On the three public days of the airshow (March 4-6), Hall, who swept all rookie records before him when he debuted in the Red Bull Air Race in 2009, will perform a 10 minute aerobatic display in the same racing aircraft – an MXS-R – that he finished second in during the air race’s Perth round in 2010. 

With the air race on a sabbatical Hall is enjoying showing the people of Australia the capabilities of his high performance aircraft having flown his high energy display as part of the City of Sydney New Years Eve celebration, the V8 Supercar event at Sandown and the Defence Force Airshow at Williamtown. 

While in Avalon Hall will also perform guest speaking duties at the International Aerospace Congress dinner, the Careers & Skills Professional Development and Student Info forums and the Aviators Function. 

“I have a really busy week planned but I cant wait to get down there and get into it,” Hall said. 

“The Australian International Airshow at Avalon is the centrepiece of airshows in the southern hemisphere and attracts people from all over the world so I am training hard to make sure I can put on the best display possible. 

“I’m really looking forward to the Careers & Skills forums too because if I can influence a couple of kids to follow their dream of a career in aviation then I will walk away from the whole event satisfied.” 

Later in the year Hall will fly in airshows in the Barossa Valley, Bundaberg, Ingham and at a number of other major events.

Source: Matt Hall press release

Alejandro “Alex” Maclean 41, two-time Spanish aerobatics champion and for several years had been a competitor in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship Series, considered the “Formula One” of aerobatics.

His plane slammed into the ground as he was performing a stunt during a training exercise at the airfield at Casarrubios del Monte, in the central province of Toledo near Madrid, killing him instantly, the spokesman for the airfield said.

Spanish aviation authorities are to investigate the crash.

Photo: www.air-races.com

Alejandro Maclean in action during the Rotterdam Air Race. Photo: M. van Leeuwen

For the second time in line Paul Bonhomme won the Red Bull Air Race Championship today in Lausitz, Germany.

Qualification

The day started with the qualification for the top 12 after the bad weather of yesterday. Michael Goulian and Sergey Rakhmanin of Russia end their 2010 championship campaigns after failing to make it through to the next round.

Top 12

Arch has the fastest run in the T Ivanoff is second, Hall third and Bonhomme fourth. Also advancing to the Super 8 are McLeod (5), Dolderer (6), Chambliss (7) and Lamb (8).

Super 8

What a performance under pressure by Bonhomme. He did not need to win that Super 8 round. He only needed to finish in the top 4. But he flew nearly a full second faster than he needed to — beating Arch, Lamb and Hall.

Final Four

Arch wins his fourth race of the year. World Champion Bonhomme runner up, Matt Hall third place and Nigel Lamb fourth place he didn’t start the final four because of a flat tire.

Race

World Championship

Bonhomme, who also won the 2009 championship, finishes the six-race championship with 64 points and two victories — in Abu Dhabi in New York. Arch, the 2008 champion, ends the year with 60 points and four wins — in Perth, Rio, Windsor and Germany. Britain’s Nigel Lamb ended up third.

Source: Redbullairrace.com
Photo: Rob Vogelaar, ZAPP Group

Due heavy rainfall at the Qualification Red Bull Air Race EuroSpeedway Lausitz, Germany only seven of the fourteen pilots able to complete their flight in the track before conditions worsened and the session was cancelled. Race officials will make a decision Sunday morning at 1100 on whether the first Qualifying session will continue, allowing the remaining seven pilots to run. Here the results of the seven pilots who flew the Saturday qaulification:

 

Source: REDBULLAIRRACE.Com

Paul Bonhomme, archive

LAUSITZ, Germany – Austria’s Hannes Arch said on Wednesday that he felt confident he could win the weekend’s Red Bull Air Race’s 2010 season finale at Germany’s EuroSpeedway Lausitz and with, a bit of luck, even overtake Paul Bonhomme to win the world championship. But Bonhomme, the defending champion from Britain who holds a five-point lead over Arch, countered that he was just as confident about winning enough points to clinch a second straight title.

Germany’s Matthias Dolderer said he was optimistic about getting on the podium at his home race — which is also the 50th since the Red Bull Air Race was launched in 2003. The weekend’s race is also one of the highlights of celebrations marking the 10th anniversary of the EuroSpeedway Lausitz, which has the largest and most modern grandstand facility in Europe. The hangars are set up in the pit lane directly in front of the grandstand, giving spectators a privileged view of how the pilots and their teams prepare for the racing.

