Leads Field By 9 Points With One More Race To Go
Austria's Hannes Arch won his second consecutive Red Bull Air
Race today with a thrilling victory in Porto and Gaia in front of
650,000 spectators, beating American Kirby Chambliss and knocking
Britain's Paul Bonhomme off the top of the World Championship to
take the lead.
"It feels really great," said Arch, who opened up a nine-point
lead in the penultimate race of the season. "It's hard to believe
that I just got my second victory in only my second year -- and I'm
so far ahead in the championship. I'm really enjoying this
moment."
Arch now leads with 54 points. Bonhomme is second on 45 and
Chambliss is third with 44 points. Arch needs one point in the
final race in Perth to win the championship. Bonhomme would have to
win the season finale and hope Arch would finish with zero
points.
Though it would seem Arch has victory in the bag, he isn't
putting the cart before the horse. "I don't have it yet. As we saw,
Paul messed up and if the same thing happens to me in Perth
everything can change," he said. "The World Championship isn't over
until Perth is finished."
A total of one million spectators packed the banks of the Douro
River during the two days of racing making it one of the biggest
crowds at a sporting event in Portugal. Red Bull organizers say
every inch of space was filled with people eager to catch a glimpse
of the pilots competing on the high speed track beneath brilliant
blue skies against the breathtaking backdrop of the famous
red-tiled roofs in the steep river valley.
"It feels like an arena here," Arch said. "You can feel the
crowd's excitement." Chambliss was surprised by Arch's sudden burst
of speed in the final. "I ran a good race. I went as fast as this
plane will go. I'm satisfied."
Bonhomme tried to put the weekend in perspective. He had
dominated the first half of the championship, winning three of the
first four races by wide margins until his home race in London
where he finished 7th. He recovered to get third in Budapest but
fell to 10th and zero points in Porto – the crucial blow
coming in Saturday's Qualifying when he got a costly
disqualification for exceeding the maximum load factor of 12 gs on
one high-speed loop.
The 2008 Red Bull Air Race World Championship concludes with the
eighth and final race in Perth, Australia on November 1-2. "I'll be
there," Bonhomme said. "It's not over yet."