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 Bonhomme and Hannes Arch that he could still win the 2010 championship with a victory in the season finale despite sitting in third place overall.
Germany’s Matthias Dolderer gave his home fans something to cheer about with fifth in the session at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz after taking a strong second in the morning session.
Lamb (47 points) trails compatriot Bonhomme (53) and Austria’s Arch (48) but could collect a maximum 13 points up for grabs this weekend if he wins Qualifying and the race. Lamb would claim the 2010 title if Bonhomme were to stumble and end up sixth (6 points) or lower. A win in Qualifying and the race would give Lamb 60 points, which would also be enough to beat Arch even if the Austrian ended second.
“The championship is still in my grasp but things would have to go horribly wrong for Bonhomme,” Lamb said after his flawless run through the 15-gate track set up in the infield of the EuroSpeedway Lausitz race track. “I’d have to win Qualifying and the race and Paul would have to have very bad form. But overall it’s nice to know that I’ve got a lot of things right today and don’t have a lot of analysing to do overnight.”
Lamb, who has never won a race, has nevertheless been among the most consistent pilots this year with five straight Final Four appearances -- three second place finishes and two fourths. He also won the Qualifying point in Windsor. He was pleased with his strong run on Thursday and full of confidence about the race in front of an expected full house.
Bonhomme suspects Lamb running with more power
“I had a good flight and I’m really happy to be quite consistent in the track,” said Lamb, who like the other pilots was full of praise about the location of the race at the world class motorsport track south of Berlin. “I found some places on the track where I could fly a bit quicker in the afternoon. I tried to fix up some of the weak places and go faster on the stronger places. I really enjoyed it. I like the track. It’s a wonderful track.”
Lamb stopped the clock in 1:12.55 with Bonhomme second in 1:13.21 and Nicolas Ivanoff of France in third in 1:14.21. Arch was fourth in 1:14.50, Dolderer fifth in 1:14.84 and Australia’s Matt Hall sixth in 1:16.22. There will be two training sessions on Friday ahead of Saturday’s Qualifying and Sunday’s race.
Bonhomme, who had the fastest time in the morning session, was not unduly concerned about being beaten by Lamb in the afternoon. “I think Lamb may be running with more power than me. I’m not running at full power yet. So far so good. It’s a good track. It’s easy to fly but difficult to fly quickly. There’s a couple of 180-degree turns and a 270, so there’s a lot of tactics to be had in there so it should be fun.”
Arch could still beat Bonhomme if he gets a maximum 13 points and Bonhomme finishes fourth or lower. He said he was pleased to move up to fourth from sixth earlier on Thursday. But the 2008 champion knows he will need to win both the Qualifying and race to have a fighting chance to beat Bonhomme for the title. “I’m still making little mistakes,” Arch said.
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