Abu Dhabi, UAE – April 11, 2008 — There’s nothing like revenge. Just ask Britain’s Paul Bonhomme.
Bonhomme’s easy victory in the Red Bull Air Race today likely helped to wipe away his painful memories of losing the 2007 championship by a fraction of a second to American Mike Mangold.
More than 400,000 spectators watched Bonhomme dominate the field throughout the two-day competition. In the final, Bonhomme beat Austria’s Hannes Arch by an incredible seven seconds and in the semi-final on Thursday, he beat Hungary’s Peter Besenyei by an amazing six seconds.
All 12 pilots once again had to master challenging conditions — winds gusting nearly 20 mph and temperatures hovering around 95 degrees Fahrenheit - while navigating through 13 inflatable pylons. Racing just feet above the Arabian Gulf, the pilots flew up to 250 mph, pulling up to 10 Gs as they completed a series of maneuvers through the air gates.
“I’m very pleased, especially with the consistency,” said Bonhomme. “I’ve been watching Hannes all week and he’s been doing well. If you take off the two three-second penalties he got, it was very close.”
Arch, who had impressed in Qualifying by grabbing fifth place, found it hard to collect his thoughts after he made it to the winner’s podium for the first time in his career.
“It actually feels like I won,” said Arch, 40, who placed 10th in the championship last year. “Reaching the semi-finals was a dream-come-true for me and everything after that was icing on the cake. To beat the defending champion (Mangold) is unbelievable.”
Arch beat Mangold to qualify for the finals, while Mangold ended up winning Besenyei in the third place fly-off.
“We did the best we could,” said Mangold. “Hannes is doing a really nice job. He learned a lot last year and has applied it well.”
Americans Kirby Chambliss took fifth while Mike Goulian placed 11th, ahead of only first-time Red Bull racer Glen Dell.
The next race will be in San Diego on May 3-4.
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Britain’s Paul Bonhomme raises his hands in victory after taking first place at the Abu Dhabi Red Bull Air Race season opener. Photo by Red Bull
Paul Bonhomme easily beat his competitors in the first of the
Red Bull Air Race series. Photo by Red Bull.
Abu Dhabi Race Results
Place Pilot Nation Points
1 P. Bonhomme GBR 9
2 H. Arch AUT 8
3 M. Mangold USA 7
4 P. Besenyei HUN 6
5 K. Chambliss USA 5
6 A. Maclean ESP 4
7 S. Jones GBR 3
8 N. Lamb GBR 2
9 N. Ivanoff FRA 1
10 S. Rakhmanin RUS 0
11 M. Goulian USA 0
12 G. Dell AUS 0
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