3 July 2017
Wow, where did that performance come from? American pilot Kirby Chambliss may be a two-times winner of the Red Bull Air Race Championship but he hasn’t won a race since 2008 – until the weekend, when he took a confident win at Budapest, Hungary.
Canada’s Pete McLeod was second, while Japan’s Yoshihide Muroya retained the lead in the championship with third place..
Chambliss said, “I love Budapest. I can’t thank my team enough – it’s not a one-person effort. I just went out and put down a nice, clean, fast time. And it worked.
“I had started to forget what the champagne tastes like, so I’m excited. Winning is easy when you’re winning – it’s not when you’re not.”
Kirby Chambliss takes well earned win in the 2017 Red Bull Air Race World Championship in Budapest.
The race was held right in front of the Hungarian Parliament building over the River Danube and part of the race is to fly under the Chain Bridge which spans the river. As the midpoint of the season, the Budapest round marked a critical milestone, and Chambliss jumped up five spots to fourth in the World Championship standings with four races left to go.
Muroya, meanwhile, tightened his grip on the top of the leaderboard, with 39 points to the 37 of the Czech Republic’s Martin Sonka, who finished fourth.
The day was disastrous for defending World Champion Matthias Dolderer though. He edged over the G limit in the opening round for a “Did Not Finish” (DNF) penalty and dropped to sixth on the leaderboard, a full 16 points behind Muroya.
Spectacular setting for the Budapest round of the 2017 RBAR.
Results
World Championship standings
Red Bull Air Race World Championship
