9 September 2008
Austrian pilot Hannes Arch won this weekend’s Red Bull Air Race in Porto, pulling out a whopping nine-point lead over his nearest rival Paul Bonhomme. Briton Bonhomme could only finish in tenth place. Arch only needs to score a single point in the final race in Perth to ensure victory in the 2008 championship.
Over a million spectators are said to have lined the banks of the Douro during the weekend, enjoying the spectacular views and the blue skies, as well as the thrill of the racing. Also enjoying the weekend was Hannes Arch, who found an extra burst of speed in the final race-off to beat pole sitter Kirby Chambliss. American Mike Mangold come third.
Bonhomme’s weekend was spoilt when he was disqualified from Saturday’s qualifying session having exceeded the maximum load of 12G stated in the rules. This relegated him to the bottom of the ‘grid’, and meant that he had no chance of r victory on Sunday. Nevertheless, Bonhomme is the only man who can beat Arch for the year’s title: if Bonhomme wins and Arch is unplaced in Perth, Bonhomme will take the title; otherwise, it’s going to be Arch’s year.
“I’ll be there,” Bonhomme said of Perth. “It’s not over yet.” The Perth Race takes place on 1 and 2 November.
The Porto race will be televised on Channel 4 in a new ‘series’ covering the end of the season, which starts on October 18.