“My strategy here is to win the race and see what happens,” Arch told dozens of journalists at a news conference in front of the hangars ahead of the first training sessions on Thursday. “I’ll do my best to win the race and then sit back and wait for Paul to make a mistake. This is my best season ever and we’ve never flown better as a team — and everyone knows that.  My goal is to come away from Germany with the championship.”

Arch has won three of the last four races — Perth, Rio and Windsor. The 2008 champion also has what is widely believed to be the fastest plane — an Edge 540 V3. That is the same plane that Dolderer will be flying in front of his home crowd at the world class EuroSpeedway motorsport racing circuit, the first time a Red Bull Air Race has been held at a motorsport track.

Bonhomme not worried about Arch

But Bonhomme has been the more consistent pilot this year, getting on the podium in all five races and with victories in the two other races in Abu Dhabi and New York. Bonhomme, with a five-point lead, would need to finish at least third in Sunday’s race to win the title if Arch wins the one point for Qualifying on Saturday. There are 12 points awarded to the winner, 10 for second and nine for third place.

“There is absolutely no question in me worrying about the points now,” Bonhomme said. “It’s absolutely pointless. What I’ve got to do is enjoy the training, try different tactics and piece it all together. I don’t have to beat Hannes. If I were going to be a tactician, all I have to do is concentrate on Nigel (Lamb), Kirby (Chambliss), Matt (Hall) and Pete (McLeod). Hannes can do what he wants. All I have to do is beat the others.”

Bonhomme, who came in a frustratingly close second in the 2007 and 2008 season, knows that experience in the title battles in the final race could prove to be be a key advantage — as he demonstrated last year with a clutch victory in the season finale in Barcelona to beat Arch at the very end of a thrilling championship.

“Of course that’s an advantage,” Bonhomme said of the experience he has flying under pressure. “But the key is just to be cool. I am very relaxed. A little bit of nervousness you have underneath is sometimes a good thing. We’ll see how it goes in the track in training on Thursday. If we go around the track and Hannes, Nigel and Kirby are all two seconds ahead of me, I’ll suddenly have to start doing some rethinking.”

Arch would like to win in Germany to have bragging rights — the most number of wins in 2010. It would be four if he can win in Germany. In 2008, Bonhomme won four races but Arch won the title with only two wins. Arch would like to turn the tables on Bonhomme this time around by claiming the most victories.

Source: RedBullAirRace.com

Red Bull Air Race GmbH confirmed that for the future success and development of the sport, the World Championship will take a one-year break in 2011.

The organization will use this opportunity to fast track the technological advancements currently in the making which would further improve the already high levels of safety.

There is a need to revise the main organization and commercial areas to realize the full potential of the sport including the development and reinforcement of strong host city partnerships which would secure a long term race calendar.

Source: RedBull AirRaces. www.redbullairraces.com

The Red Bull Air Race in Budapest has been cancelled this year due to lengthy delays in the permissions process, the organization announced with regret today. Interrupting a six-year tradition of racing in the Hungarian capital, the Red Bull Air Race World Champion will now be crowned after the final race of the 2010 season at EuroSpeedway in Lausitz, Germany on 7th & 8th August.

Budapest has been an annual fixture on the Red Bull Air Race World Championship calendar since 2004 with enormous crowds of more than 600,000 spectators watching the racing from the banks of the Danube River. This year’s race, which would have been the seventh annual race in Budapest, was set for 19th & 20th August.

Red Bull Air Race GmbH CEO Bernd Loidl expressed his disappointment over the Budapest cancellation, which comes just a week after a race cancellation in Portugal due to unexpected delays in reaching a revised host city agreement. But he said he hoped Budapest would be back on the calendar in 2011. Loidl also said the 2011 calendar will be announced after the final round in Germany next month – which will include a return to New York after the historic first race there in June.

“Having safely and successfully executed the Red Bull Air Race World Championship in Budapest for the past six years, it was a tough decision to make,” Loidl said. “Following so close to the cancellation of the Portugal race last week, we are obviously disappointed and every effort will be made to see a return to Budapest in 2011. Securing the future of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship is paramount and making tough decisions is part of that process. We look forward to announcing the 2011 calendar after the final round in Germany including a much anticipated return to New York in the United States.”

The battle for the 2010 Red Bull Air Race World Championship will remain intense at Lausitzring in Germany, where defending champion Paul Bonhomme is holding a five-point lead over 2008 champion Hannes Arch of Austria. Arch has won three of the last five races and is confident he can overtake Bonhomme down the home stretch of the 2010 season to take his second title. The Red Bull Air Race has been a FAI-recognised world championship since 2005.

