Red Bull Air Race
Arch strengthens championship lead at Poland’s first-ever Red Bull Air Race
Austria’s Hannes Arch capped the first half of the Red Bull Air Race season with his second win in four races. Gutsy flying on the “Marine Wall” on the course in Gdynia, Poland made the difference for Arch.
By the end of qualifying at Red Bull Air Race’s first-ever race in Poland, Hannes Arch had his work cut out for him: a penalty meant he was trailing behind defending champ Paul Bonhomme and Nigel Lamb, and in need of a brilliant race in the final to take first place points.
Missed the race in Gdynia? Watch the highlights.
But that’s exactly the kind of high-pressure situation that brings out the best in the Austrian pilot.
"I realized that without taking any risks, you couldn't do well in this track,” Arch said.
When the final came, a calculated risk turned out to be the difference in the race. Arch took a new line on the difficult 270-degree "Marine Wall" turn on the challenging Baltic Sea course, which propelled him to the top of the podium.
"Being the hunter suits my style better. But I guess I'm going to have to get used to being the one that everyone else is hunting now." (Hannes Arch)
Britain’s Nigel Lamb took second, while Matt Hall of Australia finished third. Paul Bonhomme, the defending champion from Great Britain, was given a controversial two-second penalty for flying too high through one of the gates, resigning him to a fifth place finish.
The win increased Arch’s overall championship lead to 13 points, and the target on his back is only getting bigger as the pilots look ahead to the second half of the season.
“If we're not careful Hannes will jump too far ahead. We have to rein him in somehow." (Nigel Lamb)
Read more pilot reactions from Gdynia.
There’s just over two weeks to go until the next Red Bull Air Race in Ascot, England. It will be a chance for Paul Bonhomme and Nigel Lamb to impress in front of a home crowd, but Hannes Arch will no doubt be eager to build his championship lead even further.
The race for the Red Bull Air Race championship is heating up – can Hannes Arch hang on to win his second title at the final race of the season in his native Austria? Stay tuned to DHL InMotion for the latest on Arch and the rest of the Red Bull Air Race pilots.
Content from disqus has been blocked because you did not allow to load it.
Loading the blocked content will adjust your privacy setting and content from this service will not be blocked in the future.
You have the right to revoke or change your decision at any time.
Posting Guidelines
All communications on Logistics of Things should be appropriate for a professional community, respecting the diverse views of individuals from different backgrounds. We will review all comments and reserve the right to terminate or restrict access to user's account and to delete any content posted through it, without notice and at our discretion, if we deem it to be overly promotional, offensive, or off topic.
All posting become property of DHL.