekend runs four days. The Village opens on Thursday, teams practice on Friday and qualify on Saturday, and on Sunday all ten teams fly together for two hours. Our sessions are in bold below. The rest of the schedule belongs to the support series and the fans.

Thursday

16:00 Village opens, press event
16:30 Technical inspection, both aircraft
17:30 Ignition opens for guests
18:00 University and Golden Sortie flights

Friday

09:00 Practice 1, our fifteen minutes
12:15 Airspace reset
13:45 Practice 2
16:15 Junior and Academy qualifying

Saturday

11:00 Qualifying, flights 1 to 10
13:30 Display slot
14:15 Qualifying, flights 11 to 20
17:00 Junior race 2

Sunday

12:45 Airspace cleared, aircraft staged
14:00 Grand Battle, all ten teams, two hours
16:15 Grand Podium
16:45 Closing ceremony

Times come from the league's flight schedule and can move for weather or race control. The Grand Battle always keeps its full two hours.

How a period scores

Each period lasts sixty seconds. One jet attacks and the other defends, then they switch. The clock runs the full minute no matter what happens.

Event	Points	To
Confirmed direct-shot hit, up to three per period	+3	Attacker
Period survived without being hit	+2	Defender
Lock defeated by flares, up to two per period	+1	Defender
Envelope exceedance, called by telemetry	−3	penalty
Departure from the corridor	−3	penalty

Twelve seconds

How we fly a period.

A JATO bottle burns for about twelve seconds, and a period lasts sixty. Our strategist looks for the twelve seconds that matter most, usually the merge, the lock and the shot. We push hard there, then get out and stay alive for the rest of the minute. Trying to fly the whole period flat out just burns the pilot.

From the stands, it may look like we vanish for a while and then come out of nowhere.

Where to watch

From the Village

The race corridor runs right in front of the main viewing area. The Village is there too, with the live score on big screens and a sixty-second clock for every period.

From Ignition

Our suite above the garage, with live data from both jets on the wall and the strategist on a headset if you ask. See Ignition.

From home

Every round is shown live, with cameras in both jets, long lenses from the ground, and the gamer's screen in a corner box whenever a lock goes on.

Put your name on our jets.

A team partnership puts your brand on two jets, two pilots and two gamers at fourteen races. The league spends five million dollars on marketing at every round, and none of that comes out of your budget. There are four levels, and all of them are open.

Title

From $1.0M

One partner, 2029

Nose of both aircraft
Gamer chest, both units
Team naming: "JATO Motorsports presented by"
Ignition at every round, twelve seats
No competitor in your category on our jets

Primary

From $380K

Two or three partners

Fuselage, both aircraft
Gamer sleeves, crew uniform
Six seats in Ignition per round
Hangar day in Mojave

Associate

From $140K

Four or five partners

Fin or wing, both aircraft
Gamer cap, digital overlay
Two seats per round

Digital and regional

From $45K

Four to six partners

Game skin placement
Social posts and named rounds
Regional rights in one home market

These are first-year prices and include the league's 20% launch-season premium. If the league already has an exclusive partner in your category, we clear the deal with JWC Holdings before anything is signed.

Where it goes

Tap a number on the jet or in the list.

1Nose, both aircraftTitle
2Forward fuselage, below the canopyPrimary
3Fin, below the wordmarkAssociate
4Upper wing surfaceAssociate
5The red band itself, rear fuselagePrimary
6Gamer chest and sleeves, off the aircraftTitle and Primary

Technical side profile of the black L-39 with six numbered positions on nose, forward fuselage, fin, wing, the red band and a gamer figure beside it.

Positions for 2029

When a spot sells, the partner's name goes up here the day the contract is signed.

Title
open

Primary 1
open

Primary 2
open

Primary 3
open

Associate 1
open

Associate 2
open

Associate 3
open

Associate 4
open

Digital 1
open

Digital 2
open

Talk to us

Our commercial director will reply within three business days, once we have checked that your category is free.

