The 15 pilots of 2009 Red Bull Air Race World Championship
Fifteen world-class pilots have qualified to compete in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship in 2009: Hannes Arch, Peter Besenyei, Paul Bonhomme, Kirby Chambliss, Glen Dell, Matthias Dolderer, Michael Goulian, Matt Hall, Nicolas Ivanoff, Nigel Lamb, Alejandro Maclean, Mike Mangold, Pete McLeod, Yoshi Muroya, Sergey Rakhmanin.
Current World Championship standings
After the first 3 races Hannes Arch is leading the 2009 World Championship with 33 points, 1 point ahead of Paul Bonhomme from Great Britain and 11 points ahead of Nicolas Ivanoff (France).
| POS | PILOT | NAT | PTS |
| 1 |
Hannes Arch |  AUT |
33 |
| 2 | Paul Bonhomme |  GBR |
32 |
| 3 | Nicolas Ivanoff |  FRA |
24 |
| 4 | Matt Hall |  AUS |
19 |
| 5 | Nigel Lamb | GBR |
18 |
| 6 | Mike Mangold |  USA |
18 |
| 7 | Sergey Rakhmanin |  RUS |
17 |
| 8 | Kirby Chambliss | USA |
13 |
| 9 | Peter Besenyei |  HUN |
10 |
| 10 | Alejandro Maclean |  ESP |
8 |
| 11 | Michael Goulian | USA |
6 |
| 12 | Glen Dell |  RSA |
3 |
| 13 | Matthias Dolderer |  GER |
1 |
| 14 | Yoshi Muroya |  JPN |
1 |
| 15 | Pete McLeod |  CAN |
1 |
Hannes Arch, Austria
Date of birth: 22 Sep 1967
Location: Salzburg, Austria
Race plane: Edge 540
Race number: 28
Team partner: Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority
Quote: Trying to defend my title is going to be harder than it was getting to the top. It was completely unexpected for me to win the championship in my second season. It was also exhausting. My goal was to get up to the middle of the field. Everything just fell into place. My team played a very big role, especially my technician Vito (Wypraechtiger). He made sure my aircraft was in top shape all time. I’m looking forward to defending the championship.
Homepage of Hannes Arch
Peter Besenyei, Hungary
Date of birth: 08 Jun 1956
Location: Herceghalom, near Budapest
Race plane: MXS-R
Race number: 05
Team partner: Red Bull
Quote: I hope the new machine will help me win again. I hope I will be much faster with the new aircraft. My race tactics have been fine and won’t change. Last year was my worst year even though I flew for the most part without making any mistakes. The performance of the aircraft fell far below our expectations.
Homepage of Peter Besenyei
Paul Bonhomme, Great Britain
Date of birth: 22 Sep 1964
Location: Cambridgeshire, GBR
Race plane: Edge 540
Race number: 55
Quote: The main goal for 2009 is consistency. Perhaps we could have done better on that score in 2008. As Hannes showed last year, you don’t necessarily have to win everything but you need to stay somewhere near the top. The goal was to win the championship last year and we didn’t achieve that. We’re looking forward to 2009.
Homepage of Paul Bonhomme
Kirby Chambliss, USA
Date of birth: 18 Oct 1959
Location: Flying Crown Ranch, Tucson, Arizona
Race plane: Edge 540
Race number: 4
Team partner: Red Bull
Quote: Second place is the first loser.
Homepage of Kirby Chambliss
Glen Dell, South Africa
Date of birth: 09 Apr 1962
Location: Kyalami, South Africa
Race plane: Edge 540
Race number: 45
Quote: Every pilot wants to be competitive and we were just not there in 2008. As a rookie it was fine to be learning the ropes for the first five or six races but after that it would have been good to get at least one point. We’ve got a clean slate in 2009 and what we believe is a competitive aircraft.
Homepage of Glen Dell
Matthias Dolderer, Germany
Date of birth: 15 Sep 1970
Location: Tannheim, Germany
Race plane: Edge 540
Race number: 21
Team supporter: G-Shock, Playboy
Quote: It’s hard to describe how proud I felt when I found out I’d been selected. At fi rst, I’ll be focussing on safety and avoiding penalties and then start attacking for points by mid-season. Naturally it would be a dream come true to get on the podium once in my rookie year. But I’ll still be satisfi ed if we get off to a good start, learn quickly and improve the performance continuously from race to race. A top 10 fi nish for 2009 would be cool.
