Paul Bonhomme, Kirby Chambliss On The Podium In Second And
Third
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.
Hannes Arch After Sunday Win
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.
(L-R) Bonhomme, Arch, Chambliss On The
Podium
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-kilometer 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.
Bonhomme Splits The Pylons
“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.
Hall Touches The Water During Practice
Saturday
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.”
Chambliss Flies The Course Sunday
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.