Arch wins, Besenyei finishes 6th place in Red Bull Air Race in Budapest – Photo Gallery
Austria’s Hannes Arch won the Budapest race of the Red Bull Air Race World Championships series on Sunday. The Hungarian pilot Péter Besenyei finished 6th place with his new race plane, telesport.hu reported.
The Race
The racetrack was marked by inflatable gates on the River Danube between the Chain Bridge and Margaret Bridge, in front of the parliament building.
Local hero Péter Besenyei felt the pressure of a return to a racing in front of a home crowd, as he was the first pilot out on the racetrack. In Heat 1, Besenyei had a tentative but error-free run, setting the bar at 1:01.070. Kirby Chambliss enjoyed a clean start and an aggressive first turn, but was off the pace in the first splits. In the closing moments of his run, the American pilot seemed to be edging towards the Round of 8. Chambliss saw the Round of 8 slip from his grasp in the last moments as he picked up two seconds for climbing in Gate 13, opening the door for Besenyei.
After the first round, Besenyei, McLeod, Lamb, Arch, Bonhomme, Dolderer and Hall progressed to the Round of 8, with Sonka also progressing as the fastest loser.
“I’m happy with the run, as today’s temperature was much higher than yesterday. I was just wondering how it would be in the track but everything went well. The timing compared to the temperature was quite ok,” said Besenyei.” The plane still needs a couple of flights. There are still a few issues that we have to solve in the near future.”
Among the best eight, Besenyei had to compete against Canada’s Pete McLeod in Heat 8. Flying a brand new Edge 540 V3, the “Godfather” of the Red Bull Air Race was looking to book a spot in the Final 4. The Hungarian had a dynamic and fast start, as he accelerated down-river, comfortable in his racing lines. Besenyei kept the fans on their feet with a smooth and error-free performance, passing through the Finish Gate at 1:00.887. He’d well and truly thrown down the gauntlet for McLeod, who opted for flatter turns and picked up a second’s advantage through the later gates, heading to the home stretch and ending the dream for Besenyei with 59.460.
Round of 8 provided its own story of shock and awe as Matt Hall’s dream of a race win was abolished and Czech pilot Martin Sonka joined Bonhomme, McLeod, and Arch in the Final 4.
With a consistent and disciplined performance, Arch earned victory in Hungary with 59.350 final result. He triumphed over championship leader Paul Bonhomme by just 0.207 seconds in a thrilling final round that also saw Czech pilot Martin Sonka claim a podium place for the second race in succession.
The Red Bull Air Race series will continue in Ascot in England on 16 August.
Red Bull Air Race World Championship Standings
1. Bonhomme 34 points
2. Arch 29 points
3. Hall 29 points
4. Sonka 16 points
5. McLeod 14 points
6. Lamb 13 points
7. Dolderer 13 points
8. Goulian 8 points
9. Ivanoff 6 points
10. Besenyei 5 points
Red Bull Air Show
based on the article of telesport.hu
translated by Gábor Hajnal
Photo: MTI
Source: http://www.telesport.hu/
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