Tue, Jun 16, 2009
Brit Flies Flawlessly In Windsor
Britain's Paul Bonhomme soared to victory in the Red Bull Air
Race World Championship on Sunday with a thrilling win over rival
Hannes Arch of Austria in Windsor, Ontario. It was Bonhomme's ninth
career win, and put him just one point behind Arch in the
championship. Even though most of the frontrunners struggled to
avoid penalties on the windy, turn-filled course straddling the
Canada-U.S. border on the Detroit River, Bonhomme managed to fly a
series of flawless runs to the Final 4 and was then once again in a
class by himself, posting a winning time of 1:08.16 on the 15-gate
course. Arch was second, 1.15 seconds behind, and USA's Kirby
Chambliss took third. Canada's Pete McLeod got the first
championship point of his rookie career with 11th place to the
delight of the big home crowd of 215,000.
"This was by far the hardest race I've ever won if you look at the
times the other guys have been posting all week," said Bonhomme. He
said he was relieved that he just missed touching a pylon on the
final run. "There were times when I thought I was going to hit a
pylon. You just have to push. If you want to win this thing you
have to go to the limit. That's the difference between winning or
losing: missing the pylon by one millimeter or just hitting it by
one millimeter. But we made it. I'm very pleased."
Arch said he was surprised to be hit with the two-second
penalty. "I don't know where I got the penalty. I'm not really very
happy at the moment. I wanted to win here and I have to respect the
judges' decision. But I am disappointed."
The race in Windsor, the third in the six-race championship this
year, was also a triumph for the three Americans on the circuit.
Chambliss, the 2006 world champion, got to the winner's podium for
the first time this season, after struggling with just three points
in the first two races, thanks to his powerful new engine. Mike
Mangold, a two-time champion in 2005 and 2007, got his campaign
back on track with a season-best fourth place. Michael Goulian also
made a big jump higher, climbing to sixth after coming 14th in the
first two races in Abu Dhabi and San Diego.
A total of 290,000 spectators attended the weekend's racing in
Windsor, Ontario, the first race to take place in Canada. The Red
Bull Air Race World Championship heads to Europe for the next stop
in Budapest, Hungary on 19/20 August.
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