Qualification Red Bull Air Race Windsor, Canada

Kirby-ChamblissKirby Chambliss (1st) proved all doubters wrong with a stunning comeback in Qualifying that confirmed his sterling training times on Friday. Chambliss gave the credit to his powerful new engine but it took some pretty nifty flying in Q2 to get in front of a very fast Paul Bonhomme, who got 2nd. Chambliss, whose technician worked hard overnight on obligatory engine adjustments, was an amazing 1.26 seconds ahead of Bonhomme in the end despite the modest loss in power and established himself as the clear favourite for Sunday’s race.

Rank Name Nation Int. 1 Int. 2 Int. 3 Rnd. Time Diff. Pen
1 Chambliss Kirby USA   18.77   31.91   46.90 Q2 1:07.95    0
2 Bonhomme Paul GBR   19.05   32.23   48.08 Q2 1:09.21  + 1.26  0
3 Ivanoff Nicolas FRA   18.71   32.60   48.35 Q2 1:09.50  + 1.55  0
4 Hall Matt AUS   18.98   32.84   48.56 Q2 1:10.33  + 2.38  0
5 Arch Hannes AUT   19.64   32.96   48.94 Q1 1:10.47  + 2.52  0
6 Lamb Nigel GBR   18.94   32.89   49.15 Q2 1:10.80  + 2.85  0
7 Mangold Mike USA   19.72   33.13   49.56 Q1 1:12.04  + 4.09  0
8 Goulian Michael USA   20.49   33.64   49.83 Q1 1:12.06  + 4.11  0
9 Maclean Alejandro ESP   20.44   33.56   49.48 Q1 1:12.07  + 4.12  0
10 McLeod Pete CAN   20.12   33.92   50.61 Q2 1:13.24  + 5.29  0
11 Rakhmanin Sergey RUS   20.23   33.88   50.99 Q1 1:14.15  + 6.20  0
12 Dolderer Matthias GER   20.80   34.55   53.25 Q2 1:15.73  + 7.78  2
13 Dell Glen RSA   20.45   34.08   51.04 Q2 1:16.69  + 8.74  2
14 Muroya Yoshihide JPN       Q1 DNS    
15 Besenyei Peter HUN       Q1 DNS    

Peter Besenyei will not compete in the Windsor race after his plane was damaged earlier in the week. Besenyei was required to make an emergency landing near St Thomas Airport in Ontario during a photo shoot and the damage could not be repaired in time for the Windsor race.

On Friday, 12 June 2009, Japanese Pilot, Yoshihide Muroya, experienced a pylon hit during the third training session of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship in Windsor, Canada.

After an intensive investigation by the Technical Director, and in consultation with the manufacturer Eric Zivko, it was determined that the Edge 540 aircraft was not serviceable for racing this weekend.

Source: Red Bull Air Race