Ticket Refunds:

For tickets purchased via www.redbullairrace.com – refunds will be made automatically to the purchaser’s credit card, to the face value of the event ticket.

Tickets purchased through ticketing, travel or hospitality agencies are advised to contact their sales agents directly for a refund.

For further information contact: media@redbullairrace.com

Source: Redbullairraces.com

The negotiation process with Tourism Portugal and the associated cities of Lisbon, Porto and Gaia was positive, however time ran out to execute a race of this size, complexity and of the quality expected of the strong fan base in Portugal.

The 2010 race was originally announced on 21st December 2009 to take place in Portugal’s capital city, Lisbon.  Earlier this year the City of Lisbon, in an effort to secure a longer term agreement for Portugal, approached the Cities of Porto and Gaia to develop a joint proposal which would have seen the race alternate between the north and south of Portugal over the next four years. 

“The Red Bull Air Race is committed to keeping Portugal on the race calendar, however, due to the delays in finalising the agreement, we were faced with making a tough decision to cancel the race for 2010 due to the time available to plan and execute a quality event.” said Mr Bernd Loidl, CEO Red Bull Air Race GmbH.

“Making such a decision is not easy and I would like to take this opportunity to thank our valued sponsors, broadcast partners and fans around the world for their support and understanding.  I would also like to thank the Cities of Lisbon, Porto and Gaia, along with Tourism of Portugal and Tourism of Lisbon, as every effort was made from all sides to reach a revised agreement; however, time simply ran out.  We hope to continue discussions to see the race return to Portugal again in the near future,” Loidl said.

Just five years since it was officially launched, the Red Bull Air Race World Championship has evolved to become the most exhilarating and fastest growing motor sport on the planet and has touched down in spectacular locations around the world from the beaches of Rio de Janeiro to the West Coast of Australia, and most recently its debut in New York on the Hudson River. 

The Red Bull Air Race World Championship is a visual spectacle unlike any other, delivering raw sporting drama set amidst vibrant landscapes.  The sport has quickly built a staggering following around the world with millions captivated by the exciting and dynamic racing format. 

Source: www.redbullairraces.com

Paul Bonhomme wins for the second time this year an Air Race. Bonhomme stopped the clock in 1:10.01, the day’s fastest time on the 5.5-km track of 13 Air Gates set up on the Hudson  river. That was a full 2.05 seconds faster than Lamb and 2.08 faster than Chambliss. Arch was 5.35 behind –hurt by the six-second penalty for hitting a pylon. Without the penalty Arch would have beaten Bonhomme.

Top 12

Arch gets a 1:13.31 with a 2 sec penalty for incorrect level flying on gate 8. puts him fifth.

Super Eight

Paul Bonhomme is first in the super Eight 1.42 for Hannes Arch, who gets 2nd place and moves into the final: 1:11.49 seconds Chambliss and Lamb get the final two tickets to the final. Mcleod in 5th, Ivanoff in 6th Goulian 7th and Peter Besenyei 8th will be done for the day.

Final Four

Bonhomme wins, Lamb second, Chambliss third and Arch 4th after touching gate 8 on the final run.

Race

World Championship Standings 2010

 

Source: Red Bull Air Race.com

Arch, who has won three straight races, set a track record time of 1:08.18 in the 5.5-kilometer long track. Arch wins the 1 point and is now 1 point behind Paul Bonhomme in the World Champion Standings. Bonhomme was 0.52 seconds behind his Austrian rival. Canada’s Pete McLeod took an impressive third place in the first Qualifying run.

Nigel Lamb, the pre-race favorite in the turn-filled track, was a disappointing sixth in the Qualifying session ahead of Sunday’s race.

First Round

Second Round

Overall Results Qualification New York Air Race

Second  Training Day Friday 18 June

First Training Day Thursday 17 June

 

Source: RedBullAirRace.com

How difficult was it to organize a Red Bull Air Race in New York?

Source: www.redbullairraces.com

Arch saved his best for last, shattering the track record with a time of 1:05.96 in the final. Bonhomme came close, leading after the first interval but couldn’t keep up the pace and finished second in 1:06.59, 0.63 seconds behind Arch. Chambliss was 3.03 behind the Austrian in 1:08.99 while Britain’s Nigel Lamb was fourth in 1:13.34 after hitting a pylon in the final.

World Championship Standings 2010