British flying ace Paul Bonhomme got his racing season off to a winning start by storming to a brilliant victory over surprise package Hannes Arch of Austria in the final of the opening round of the Red Bull Air Race World Series in Abu Dhabi today (Friday).
Watched by an enthralled audience of 350,000 spectators, 43 year-old Bonhomme - who lost the 2007 world title by less than half a second - was dominant all weekend in his Edge 540 and underlined his championship credentials outgunning his Austrian rival by a huge 7.05s in the final shoot-out over the 5km course off the Abu Dhabi Corniche.
With a new engine cowling modification designed to reduce drag and increase fuel efficiency, Bonhomme appears to have discovered a winning formula as he bids to become the first British champion in the ten-round air race series. During three testing sessions and qualifying, the British pilot was consistently quicker than his eleven racing rivals in Abu Dhabi and in today’s (Friday) ‘Super Eights’, semis and final he was again supreme
In his first final, Arch showed his inexperience with an error-strewn performance that included two penalties in a time of 1m:10.36s. As expected, Bonhomme was flawless as he steered his distinctive red and white aircraft to a time of 1m:03.31s to lift the maximum nine points.
“Our work over the winter had definitely paid off, “ said a delighted Bonhomme before receiving the trophy from HH Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council. “We’ve seen that all the pilots can go fast but it’s the consistency, the fact that all my times have been low this week, which pleases me the most.”
While Bonhomme’s win was no surprise for a man who was on the podium nine times in 2007, second place for Arch was a massive boost for the 40 year-old who only took delivery of his Edge 540 just four days prior to the final. “I am speechless,” said the Austrian. “My crew and I put a lot of work into getting ready for this season but this is beyond my wildest dreams. I’m proud to have beaten Mike (Mangold) and to have made the final against Paul.”
In benign racing conditions with little cross wind, defending world champion Mike Mangold of the USA took third place by defeating 2007 Abu Dhabi champion Peter Besenyei of Hungary in the third place play-off recording a time of 1m:07.36s to the 1m:14.20s of Besenyei. It was small consolation for Mangold who would have expected to at least make the final in the opening race of his world title defence.
Held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan with the valuable support of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Board, the final day of the Abu Dhabi leg of the Red Bull Air Race saw a full card of racing action with four pilots battling it out in the ‘Point One’ competition before the top guns from qualifying competed against the clock for a place in the semi-finals in the ‘Super Eights’.
Victory in ‘Point One’ and the first World Series point of the 2008 season went to Nicolas Ivanoff of France who proved to be the fastest of the slow qualifiers with a time of 1m:07.33s
The ‘Super Eights’ time trials provided some high drama as the fastest pilots hurtled through the air just metres from the surface of the Arabian Gulf, flicking their aircraft around sixteen 20m-high inflatable obstacles before executing a breathtaking manoeuvre known as a Half Cuban Eight and tackling the course for a second lap.
Bonhomme took top spot in the ‘Super Eights’ by over one and half seconds as he, Mangold, Arch and Besenyei secured their places in the semi-finals. In the semis, Bonhomme maintained his 100% record by ousting Red Bull pilot Besenyei, while Arch - in just his second season on the circuit - provided the shock of the day by seeing off Mangold in a thrilling duel that was decided by just 0.66s.
The 2008 Red Bull Air Race World Series heads west to round two in San Diego, California on May 3-4. It may be home territory for Mangold but with Bonhomme having his Edge 540 in supreme condition, the ebullient American knows he faces the toughest fight of his racing career if he is to win a record third world crown.
