Today’s Red Bull Air Race in Longleat, England, was unfortunately cancelled due to high winds. The cancellation means Friday’s qualifying results will be used as the official Longleat race results, making British pilot Paul Bonhomme the official winner of the 7th leg of the Red Bull Air Race World Series.
With winds reaching a dangerous 80 km/h and showers worsening throughout the day, conditions became too dangerous for pilots to fly the course. The challenging course demands that pilots fly low to the ground and around tall trees at high speeds.
The weather also dampened the hopes of some 60,000 spectators who braved the elements to watch the competition. According to Air Race safety regulations, wind speeds of more than 45 km/h surpass acceptable safety standards for the race and compromise pilot safety.
This marks Bonhomme’s first ever Air Race victory and the second win for a British pilot following Steve Jones’s win last month in Budapest. Since flying in his new plane, an Edge 540, Bonhomme has had a run of success. He came second in the previous two races in Istanbul and Budapest and, after today’s results, is now placed 4th in the World Series rankings. With only two more races left this season, Bonhomme will be fighting hard for a place in the final top three.
“It’s such a shame the race couldn’t take place but it would have been impossible under these weather conditions”, said Bonhomme today, “I’d rather have won it on the day but we’ve still got San Francisco and Perth so I’ll try my best to win there too”.
Bonhomme beat rival pilots with a time of 02:31.43. Hungary’s Peter Besenyei came in second place with 02:35.39, followed closely by American Kirby Chambliss with 02:35.58.
The next race takes place in San Francisco on 7th October.
Results – Race 7, Longleat 2.9.06 (based on qualifying results)
1 Paul Bonhomme GBR 02:31.43
2 Peter Besenyei HUN 02:35.39
3 Kirby Chambliss USA 02:35:58
4 Mike Mangold USA 02:35.92
5 Michael Goulian USA 02:38.41
6 Nigel Lamb GBR 02:50.53
7 Alejandro Maclean ESP 02:50.89
8 Klaus Schrodt GER 02:51.79
9 Nicolas Ivanoff FRA 02:52.87
10 Frank Versteegh NED 02:55.26
dq Steve Jones GBR dq
World Series 2006 Overall Standing
1 Kirby Chambliss USA 28 points
2 Mike Mangold USA 24
2 Peter Besenyei HUN 24
4 Paul Bonhomme GBR 17
5 Michael Goulian USA 8
6 Nicolas Ivanoff FRA 7
7 Klaus Schrodt GER 6
7 Steve Jones USA 6
9 Alejandro Maclean ESP 3
9 Nigel Lamb GBR 3
11 Frank Versteegh NED 0
Race Calendar 2006
Abu Dhabi, UAE 18th March
Barcelona, Spain 6th May
Berlin, Germany 27th May
St Petersburg, Russia 17th June (cancelled)
Istanbul, Turkey 29th July
Budapest, Hungary 20th August
Longleat, UK 2nd September
San Francisco, USA 7th October
Perth, Australia 19th November
