Race Team News- Training 4, Windsor
Paul Bonhomme (1st) cemented his top spot with composed flying in the final training sessions, finishing with a 1:11:28 run. “I took it very easy this afternoon I have to admit,” said the British pilot, known for his smooth flying style. “It’s very tempting to go whacking into it but I thought if I did the same as Hannes did this morning then I’d look a right prat. If you look at my 270 turns they’re pretty generous so I can save time on those tomorrow. I wouldn’t be surprised if others were doing the same. For anyone who saw the video this morning of Hannes’ pylon hit they would be mad if they didn’t take it a bit easier, especially as the wind has now got up from the west. This morning it wasn’t really much to worry about. This afternoon we were being compressed onto the 270 just like on last year’s race day.”
Nigel Lamb (2nd) showed a strong hand with the fastest time in the morning’s training before being overtaken by Bonhomme in the final session. “The track was much more difficult this afternoon,” said Lamb, who ended the day with a 1:11:83. “The wind is making the 270 much more difficult and thought-provoking, as is the return to the chicane. I was hoping to post a slightly faster time even with a slower track. At least it was penalty free.” Lamb said he wasn’t distracted by the morning’s drama and instead explained that he can easily compartmentalise things like a low pylon hit. “When something attention-grabbing happens like that, you’ve got to put it into its box and look at it, think about how it happened and whether your techniques are OK in that area. What did focus my mind was the fact that the wind was much less favourable.”
Matt Hall (3rd) pulled a convincing performance out of the bag despite suffering from a cold and stomach problem. “The plan today was to put together some consistent runs and after looking through things last night to try and find a faster combined line,” began Hall, who was less than a second behind Bonhomme in the afternoon. “I’m just not feeling that well at the moment so finding those consistent lines is taking its toll on my body as I’m really tired. This afternoon’s plan was to go as fast as I could but to conserve some energy, as I’m not 100 percent physically at the moment. That was a good thing as it wasn’t a very nice flight even though it was a good result. I could have made some bad mistakes. Going to Rio and back and then to Windsor has had an impact and my family has been sick and now I’ve caught it too. I’m quite tired and I just need to do nothing in between the flying.”
Kirby Chambliss (4th) flew well in both training sessions only just slipping from 3 rd to 4 th in the final practice run. “All things considered I think we had a pretty good run but that being said I’m hoping I can find another second out there and nobody else can,” said Chambliss, flying with his slower spare engine after a swap was advised by the technical director earlier in the week. “It’s not like we’ve got a bad engine but it’s a little down on power from the front guys. The airplane is going great and I’m flying pretty good and the engine is nice and smooth. I just wish it would put out about another 20hp.”
Matthias Dolderer (5th) built on yesterday’s positive result finishing in the top half of the table for the second day running. “I’m not consistent at the top but I am consistent in the middle,” joked Dolderer after today’s training, where he picked up a penalty in the afternoon. “The 2 seconds wouldn’t have changed anything. The run this morning was a bit better. Overall I am quite satisfied and the main goal was to not hit a pylon and to get through the track safely so I have more confidence for tomorrow. I am quite happy.”
Sergey Rakhmanin (6th) had the most promising result so far this season, finishing well out of the bottom of the table in both sessions. “I have to understand where I got penalties and try to avoid this tomorrow,” said the Russian, who admits he’s not comfortable in the Windsor track and has laid out a scale model of the course on his hangar floor. “I’m trying to brainstorm to work out how to fly it. This track is very special actually as it’s really tight and you have to prepare well for certain places. This is my style of preparation and I separate the different parts of the track to work out how to fly it. Each part has its own aims. It’s very difficult to imagine the whole track. If my planning is right then the flight is much more comfortable.”
Hannes Arch (7th) made the headlines today after he plummeted in the track, stalled and had a spectacular pylon hit in the morning’s session. After damage to the V3 was repaired and signed off by both the technical director and aircraft manufacturer, Arch was able to get back in the saddle but took it easy. “It was really important for me to get back out there this afternoon,” said Arch, after the later flight where he picked up 5 seconds in penalties (1:16:87). “To get rid of the mental stress after something like that is quite challenging. I tried to cruise through the track and was a little bit too high after the 270 but I gained my confidence back.”
Martin Sonka (8th) was finally able to finish with a decent result after flying well all day. He laid down a 1:17:25 clean run in the afternoon and climbed the ranks to finish above many more experienced race pilots. “I’m totally happy with the result,” said the Czech rookie. “No penalties; it’s super. I think I can definitely go faster as I was a bit more careful as the wind was variable. I didn’t want to make a mistake on the 270 so I kept it quite open. I was one second longer in that turn than this morning. I would be happy if I can fly like this again tomorrow.”
Pete McLeod (9th) made a series of mistakes in the afternoon’s training session but wasn’t deterred and remained positive about his chances in Windsor. “I had 6 seconds in penalties and they’re little things but they clearly add up. But based on how the week has gone so far, I’m happy,” said McLeod who posted a disappointing 1:18:50 run. “I’m starting to relax in the track and settling in. We’ll see what we can pull together for Quali day. I realise there’s a lot of factors at play here for me and not just the track and me, which it is at some races. The challenge is managing all those factors and the only thing that matters after the fact is how you do in the track.”
Peter Besenyei (10th) was finding his feet with the new Corvus and its replacement engine, swapped yesterday afternoon. “I don’t want to fly to the limit as it’s a new plane and I have to learn how to fly it,” said the Hungarian who finished with a 1:18:74 time. “There are lots of small things we can improve on the plane. Slowly step-by-step I can be faster in the plane but today the main task was to be in the track and fly safely. We wanted to see how the plane was performing. We cannot go on the limit on the first day with a new plane. The main design concept wasn’t to make life easier for the pilot but the wider shape after the engine is supposed to be more aerodynamic.”
Nicolas Ivanoff (11th) slipped from a promising 6 th place in the morning’s training session and said the second chicane was proving a problem for him, which led to a DQ in the afternoon. “I did the second 270 too tight and I was too late for the gate and missed the chicane,” said the French pilot. “The first part of the flight was good so it’s not a write-off but I have to work out the second part.”
Michael Goulian (12th) was reflecting on his sub-par flight in the final run which saw him drop to the bottom of the table. “I’m really not feeling very comfortable in the track,” admitted the American pilot after receiving a DQ in the afternoon session for dangerous flying. “I was getting low in spots and am behind the airplane which is not where I want to be. Tomorrow I’ll just be very relaxed and try to go out there and take the gates off one at a time and see if we can get a good result in Qualifying.”
Alejandro Maclean (13th) also fell foul of the judges when the Spanish pilot deviated from the course in the final training run and was given a DQ. It was a shame for Maclean who had finished 9 th in the morning’s session with a 1:16:03, even with 2 seconds in penalties. “I couldn’t finish in the track,” said Maclean. “The wind literally blew me out of the track.”
Yoshi Muroya (14th) suffered a DNS due to his race plane being damaged earlier in the week and a suitable replacement unable to make it in time for the final training session. The Japanese team’s efforts to salvage something in Windsor were in vain and Muroya will not race this weekend.
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