Homepage of Matthias Dolderer
Michael Goulian, USA
Date of birth: 04 Sep 1968
Location: Maynard, Massachusetts
Race plane: Edge 540
Race number: 99
Quote: It’s awesome to have so much support. The atmosphere of 100-percent determination by everyone involved in the Red Bull Air Race is fantastic. I really thrive on that and hope I can start to put some wins
‘on the board’ in 2009.
Homepage of Michael Goulian
Matt Hall, Australia
Date of birth: 16 Sep 1971
Location: Merewether, Australia
Race plane: MXS-R
Race number: 95
Quote: My first goals are to stay safe and build the team to an efficient level, and then consistently improve my times. My specific target for the 2009 season is to finish in the top 10 for at least half the races and to make it to the Final 4 at least once. Using my background as a fi ghter pilot, I think I have the chance to show a different style of flying in the track.
Homepage of Matt Hall
Nicolas Ivanoff, France
Date of birth: 04 Jul 1967
Location: Paris, France
Race plane: Edge 540
Race number: 27
Quote: I’m looking forward to the challenges that await me and am relishing the chance to vie for victories in 2009. My goal is to be in the top half of the field and get on the podium as often as possible. It will take a dedicated team effort, lots of hard work and the right modifications. I think that with me flying well there’s no reason I can’t win a race or two.
Homepage of Nicolas Ivanoff
Nigel Lamb, Great Britain
Date of birth: 17 Aug 1956
Location: Oxfordshire, GBR
Race plane: MXS-R
Race number: 9
Team partner: Breitling
Quote: The goal – obviously - is to win the championship.
Homepage of Nigel Lamb
Alejandro Maclean, Spain
Date of birth: 06 Aug 1969
Location: Pozuela de Alarcon, Madrid
Race plane: MXS-R
Race number: 36
Quote: I’m proud that I’m quite transparent and I’m a straight-forward kind of guy with few secrets.
Homepage of Alejandro Maclean
Mike Mangold, USA
Date of birth: 10 Oct 1955
Location: Victorville, California
Race plane: Edge 540
Race number: 11
Quote: I want to dominate the championship and gather the points to achieve a 3rd win in 2009. I’ve made a lot of improvements and spent a lot of money on the plane over the winter. I didn’t take any time off this year. My team worked every day we could modifying, testing and preparing the aircraft for the 2009 season.
Homepage of Mike Mangold
Pete McLeod, Canada
Date of birth: 23 Feb 1984
Location: London Ontario, Canada
Race plane: Edge 540
Race number: 84
Quote: I’d like to prove to any critics that I’m ready for the Red Bull Air Race even though I’m the youngest rookie ever. I want to build a strong team this year and a foundation for a future world championship. It would be great to put pressure on the veterans. I would like to have podium potential in my second season and be able to make a run for the World Championship within three to five years. But it’s not easy because everyone seems to get faster every year.
Homepage of Pete McLeod
Yoshi Muroya, Japan
Date of birth: 27 Jan 1973
Location: Fukushima, Japan
Race plane: Edge 540
Race number: 31
Quote: The first goal is to fly safely and avoid penalties. Beyond that I think I can win at least eight points and make it to the Super 8 at least twice. For the first few races I’ll be concentrating on flying safe and getting through the track cleanly. After that, the goal will be the Super 8. I’m looking forward to bringing a bit more of a truly international scene to the race.
Homepage of Yoshi Muroya
Sergey Rakhmanin, Russia
Date of birth: 18 Oct 1961
Location: St. Petersburg, Russia
Race plane: MXS-R
Race number: 18
Quote: I feel quite satisfied with what I accomplished in the 2008 season. The key criteria for success is: did I utilise the plane’s potential? For each plane there’s a ‘theoretical best’ result for each particular course. The result is almost always worse. But the closer these two values are, the better job the pilot did using his plane’s potential. When I analyse the 2008 results, I think I did a good job of getting the most out of the plane’s potential. I think I made fewer mistakes and improved my effectiveness. So I accomplished my main goal.
Homepage of Sergey Rakhmanin
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