Red Bull Air Race
Pilots battle for top three in penultimate Red Bull Air Race
The thin air and warm temperatures in Vegas will be a challenge
In Vegas, Nigel Lamb will be pushing the envelope
There’s just one more stop before the final showdown of the current Red Bull Air Race season: Paul Bonhomme, Hannes Arch and Nigel Lamb will be fighting for every point at the top of the standings in Las Vegas.
For much of the year, it looked as if it would come down to a two-man duel between Paul Bonhomme and Hannes Arch for which pilot would be crowned World Champion at the end of the Red Bull Air Race season. But after a second place finish at the last event in Texas, Nigel Lamb is making a thrilling play for the title
Check out the full Red Bull Air Race standings
His result in Texas – combined with the fact that Bonhomme and Arch finished in fifth and eighth, respectively – has put Lamb in a tie for second place. He and Arch are sitting on 44 points and are just a single point shy of Bonhomme in first.
All three of us are really close together in the rankings. What happens in Las Vegas and Spielberg all depends a lot on our daily set up, in both body and mind. (Hannes Arch)
Of the three pilots, Lamb is the only one to have never won a world title. Bonhomme is looking to take his third consecutive title while Arch is going after his second. But Arch thinks chasing a title could prove to be a motivating factor for Lamb.
“Nigel is in a more comfortable position because he's never had a World Championship title,” said Arch, “so I think Nigel is feeling more like 'just go for it!'”
As if the pressure to gain as many points as possible going into the final race later this month in Spielberg, Austria wasn’t enough, the track in Las Vegas provides a particular set of challenges.
Given the track’s altitude (2,000 feet above sea level) and temperatures on raceday that could approach 82.4 °F (28°C), the air will be less dense than cooler tracks at a lower altitude. This means the race engines won’t be as powerful, and the wings will lose some of their ability to turn.
"It's even more important to fly the palce perfectly in Las Vegas, because every little movement on the controls that you make just costs you another tenth of a second," says race director Steven Jones. “The guys that can fly smoothly and not make any errors at all will benefit from that. Generally that has been Bonhomme, Arch and recently Lamb."
Red Bull Air Race takes to the skies in Las Vegas on October 11 and 12. Stay tuned to DHL InMotion for the latest from that race and the buildup to the season finale in Spielberg!
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