Paul Bonhomme (1st) got the victory he was hoping for after a day of chaotic problems arising from the soaring temperatures in Abu Dhabi. Posting a 1:14:06 clean run in the Final 4, the British defending world champion took his place on the top of the podium and claimed 12 points to move 10 points clear of Hannes Arch.
“We’re not thinking about that,” said Bonhomme as he arrived back at the hangar to be cheered on by his team and Race Airport supporters. “We’re just pleased that we came first, that’s the key thing. It shows the pressure is on and having this lead is a great head start for Perth. I was just thinking I've got a job to do here. I knew there were a lot of guys up there. I knew I've just got to concentrate. Clearly, I've got a huge advantage today. But there are a lot of races this year and a lot could still happen. What happened to Hannes could happen to any of us. It's happened to me before.”
With only weeks until the next race in Perth, the British pilot was his usual non-committal self when asked about plans for the next race: “We’ve got a few little tweaks and hopefully it’ll be a bit cooler than it is here. It can’t be 45 degrees C. If it’s 35 it’ll be nice and cool,” he said.
Nigel Lamb (2nd) took his place on the podium alongside fellow Brit Bonhomme after what was a sterling performance from the Team Breitling pilot. With 10 points collected for his 1:14:92 clean run, the attention grabbing winglets may have brought the pilot luck in today’s difficult conditions. “What can I say… it’s been a long journey with lots of ups and downs,” said a relieved Lamb. “I have a great team to thank because it’s been very difficult to be race ready here. We’ve had lots of problems and without the team I wouldn’t have even got into the Super 8 because of all the starting problems. It’s been a great start to the season.”
With a varied range of flying experience to call upon, Lamb believes today’s secret to podium success was down to dealing with the conditions in the track rather than just horsepower. “Today wasn’t so much about aeroplane performance it was about dealing with the heat and a completely different wind,” he explained. “It was more about keeping your nose clean and not getting any penalties.”
Lamb is looking forward to the next round in Perth with renewed vigour and added: “We’ve got a bit of work to do to rectify some things to do with starting and the electrics. Otherwise we’re good and in a strong position to go to Perth. We’re absolutely keeping the winglets on!”
Peter Besenyei (3rd) did a series of victory rolls with a wide grin plastered across his face after his surprising podium spot was announced while the pilot was still in the air above the UAE capital. “I’m super happy,” he gushed back at the Race Airport. “At the beginning of the week I expected to be happy with a Super 8 finish but then I was in the Super 8 and I started to hope for a podium. I’m really happy.” Despite running a slow MXS-R this year, the Hungarian pilot managed to scoop 9 points with a run that was a whopping 7 seconds off the pace and included 4 seconds in penalties. “The conditions were difficult and I like that normally,” added Besenyei. “If it's too easy, there's nothing to do. If it's difficult you can do something else. It was difficult because the wind kept changing. Today was also extremely hot. It was hot for the pilots and the engines. The plane cannot fly as smoothly as it can in cool air.”
Michael Goulian (4th) had two rollercoaster moments when he was given a second chance to fly in the Super 8 after Arch screwed up but was left disappointed in the Final 4 when his fuel was too hot and the Edge failed to start on the grid. “It was a little crazy, for sure,” said a drenched Goulian as he walked back to the hangar in the sweltering heat with a DNS recorded on the time sheets. “I thought we were going to be on the podium so I was just going to go for a smooth ride. I knew we couldn’t catch Paul or Nigel, I knew that, we were just trying to get a third place. When these engines are hot – it’s 105 degrees F out here – they just don’t wanna go. Pretty soon you just have to say that’s it.” The US pilot banks a healthy 8 points – not a bad result for not having to fly in the last round.
Pete McLeod (5th) achieved a career best with a solid performance in each round before being overtaken by the frontrunners for a spot in the Final 4. He picks up a very respectable 7 points even with a pylon hit in his Super 8 1:20 run. “I got one of the fastest net times but the penalty cost me,” said McLeod, whose family was supporting him in Canada via the live blog on the Red Bull Air Race website. “You’ve got to really push it in the Super 8 and I was running out of a bit of roll rate coming into the last gate. It was good experience for the team to move through 3 rounds, so we’re happy. It’s a little anti-climatic though as without the penalties we’d easily have been in the Final 4. But what can you do? We’re still happy.”
Kirby Chambliss (6th) fell foul of the rules today and was disqualified in the Super 8s for dangerous flying when he swooped too low in the track. The Texan pilot, who has a tendency to push hard in the track takes home 6 points but couldn’t explain why he’d made such a schoolboy error. “I don’t know what was going on out there today,” he said. “Maybe it was just too hot and we weren’t thinking properly; maybe our brains were fried. It was a silly mistake I made going that low but those are the rules. The conditions aren’t anything we shouldn’t be able to deal with.”
