Team Abu Dhabi's Flying Falcon, Hannes Arch, recorded a stunning hat-trick of successive wins in the 2010 Red Bull Air Race World Championship on 6 June after a breathtaking display of aerial mastery in Windsor, Ontario – round four of the eight leg series.
Setting off second in the finals, the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA)-backed pilot set a blistering pace – shattering the track record with a time of 1:05:96 - which Championship leader Paul Bonhomme of Great Britain could not match. Final favourite, Nigel Lamb, succumbed to pre-race nerves to finish fourth after picking up a penalty.
The victory leapfrogged the Abu Dhabi ace into second place at the Championship half-way point, just two points behind Bonhomme. The win was more impressive given that Arch – the 2008 World Champion – started the weekend with a spectacularly heavy pylon hit in training which damaged his plane and left him visibly shaken.
"I put in two solid rounds in qualification on Saturday which were probably more important to me than securing the bonus point. After the scare of hitting the pylon, I needed to get in the right frame of mind for the finals," said Arch.
Success provided another major boost to ADTA's global marketing campaign. Arch, in his Abu Dhabi-emblazoned Pitt 530 aircraft, thrilled a live television audience of millions and a huge crowd of 110,000 watching from Windsor and Detroit, with close to 160,000 spectators attending the two days of high-speed, low-altitude racing.
Team Abu Dhabi did as much as it needed to secure a place in Sunday afternoon's final four before Arch demonstrated why Bonhomme needs to be nervously looking over his shoulder as the tour moves to New York and then Europe.
"Team Abu Dhabi has turned the early season lows into great anticipation with a stunning display of determination and strong mental attitude," said Ahmed Hussein, ADTA's Deputy Director General. "The team's efforts and remarkable performances in the last three races has created great momentum and left a second Championship win well within our sights."