Red, black and bone.

Team gear made in small batches, some of it stenciled by hand. It is the same stuff our crew wears to work. Members get ten percent off with their code.

Ignition.

Ignition is our glass-front suite above the JATO garage, open at every round. You look straight down on both jets, live data from both units runs on the wall, and you can listen in on the strategist with a headset. Thursday is calm. Sunday is not.

Glass-fronted suite above a pit garage: guests at the window looking down at a black L-39 being worked on, the red band directly below them, telemetry on the back wall, the stencil wordmark etched on the glass.

What you get

Thursday

Welcome drinks and lunch. Watch technical inspection from the gallery, then walk the garage with our chief mechanic. It is the quietest day, so bring the guests you most want to talk to.

Friday and Saturday

Both practice sessions and all twenty qualifying flights from the suite. Between sessions, one of our gamers shows the room how the combat system works.

Sunday

The Grand Battle from the window with the live score, seats for the podium, and a closing reception back upstairs.

Pricing

We sell by round, using the league's three price bands. The suite holds twelve people. At Standard and Premium rounds you can also book half of it for six.

Band	Rounds	Seat	Ignition, 12 seats
Marquee	Doha, Miami	$4,800	$52,000
Premium	Austin, Montreal, Mexico City, Silverstone, Paris, Suzuka	$3,600	$39,000
Standard	Balance of the calendar	$2,400	$27,000

Mojave days

Between races.

Hangar day

Bring up to twenty guests to Mojave. We roll both jets out, fire up the simulator, have lunch with the crew, and send everyone home with a stencil. From $18,000.

Station day

Six guests spend an afternoon on our competition stations, playing each other and scored the same way as a race. One of our gamers coaches. From $7,500.

Book a round

Strap in with us.

We are sixteen people. Membership is how we hope to become a few thousand. You pay once a year, and you get closer to the team than a ticket ever would.

Member

$95 a year

Ten percent off the store
Members' pre-sale on Ignition seats
Team radio replays after every round
Numbered, stenciled membership card

Join as a Member

Crew

$290 a year

Everything in Member
Mojave hangar open day, once a year
Live strategist channel during the Grand Battle
Crew jacket, numbered

Join as Crew

Founding

$1,900 once

Everything in Crew, for life
Your name stenciled inside the main gear door of both jets
One Ignition seat at a Standard round each season
Limited to 500

Become Founding

Join

After Doha, we will send your card, your store code and the first radio replay.

Sixteen seats. Some are still open.

These are the jobs we are hiring for the 2029 season. Everyone is based in Mojave and travels to all fourteen rounds.

Apply

Send a résumé and a few lines on why you want the job. Pilots, please put your certificate, type ratings and ACE level in the first line.

Press

Logos, livery images and facts you can print. For anything else, email the press team.

Logo pack

Use the primary logo on red and the reversed one on black. The wordmark can also stand alone. Please do not change the colors, rotate it, or fill in the cut.

Facts

Name: JATO Motorsports
Status: Founding team of the Jet World Championship, entry confirmed
Airframe: Aero L-39 Albatros, final at season registration
Base: Mojave Air and Space Port, California
Fleet: Two competition airframes, one spare
Roster: Two pilots, two gamers, one reserve of each, a strategist, chief mechanic, inspection team and four crew
Colours: Red #E8352A, black #141414, bone #EFE9DC
First round: Doha, Lusail, 24 February 2029

Livery renders

Both Albatros in close formation over the desert, seen from above, the two red bands lining up into one line.

Technical side profile, bone background.

Contact

Partnerships

partners@jatomotorsports.com

Hospitality

ignition@jatomotorsports.com

Press

press@jatomotorsports.com

Store

store@jatomotorsports.com

Base

JATO Motorsports, Mojave Air and Space Port, California. By appointment.

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