Matthias Dolderer (7th) had to settle for 5 points after missing the chance to fly in the Final 4 due to a DQ for low flying. The German pilot had deteriorated over the week and knows there is work to do ahead of Perth. “I’m absolutely disappointed,” he said. “I’ve just reviewed the video and it seems I was a little bit low, so yes it was right. It was a shame because I was in a positive mood to do a good run, but it just didn’t work out. I could have easily made it into the Final 4. The weather didn’t play a role on this it was a flying error being too low. I must feel safe with everything under control. It was chaotic out there today but that’s racing.”
Matt Hall (8th) was given a DNS after failing to start his new MXS-R on the gridstand as he prepared to fly in the Super 8 round. “We are running so much equipment in the aircraft that our battery just can’t keep up,” explained a deflated Hall back at the hangar, settling for 4 points in the first race of the season. “We just couldn’t start the plane. I think I could have easily made the Final 4 today with how I was flying and everyone else being knocked out. I’ve definitely lost 4 or 5 points in the championship. We could have got in the rankings today with the engine we’re currently running but it was down to an electrical issue.”
Nicolas Ivanoff (9th) takes home 3 points from the Abu Dhabi race but a ninth place finish was much lower than expected from the unpredictable pilot who could only manage a 1:22:76 due to the 8 penalty seconds incurred. “I was especially worried about the temperature which increased by 10 degrees from yesterday,” explained Ivanoff, who is flying a newly restyled Edge 540 this year. “In these conditions the plane can feel really different. I made a mistake; I thought that the wind was not so strong unfortunately at gate 3. After that I went as fast as I could and again made a mistake at gate 6 and then another one.”
Yoshi Muroya (10th) met with a pylon in his Top 12 run and was unable to hold it together, collecting an additional 2 penalty seconds for an incorrect knife edge. “As everybody has found, the wind has shifted from the training rounds,” said the Japanese pilot, who has shown a smoother flying style so far in Abu Dhabi. “I noticed gate 3 would be dangerous but I was a little bit behind the plane. I still need more training so I can become consistent. In maybe 2 or 3 races if I can be a consistent pilot then we’ll be fine. The plane is already going fast and the team works well for Perth. I know the problem and I just need to improve with a little bit more time.” Muroya leaves the UAE capital with 2 championship points.
Hannes Arch (11th) did well to keep a lid on his anger over the judges’ DQ call when he flew too low in the track in the Top 12 round. It was definitely the shock result of the day and the former world champion was only able to add a single point to the one gained in Qualification. “It’ll be awful if I only take one point,” Arch had said yesterday, but faced with a dismal result today it was obvious the Team Abu Dhabi pilot felt wronged. “Yes it will hurt my championship bid but it affects the whole spirit of the race. I’m not agreeing with the call at all. The judges don’t know what they are doing out there. The way I have to judge is by what I did last year. I didn’t do anything wrong and it’s a complete joke. I was late at the gate and they should have given me a penalty. I think they are looking for something different to us; they are not sitting in our aircraft. We all know what is dangerous and I would admit if I’d done something dangerous here.”
Alejandro Maclean (12th) faced a second day of frustration after his fuel pump failed ahead of the Top 12 round. He leaves Abu Dhabi with no points. “During the Wild Card round the engine was not pumping up and was hesitating so I had to switch to emergency fuel,” said the Spanish pilot, who had to sit out Qualifying due to his MXS-R weighing in too light yesterday. “When I landed we tried to sort it out but the problem persisted and we didn’t have enough time to change the main engine fuel pump so I had to quit. I’m really frustrated, we could have been there, at least among the top 8.”
Martin Sonka (13th) missed out on a place in the Top 12 after picking up penalties in the Wild Card round and posting a 1:39:78. “The conditions today were really difficult especially for us rookies,” said the Czech pilot, who usually flies the L-159 Alca jet in the Air Force. “The wind was coming from over the town so it was too bumpy from the turbulence. I don’t think hitting the first pylon distracted me too much but the most difficult part was the 270 degree turn with the two knife edges. The first time I managed to fly how I wanted to fly. The second time I didn’t count on such strong wind and I underestimated it. That was why I had the second pylon hit.”
Adilson Kindlemann (14th) was knocked out in the Wild Card round after a chaotic run where the Team Petrobras pilot picked up astaggering 28 penalty seconds. He posted a 1:56:57 but at least made it through the track. “The wind in the track was totally different today,” said the Brazilian rookie, still smiling despite a colourful start to his race career. “It was coming from the left and the turns were totally different and I hit two pylons but that’s life. I didn’t make big mistakes like crossing the crowd line so I’m happy. I’m going step by step. For sure I can learn more from watching the pilots. Now it’s time to relax and look at the masters.”
Sergey Rakhmanin (15th) received a DQ for crossing the crowd line in the Wild Card round but later questioned the rules saying that his trajectory through the track was what he considered a good race line. “We are disappointed, of course,” said Rakhmanin with complete frustration as he watched the other pilots continue to race. “We need to know exactly where the crowd line is – it has to be marked. If the best trajectory goes through the crowd line then it’s not right. If there is a place for the crowd line I need to see it. The track design overall is good but maybe we need to move the gate a little bit? Maybe 30m or 50m. If we’re supposed to be thinking about the best line through the track, we can’t be thinking about where the crowd line is.”
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