WINDSOR ONTARIO, Canada - Kirby Chambliss (1st) proved all doubters wrong with a stunning comeback in Qualifying that confirmed his sterling training times on Friday. Chambliss gave the credit to his powerful new engine but it took some pretty nifty flying in Q2 to get in front of a very fast Paul Bonhomme, who got 2nd. Chambliss, whose technician worked hard overnight on obligatory engine adjustments, was an amazing 1.26 seconds ahead of Bonhomme in the end despite the modest loss in power and established himself as the clear favourite for Sunday’s race. “I was just trying to see how fast I could go. I don’t know if I could run quite that fast under the pressure tomorrow. We’re looking good. I’m excited about the engine and the airplane.” Chambliss, in 10th place overall, said he was glad to pick up the championship point but noted he’s already 22 points behind first-place Hannes Arch. “I wish we would have had this engine at the first part of the year. “
Paul Bonhomme (2nd) looked to be sitting pretty with sterling performances in Q1 and then posting an even faster time in Q2 after presenting fast, strong times all week in training. But Chambliss spoiled his afternoon with his spectacular 1:07.91 on the very last run of the day. “I’m hoping Kirby can’t do that two days in a row,” he said. “I think I settled down a little after the start. I’ll take a look at the video tonight and see where I can improve.” Bonhomme had hoped to pick up the one point in Qualifying to draw even with Nicolas Ivanoff in the championship in second place on 21 points – 2 behind Arch’s 23. But, alas, it was not to be. If nothing else, Bonhomme has been consistent this year – 2nd place in Abu Dhabi behind Arch, 2nd in San Diego behind Ivanoff and now 2nd in Qualifying here behind Chambliss. “I’m not a second place kind of guy,” Bonhomme likes to say.
Nicolas Ivanoff (3rd) said he tried to fly a bit more aggressively in Q2 after flying a little “too smoothly” in the first run but made a mistake in the quadro that prevented him from moving up on the time sheets. “But I’m still third. Kirby was really, really fast. I don’t know how he did that.” Ivanoff said the cooler weather on Saturday did not suit his Edge 540. “I’m hoping it’ll be warmer tomorrow. It’s cold and not very nice. The plane works better when it’s warm.” Ivanoff said Sunday’s race was wide open with an incredible six pilots (Chambliss, Bonhomme, himself, Hall, Arch and Lamb) all with a chance to win: “It’s wide open,” he said. “If you make just a tiny mistake you’re out. I can’t ever remember going into a race with this many people having a chance to win.”
Matt Hall (4th) got the best result of his young career, getting in front of Arch for the first time. The Australian rookie has now beaten everyone at least once except for Bonhomme and Ivanoff. “That was obviously a good run and I’m pretty happy with that,” he said. “There’s still some things that we can find. Overall, I’m very happy. That was racing conditions because there points up for grabs and I made it into the top 4, so I’m pretty happy.”
Hannes Arch (5th) leaves Qualifying in Windsor with his tail between his legs as he moves into 5th place ahead of the race and fails to secure the point available for the fastest time of the round. “I’m not happy with 5th place,” said the current world champion. “But the good thing is that neither Paul nor Nicolas got the point either but it went to Kirby who is so far behind.” The Austrian, who picked up a 2-second penalty in his second run which left him with a 1:10:89, isn’t planning to lose any sleep over the result however. “My net time was actually quite fast and I think I can avoid the mistakes. I think I can go a bit faster tomorrow but Kirby’s time today does make me a bit worried about the future.” Arch is fully aware that 2006 title holder Chambliss could pose a threat even if it’s unlikely he’ll take the title this year. “Everybody knows Kirby is a good pilot and he has a great aeroplane so I’m not surprised with the result. They must have done a good job with the new engine as he was ridiculously fast but he is really flying on the edge.”
Nigel Lamb (6th) continues to feel frustrated as he narrowly missed out on a high placing despite flying solid, clean runs in the 1:10 ballpark. “The first Qualifying run was a little workman-like, and I felt I didn’t fly quite as smooth as I would have liked in the first half of the run,” he said after the first flight but even with a consistent performance in the second round, the British pilot was downbeat. “I tried some slightly different lines and some sectors were better, some worse. I can’t see how the best sectors across both rounds could beat 1:07 so I’ll have to turn into a magician overnight. I’m very disappointed not to break 1:10.”
