FORT WORTH, Texas (USA) – Germany’s Matthias Dolderer secured his first career Qualifying victory on Saturday ahead of the penultimate round of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship while title contenders Paul Bonhomme and Australia’s Matt Hall finished out of the top three.Bonhomme, who was sixth fastest, and Hall, placed fourth, are battling it out for the championship with two stops left and may have flown with caution in light of the tricky winds at the Texas Motorway Speedway.
Dolderer clocked a time of 55.584 seconds while Team Falken’s Yoshihide Muroya of Japan was second with 55.610 seconds in Qualifying for the seventh event of the eight-race season. On a blistering hot day with temperatures rising well above 30 degrees, Team Garmin’s Pete McLeod of Canada took third.
“This was sensational – a great feeling,” said Dolderer. “It looks like Texas wants to be good to me. I found the right line and had the right frame of mind. Staying relaxed was important. You can let yourself get uptight when you’re out there in the track.”
By capturing fourth ahead of Britain’s Bonhomme, Hall kept the pressure on the Red Bull Air Race Championship leader. The Briton has 55 points from the previous six races and is a two-time world champion (2009 and 2010). Hall, a former Royal Australian Air Force fighter pilot, has 50 points and is fighting to overtake Bonhomme, the most successful and experienced pilot in the sport’s history with 18 race victories in 10 seasons and 63 races, and win his first championship. This is only Hall’s fourth season and he has 26 starts with just one victory – the last stop in Spielberg, Austria.
“It’s a challenging track to get right with the winds,” said Hall.
“But it also pays rewards for people who take risks so if you take risks and get it right, you’ll get a very fast time. If you want to make sure you get through the track in the top half of the field, you’ve got to back off — which is what I think Paul and I have just done,” added Hall, who is looking to capture the 12 points for first place on Sunday.
Bonhomme will have to fly against Austrian Hannes Arch in his opening round of 14 race: “It was good,” he said. “We’re not bothered. We’ll see what happens tomorrow. The winds picked up so that’s a factor.”
Bonhomme could clinch the 2015 world championship on Sunday if he wins and Hall were to finish fourth or worse in the field of 14. Bonhomme — who has won three races so far this year in Abu Dhabi, Chiba, Japan and Ascot, England — could also clinch the title if he takes second place (worth 9 points) and Hall finishes seventh or lower. But if Hall makes it on the podium the championship battle will go down to the final race of the season in Las Vegas on October 18.
The two aces at the top of the table warmed up for the tension-filled weekend with two action-packed training sessions on Friday. Hall posted the fastest time in the early session while Bonhomme eclipsed his Aussie rival in the second session. Earlier on Saturday Bonhomme got the fastest time in the final training session before Qualifying. The battle for third place overall could go right down to the wire with five pilots still in the frame to take third. Arch (AUT) is in third with 30 points while Martin Sonka (CZE), McLeod (CAN), Nigel Lamb (GBR) and Dolderer (GER) are all within striking range with strong results down the home stretch.
American Kirby Chambliss, a native of Texas, had a solid Qualifying run and took fifth place. The 2006 champion, Chambliss took third place in Spielberg — his first podium since the 2010 race in New York City. He is hoping for another top finish in front of his home fans in Fort Worth, which is hosting the race for the second straight year.
