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Red Bull Air Race Highlights Windsor, Ontario June 2010

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Jun 082010

Courtesy: Red Bull http://www.redbullairrace.com

WINDSOR, Ontario – Austria’s Hannes Arch won his third straight race in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship with a stirring performance in Windsor on Sunday, bouncing back with an emphatic victory in Canada just two days after suffering one of the worst pylon hits of his career. Britain’s Paul Bonhomme took a close second in the difficult track that straddles the Canada-U.S. border over the Detroit River, his 11th straight podium, while American Kirby Chambliss made the top 3 for the first time this year with third place. Canada’s Pete McLeod was a disappointing ninth in front of his home crowd.

Arch and Bonhomme were locked in another classic duel on a cool and overcast day in front of a huge crowd of 110,000 watching from Windsor and Detroit with about 160,000 spectators in attendance for the two days of high-speed, low-altitude racing. Arch, the 2008 World Champion, saved his best for last and shattered the track record with a time of 1:05:96 in the final.

Bonhomme, the reigning champion, put up a gallant effort to try to beat Arch. The British ace was leading by a fraction of a second after the first of four intervals through the 5-kilometre long race track but couldn’t maintain the lead and ended up behind Arch in 1:06:59, just 0.63 seconds off the pace. Chambliss, looking forward to more glory in his home race in New York in two weeks, was 3.03 seconds behind the Austrian in 1:08:99. Britain’s Nigel Lamb came fourth in 1:13:34 after hitting a pylon in the final.

“I’m really happy to win the race after this difficult week,” said Arch, who had a heavy pylon hit in training on Friday that damaged his plane and left him visibly shaken. “The team stayed behind me all the way. We tried to fix our problems. You need to have a strong team and we’ve got that. I just tried to stay calm and let the others make mistakes. I’m elated right now.”

Arch’s close call came just 24 hours before another dramatic turn of events for Australia’s Matt Hall.
The plane of the former Royal Australian Air Force fighter pilot suffered an aerodynamic wing stall in a tight turn on the windswept track, causing it to dip towards the Detroit River. Hall’s wings and right wheel splashed off the top of the water but he was able to quickly regain control of the MXS-R and return safely to the Race Airport.

Bonhomme, who is still leading the championship with 41 points to Arch’s 39, said he was disappointed to lose to his great rival from Austria but added he was delighted to be in the thick of such a tense battle in Windsor. “I don’t know about you guys but I think that was a brilliant afternoon of racing,” said Bonhomme. “It was fantastic. Everyone raised their game. It was close for all of us. We’re sad we didn’t get the win but it was a great race. It’s going to be exciting right down to the end of the season.”

2006 World Champion Chambliss, now on 26 points overall, moved up a notch ahead of Hall to fourth place in the championship. The pilot from Arizona, who won the race on the same track in 2008 and also took third here last year, said he wanted to win the next race in his home country on 19 and 20 June. “If we could win the race in New York it would be awesome,” said Chambliss.

Pilot Matt Hall Skims Water During Windsor Red Bull Air Race Qualifying Session 5 June 2010

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Jun 082010

Courtesy: Red Bull http://www.redbullairrace.com

WINDSOR, Ontario – Australia’s Matt Hall had a scare during the first Qualifying session at the Red Bull Air Race in Windsor on Saturday when his plane touched the surface of the Detroit River but the former RAAF pilot quickly recovered and returned safely to Race Airport.

Hall was challenging for the lead in the first of two Qualifying sessions when he suffered an aerodynamic wing stall. His left wing skimmed the surface of the river that separates the United States and Canada. His right wheel cover hit the water as well but Hall was quickly able to regain control of his MXS-R aircraft and climb up away into the sky.

“I felt I was having a fairly good run,” Hall said. “I might have skipped twice on the water. It’s a very disappointing result for me. It’s the motor racing equivalent of touching the wall.”

Hall, who fought combat missions with the U.S. Air Force in Iraq, was confident his plane could be repaired in time for Qualifying 2 an hour later. He is hoping to get his third career podium in Windsor and has been in the top three in most training sessions this week.

“The plane is damaged but will be recoverable,” Hall said. “Our game plan is to get some rest for now. It will hit me harder in a few hours time. Everyone in aviation has been in some fairly tight situations before. I’ve been in tight situations before. I’m disappointed in myself for putting myself in that situation. We’re okay but we’ll move on from that. Everything’s fine.”

Hall’s plane was inspected in the air after his safety climb out by Nigel Lamb, another pilot who was flying in a holding pattern. Lamb said the damage all appeared to be superficial. Hall then landed safely back at the Race Airport in Windsor.

“The main damage is on the right aileron,” Hall said. “I think the plane is not that badly damaged. It is going to be a matter of replacing parts.”

Hall has two podiums in his career, including a second place finish in his home race in Perth, Australia in April. He joined the race in 2009 and became the most successful rookie in race history last year when he took third place overall. Hall is in fourth place so far this year.