Red Bull Air Race

WINDSOR, Ontario – Paul Bonhomme’s lead in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship melted to just three points in Brazil after he was forced to settle for a second straight third-place finish in Rio de Janeiro but the defending champion is hoping to get back on track in the next race in Windsor which has become one of his favourite cities in the world. It will also be a special homecoming for Canada’s Pete McLeod, the surprise package this year who has moved up to a strong fifth place.

Britain’s Bonhomme, eager to stave off the twin challenges from his compatriot Nigel Lamb as well as Hannes Arch of Austria, is confident the fun-loving Canadian city on the Detroit River will be the tonic he needs to rejuvenate his campaign in the fourth round on June 5/6 the same way Windsor gave him a crucial boost last year. Windsor was Bonhomme’s first win in 2009 and it turned his season around – he won three of the last four races to overtake Arch and win his first title.

But Lamb, having the best season of his career, and Arch also know history could be on their side – in the previous three years the early-season leader failed to win the championship. “I know he’s human and he’ll get nervous,” Arch said of Bonhomme.

McLeod within striking range

Bonhomme is still leading with 31 points while Lamb (28 points) and Arch (27 points) are nipping at his heels as the championship moves from South America to North America for two races in Windsor and New York before shifting to Europe for the final three races.

Australia’s Matt Hall (22 points) and McLeod (19 points) are also within striking range of the leading trio.
Bonhomme’s lead over Arch has shrunk from 10 points to four in the last two races after the Austrian won both Perth and Rio.

“It was frustrating in Rio but we’re looking forward to Windsor,” said Bonhomme, the most successful pilot in Red Bull Air Race history with 12 victories. Bonhomme has also been on the podium for 10 straight races. “I know I’ve got a very competitive airplane so we’re looking forward to the next race.”

As a reflection of how tight the championship has become, Bonhomme and Lamb were protesting that Arch got all 13 points for the Rio race – 12 points for being declared the race winner on top of the one point he won the previous day as the fastest Qualifier. It was a record points haul for a single run.

Racing Hard

Arch, who has now won 25 out of 26 possible points from the last two races, went all out in the Rio Qualifying session because he knew on Saturday that storm clouds were brewing. The rain and wind picked up during the Top 12 session, making it impossible to continue with the racing.

“I love the Brazilian weather, especially if it rains,” Arch said with a laugh at the post-race news conference in Rio. “We realised on Saturday that the race-day weather could be bad so we said let’s try to make sure we’re ahead of everyone in Qualifying.

Lamb, with two second-place finishes in three races this year, agreed that all 14 pilots treated Qualifying as if it could be the race due to the ominous weather forecast.

“We all knew the weather could be really bad so everyone was really racing out of their skin in Qualifying,” said Lamb. “It’s still disappointing not managing to do it in Qualifying.”