LAUSITZ, Germany – Hungary's Peter Besenyei and Britain's Paul Bonhomme will be flying in their 50th Red Bull Air Race at the EuroSpeedway in Germany. The two veteran aces have been in every race since the sport was created in 2003.
They not only have arguably the most elegant of flying styles but are also among the most successful: Bonhomme, the 2009 world champion, has 13 career victories and 35 podiums from those 49 races so far while Besenyei, who was first overall in 2003 and finished in second place in 2004, 2005 and 2006, has a total of eight career wins and 22 podiums.
“There have been some special moments – particularly all those race victories,” said Besenyei, 54, who helped develop the sport in 2001 that was launched in 2003 with two races. “At first I never dreamed the race would be as successful as it’s become. In the beginning I was always happy after the races when the last plane landed safely and everything went well. It’s a great thing that we’ve never had any serious issues over the years and that makes me happy. It’s a very good memory to have. The race has been a great success for everyone.”
Besenyei, a national hero in Hungary and the first man to fly upside down under the famous Szechenyi Chain Bridge in Budapest in 2001, said he could not have imagined at those first races in 2003 in Zeltweg, Austria and Budapest that up to one million spectators would come to later races – like in Rio de Janeiro. There have also been well over a half million specators at other races in Budapest, Barcelona and Porto. “I was always focusing on the actual racing,” he said. “I don’t think anyone dreamed the race would take off the way it has. I think back then we all needed to have some races to see how successful it could be.”
There were six pilots in that first season and Besenyei won both races in Austria and Hungary. Others included Steve Jones (Britain), Alejandro Maclean (Spain), Klaus Schrodt (Germany) and Jurgis Kairys (Lithuania). Kirby Chambliss (USA) joined for the second race in Budapest in 2003. Both Chambliss and Maclean missed a few races in the early years while Bonhomme and Besenyei were at ever race.
There were two races in 2003 and three in 2004 before the World Championship was launched in 2005 with seven races. There were eight races in 2006, 10 in 2007, eight in 2008 and six in both 2009 and 2010.
Bonhomme dominant force
Bonhomme, who holds a five-point lead in the championship this year going into the final race at the EuroSpeedway in Lausitz, has been a dominant force the last four years with one title in the bag and possibly a second coming in the race in Germany. He also took second in both 2007 and 2008. But before that he was a middle-of-the-pack racer during the first two years of the world championship, with fifth overall in 2005 and fourth in 2006. He also couldn’t imagine the race would take off as it has when he flew for the first time at the first race in Austria in 2003
“I did not think there’d be 50 races,” said Bonhomme. “I had no idea we’d be where we are today.” But Bonhomme, who is one of the most self-critical and demanding pilots in the championship, added: “I don’t think we are where we should be now. There are still a lot of improvements to make this a truly global sport.”
Bonhomme now flies in an Edge 540 but in the early days he flew another plane. “I was flying in a Sukhoi 26 and I was hanging on for my life,” he said. “It’s the most perfect aerobatic aeroplane but it’s not good for racing.”
Bonhomme has broken many records for consistency – including being on the podium for the last 12 races going back to the final race of the 2008 season. He said he is hoping for a “lucky 13 th ” podium in Lausitz on August 7-8. “Winning a race is always my favourite moment,” Bonhomme said. “For some reason I can only remember those races!”
He was reluctant to pick out any of his record 13 victories as the most special but after some prodding admitted his championship-winning triumph in the 2009 season finale in Spain to stave off Austria’s Hannes Arch was probably the most memorable. “The win in Barcelona last year is probably the biggest, even though there are too many highlights to mention.”
Besenyei's many different planes
Besenyei, who was last on the podium with third place in Abu Dhabi in the season opener this year, also has many happy memories. The Hungarian has been a driving force behind the improving technology in the sport and has flown in just about every plane that has appeared in the race: an Edge 540, an Extra 300S, an MXS-R and now his latest plane, a Corvus Racer.
“The different kinds of improvements we’ve had over the years makes the whole sport more interesting and it’s good that way,” Besenyei said. “All kinds of sports are moved forward when there’s a competitiveness to the development.”
Bonhomme agreed, and added that another of his favourite aspects of the race is that there is always room for everyone to learn and improve. He called his heavy pylon hit at the 2007 race in Istanbul an important learning experience. “My pylon hit in Istanbul in ‘07 was an eye-opener for all the wrong reasons,” he said. “It bounced back, though, and that was probably the best thing to happen to me from a learning point-of-view.”
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