Mike Mangold (7th) finished up the day with a sense of indifference and said there was little more he could do to improve upon his 1:12:04 clean run. “I’m not particularly positive, nor am I super negative,” said the Californian pilot who has an improved engine for Windsor among other things. “We are where we’re at. I had a good second run but the penalty kinda killed it – so that’s not good. Take away the penalty though and it’s good enough for the top four or five.” Mangold said Kirby Chambliss had definitely “found the groove out there” but pointed out that it’s only when all the necessary elements are in place that pilots can do so well. “You’ve gotta fly the airplane well and you’ve gotta have a fast plane – I just can’t get much more out of mine.”
Michael Goulian (8th) had cause to be happy after securing his place in the Top 12 without having to battle it out in the Wild Card round for the first time this season with a 1:12:06. Even the pylon hit in the second run didn’t knock his mood, “I can’t believe I hit the gate but oh well, I kinda knew where we were after the first one so I said hey let’s fly at every gate!” joked the US pilot who has failed to deliver so far this season until Windsor. “The improvements to the engine have made a huge difference and we have an aeroplane which, if I do it right, can put us in the top four tomorrow and that’s great. And that’s all you need.”
Alejandro Maclean (9th) wrote off his second Qualifying run with the first pylon hit of the day. “That pylon just got in my way… yes, I touched the pylon and it was pretty close,” said the Spaniard as he reviewed his second training run with his team in the hangar. “The time would have been the same as the first one but it was still about 1:12 which is not good enough. I definitely have to improve that. It’s not enough. We we’re aiming for a 1:10ish, obviously 9th position is not good enough.” Remaining tight-lipped about the team’s specific race strategy, Maclean did admit that after trying a few things out, they had reverted to Plan A – whatever that might be. “We know the mistakes we made and we have to correct them.”
Pete McLeod (10th) chose the right race to show what he is capable of after just making it into the top 10, which means he can relax ahead of Sunday’s race as he automatically goes through to the next round. “Just being competitive is great,” said McLeod, clearly ecstatic with a clean 1:13:24 run which was actually the 7th fastest in Q2. “Knowing that you’re not 10 or 15 seconds behind, means it’s within reach for us now. If we can get our first championship point in Canada that will be amazing.” Having taken the plunge to begin modifying the team’s Edge 540, McLeod stands a good chance of doing his country proud in the first ever air race to be hosted by Canada. “The improvements have definitely helped but our pilot is also getting used to the track,” said team coordinator Nathan Herbert. “With the new wingtips it handles better in the track and there are quite a lot of other changes since San Diego. We’ve got new wheelpants fairings – the old ones didn’t cover the brakes but these do so it’s better aerodynamically and it all seems to be paying off. The mods we did are investments for the future and not just for a single race. The parts that we picked up are going to be on the plane next year too so it’s a long term decision to make modifications at this stage.”
Sergey Rakhmanin (11th) regretted making adjustments to the control column’s aileron channel in between the two Qualifying rounds and blamed his slower time in the latter session on this decision. “It wasn’t right but we weren’t able to test beforehand, but now we know,” said the Russian, who posted a time of 1:14:15 in Q2. “The plane became more difficult to control so we will change it back.” The programme of modifications that the MXS-R has undergone isn’t providing the results the team had hoped and morale appeared at a low ebb in the hangar at the end of Qualifying. Rakhmanin’s race plane is now at the minimum race weight of 540kg but the engine is just not producing the power that the pilot needs.
Matthias Dolderer (12th) seemed to be having more trouble in the track today and incurred penalties in both Qualifying runs. The German rookie was unable to demonstrate the promise seen back in Abu Dhabi where he scored a championship point in his first ever race. “It was a little bit disappointing again but we’ll be faster by Budapest,” said Dolderer, who refused to give much away. “We’re also going to try to make it lighter and of course we have to consider pilot skill which is very important. The smallest mistake, especially in this track puts you right down at the end. I don’t know how I could go faster through the track today.”
Glen Dell (13th) made the same mistake twice when he was penalised for flying too high through gate 14 in both rounds. “The problem wasn’t identifying a specific problem after the first time as we didn’t think it would happen again. It was so silly that we didn’t expect it to be a concern second time round. It happens, I guess,” shrugged the South African who remained an all-round good sport considering the frustration of missing out on a place in the top 10. “If you try and remain upbeat then it can lift your spirits from the depths of despair,” he added, only half joking. “It’s nigh on and it hasn’t been our best week for various reasons but it’s down to me. I’m just trying to get on top of the course as the aeroplane is flying well.”
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