Goulian wins first ever Red Bull Air Race in Budapest
Bonhomme takes Championship lead from Abu Dhabi pilot Arch
American Michael Goulian won a thrill-filled Red Bull Air Race in Budapest while Britain’s Paul Bonhomme grabbed second place and knocked Austrian Hannes Arch out of the championship lead in an exciting battle over the Danube River in front of a national holiday crowd of 650,000. American Kirby Chambliss grabbed third place, which dropped Arch into fourth and off the podium for the first time in over a year. German rookie Matthias Dolderer took a career-best fifth place.
“It feels amazing,” Goulian said after clocking a winning time of 1:12.51 on the 6.6km course on a scorching hot day with temperatures over 30 degrees. It was his first career victory and moved him up to 8th place in the overall championship with 18 points. “This has been four years in the making. It’s been so hard to get the right machine, to get the engine working the right way. After four years of hard work this is amazing. I knew we had an airplane that could do it. It’s a great win.”
The championship battle between Arch and Bonhomme grew intense in Budapest, the fourth race of the six-race 2009 season. The Hungarian capital has proven to be the pivotal race each year – with three of the last four winners here going on to win the championship. Because of that, Arch was eager to defend his shrinking one-point lead. But he stumbled badly, picking up time penalties in both of his last two runs.
“It’s good, isn’t it?” said Bonhomme, looking for his first championship after taking second place in both 2007 and 2008. “I didn’t expect to be second here in Budapest after the results we were having in training earlier in the week. It goes to show this championship will go right down to the wire.”
Arch, who won the first race of 2009 in Abu Dhabi, was baffled by the two-second penalty – the same mistake that cost him victories in San Diego and Windsor. “I had a clean run,” Arch insisted. “I heard I got a penalty but thought I had won second or third place. I just want to know where I got the penalty. I’m happy about my run and the performance of the aircraft.”
The crowd of 650,000 lining the banks of the Danube River was the largest of the season with stops remaining in Porto next month and the season-finale in Barcelona in October.
