OXFORD, United Kingdom – He looks set for an overall podium finish in the 2010 Red Bull Air Race World Championship but Nigel Lamb, currently in 3rd place overall, says he won’t be satisfied unless he wins one of the two remaining back-to-back races in Europe.
After four years spent refining the all carbon-fibre MXS-R, Team Breitling believes it has a competitive machine and Lamb is chomping at the bit for a win after a string of top 4 finishes so far this season. In his most successful season to date, where he has notched up three out of a possible five podiums, the British pilot is convinced a win is within his reach.
“I feel very motivated to try and get a better position by the end of the year although I’m disappointed there are only two races left, of course,” admitted Lamb, following the news that the Budapest round will be the final this year instead of the anticipated race in Portugal. “The key thing for me is that after years spent trying to develop the MXS-R, finally having an aeroplane that can do the job and doing pretty well with it, is confidence building.”
Still making mistakes
A 2nd place result in New York cemented Team Breitling’s standing close to the top of the table. Lamb has 47 points overall, just a single championship point behind Austria’s Hannes Arch with a widening gap between the British pilot and American Kirby Chambliss on 35 points in 4th place with only two remaining rounds to go. Despite an encouraging performance so far, Lamb can still identify mistakes and isn’t taking his progress for granted.
“I’ve always believed that with the right aeroplane I could do it, but if I were to have any regrets this season so far then I think I threw away the Perth win,” Lamb says. “My biggest disappointment was to win the Qualifying point in Windsor then to screw it up in the race. On the other hand, at the time I was quite philosophical as I really went for it so there was less margin. I did come 2nd in New York but I’m very mindful that I was 2 seconds off the pace.”
A win on his mind
As the championship lands in Lausitz, Germany, for the fifth round at the start of August, Lamb only has one real objective on his mind – to win his first ever race. The top spot has so far eluded Lamb since his race debut in 2005 and it’s a bitter pill to swallow for the ultra-competitive pilot who has struggled to break out of the middle of the table until now.
“If I had another season not ‘making it’ I would be immensely frustrated,” he adds. “When I look back now it’s easy to say I wish I knew then what I know now. The truth is because we were making small changes year-on-year, I thought we were making the MXS-R better but it’s only with hindsight that I can see just how much better it is now. During each season I was more frustrated with myself than anything as I thought I should be doing better. When I look back now, I know if we’d made certain changes earlier I’d have done a whole lot better. At the time I just didn’t know.”
With the 2010 championship entering its final phase Lamb is looking forward to racing at the EuroSpeedway next month and hopes to build on the solid foundation he’s laid down in the first four races of 2010. While it may be tough for Lamb to catch up with fellow Brit and table leader Paul Bonhomme (53 points), the predictably unpredictable Arch could easily let that single point lead slip if Lamb can hold it together until the end of the season.
“There are two more chances to win this year and I reckon I’ll be pretty disappointed if I end the season without a win,” says Lamb, also suggesting there are several podium contenders out there who could steal his glory. “At the end of the season I’ll look back and if I’m on the podium for the championship that’ll be great but to be honest, I’d rather win a race. I think it’s do-able and I’m hoping no one will make any huge performance jumps before then.”
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