19 May 2014
Nigel Lamb has won the third stage of this year’s Red Bull Air Race series. Lamb claimed his first ever victory and set a new course record in his Final 4 run with a 1:15.023. He placed first ahead of Austria’s Hannes Arch and Matt Hall from Australia.
“I’m too thrilled for words,” said Lamb. “I have to say I was really taken by surprise and I didn’t think I would get that emotional. I took some risks. I had a good strategy for today and I believe in myself and my team.”
Lamb beat Arch, who flew a 1:15.597, in a run that demonstrated the potential of his aircraft in a fast racetrack. Arch, however, retains his lead at the top of the overall Championship standings with 30 points – now five points clear of Paul Bonhomme on 25, who didn’t qualify for the Final 4 in Putrajaya after his Edge 540 V2 struggled to produce the power he needed to be in with a shot at the podium. Lamb now sits in third place overall jointly on 17 points with Canada’s McLeod.
Bonhomme explained, “Well done Mr Lamb for the win, a) because it is stunningly good news for Team Breitling and b) because the buffer between Team Bonhomme and Hannes is not as big as it could have been. The engine (of the aircraft) is being removed and will be inspected for a low compression on one cylinder. The plan is to get it back for Poland. It’s slightly frustrating that it should happen now. The good news is that at one stage we might not have even flown so at least we have some points from the weekend.”
Read more from Paul Bonhomme and his experiences of this year’s Red Bull Air Race series in the July issue of FLYER, on sale 22 May.
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