HANNES ON A HIGH AS RACE HEADS TO PORTO

 SUBSCRIBE TO RSS FEED

SEND TO FRIEND

Austria's Hannes Arch could not have picked a better time to win the first Red Bull Air Race of his career in Budapest. His thrilling victory in the race over the Danube River has put him even on 45 points with Paul Bonhomme at the top of the standings. With just a few races in the 2008 championship left, Arch has managed to do what just a month ago no one thought was possible: wipe away the once wide gap to the British ace Bonhomme who led the championship all year long. Bonhomme still leads overall with three wins to Arch's one victory. Arch, only in his second season, nevertheless pulled off the heady feat of catching Bonhomme thanks to some superb flying along with the help of his sleek new canopy introduced in Rotterdam.

Arch, cheered on in Budapest by thousands of Austrian fans who made the short journey to neighbouring Hungary, was in a class of his own in the Hungarian capital. First he destroyed defending champion Mike Mangold in the semi-final with the fastest time of the race, beating the American by nearly 4 seconds in a penalty-free run for both pilots. Then he comfortably beat a suddenly more competitive Jones in the final showdown by more than 2 seconds ˜ astonishingly wide margins in races sometimes decided by as little as one-one hundredth of a second.

‘It's a dream come true,’ said Arch, who started the season with the modest goal of getting on the podium at least once. He has now done that in five of six races this year with only a fourth place in San Diego marring a perfect podium record - and after Rotterdam raised his season-goal to a top-three finish.

‘It's an amazing feeling," he said of his first win in Budapest. "I couldn't believe it.’

Budapest was also a dream for Jones, who beat compatriot and former teammate Bonhomme in the semi-finals for an ascending sixth place in the standings with 23 points. Yet it was a nightmare for Kirby Chambliss. The American who had been on a hot streak and in second behind Bonhomme in the championship was hit by costly penalties in the Qualifying and failed to advance to the Super Eights. That disappointment was further compounded when he did not even win the Point One competition. He finished in 12th place without even a single point, dropping him nine points behind Bonhomme and Arch -- and dealing a serious blow to his championship ambitions.

The next race takes place in Porto on 6th and 7th September over the Douro River, between Ribeira and Vila Nova de Gaia with the track positioned between Dom Luis I Bridge and Arrábida Bridge. The striking bridges and picturesque Ribeira waterfront will provide a spectacular backdrop for the race.