Racing seems to be a bit under-represented here, so I hope this little teaser wets your appetite for this discipline. Kiters have outperformed sail boats in recent contests, and if you look at the video, it's quite impressive how far forward kites can fly. But, as the designer says, you gotta keep in mind the downwind performance as well. As a by-product, improving aerodynamic capabilities of a kite can also lead to impressive jumping performance!
Anyway, I found this video very interesting as it shows those aspects of kiting from a more technical perspective.