LAUSITZ, Germany – The title is hanging in the balance for defending Red Bull Air Race world champion Paul Bonhomme as the final race at the EuroSpeedway in Lausitz unfolds today. All season the Brit has maintained a strong presence at the top of the table with clean flying but his secret weapon this year could indeed be an elusive Brazilian academic hidden away at the back of the team’s hangar.
Paolo Iscold, from the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Belo Horizone, Brazil has been providing Team Bonhomme with in depth data analysis since the start of the 2010 season. A lecturer in aeronautical engineering and aerodynamics, Iscold became involved in the motorsport through an association with former South African pilot Glen Dell.
“He’s been helping us all season and has been with us at the past four races,” says Bonhomme. “It’s an excellent investment and in the future is a definite ‘must-have’ – I don’t think you can do it without that insight.”
The experience Iscold brings to the team has proven invaluable for real-time track analysis and Bonhomme says he has absolute faith in the feedback. “It’s very helpful,” the defending champion nods. “The real benefit is having somebody there who immediately has the intelligence to do it – by that I mean the physical data gathering but also the wit to actually do it – and also the various computer tools we use. He can also take the video data and very quickly say this is where I’m going wrong. It saves me hours and hours poring over data at night. I can chill out and relax instead.”
High-level aerodynamic evaluation is complex to say the least and Iscold studies G-loadings, speed and acceleration among other parameters to assist the team with specific strategies for each gate. Bonhomme admits sometimes he can glaze over with information overload but never doubts the quality of advice given. “Sometimes I do wonder what the hell he’s talking about!” laughs the Brit. “But I absolutely follow his advice and that’s what you need. I’ve had friends say to me ‘you want to turn a bit tighter at gate 4’ but you need something more than that. Paolo can say to me ‘at gate 4 your load factor is increasing too high and you’re slowing down too much. At gate 5 your speed is this and you can add a tenth of a second here and you’ll gain three tenths of a second later on. It’s the science of it all that matters.”
Getty Images for Red Bull Air Race
Article Details
Related Content
Bonhomme wins 2010 Championship, Arch victorious in Germany Aug 8, 2010
LAUSITZ, Germany - Britain's Paul Bonhomme won the 2010 Red Bull Air Race World Championship by taking second place behind Austria's Hannes Arch in the final race of the season at the EuroSpeedway...
Bonhomme takes Quali point, Arch stumbles Aug 8, 2010
LAUSITZ, Germany – The title quest has reached fever pitch after an edge-of-the-seat Qualifying round at the EuroSpeedway track in Lausitz, Germany.
Teams refuse to let rain dampen spirits after postponed Qualifying Aug 7, 2010
LAUSITZ, Germany – Weather played havoc in the first Qualifying race session today with only seven of the fourteen pilots able to complete their flight in the track before conditions worsened and the...
"I expect Arch to take the point today," says Bonhomme Aug 7, 2010
LAUSITZ, Germany – Defending champion Paul Bonhomme is five points clear of his main adversary Hannes Arch at the top of the table with a total of 53 points overall and the 2010 championship title...
Arch atop time sheets before Germany Red Bull Air Race Aug 6, 2010
LAUSITZ, Germany – Austria's Hannes Arch was atop the time sheets on Friday in the final training session ahead of the weekend's Red Bull Air Race at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz, beating championship...
Lamb heads Bonhomme and Arch in Thursday training Aug 5, 2010
LAUSITZ, Germany - Britain’s Nigel Lamb posted the fastest time of the day in training on Thursday ahead of the weekend’s Red Bull Air Race in Germany, sending a pointed reminder to rivals Paul...
Comments
Add a comment