Arch Tops Time Sheets In Budapest Training, Goulian Surprises Leaders

TOPICS:

Posted By: Marcel van Leeuwen August 17, 2009

RBon2

BUDAPEST, Hungary – Austria’s Hannes Arch topped the time sheets in training for the Red Bull Air Race in Budapest while American Michael Goulian put down the fastest time in the morning session on the iconic track that starts and finishes under the city’s famous Chain Bridge. Rookie pilot Matt Hall from Australia posted the third fastest time.

Arch, who leads the championship at the midway point with 33 points, was clocked in 1:13.57 on a sweltering hot afternoon ahead of the fourth race of the season on Wednesday and Thursday, beating Goulian by 0.56 seconds after the lunch break. The American, who struggled earlier in the season, was the surprise package on Monday. He also posted the fastest time in the morning session – a 1:13.97 that put him 0.12 seconds ahead of Nicolas Ivanoff of France. Britain’s Paul Bonhomme, who won the last race in Windsor to cut Arch’s overall lead to one point, was 3rd in the morning but fell to 8th in the afternoon session, hurt by a 2-second penalty.

“I’m feeling really calm and good,” said Arch, adding he wasn’t worried about Bonhomme’s narrowing his lead at the top of the table. “If I can find the right lines on the track without trying to attack too much, I should be really fast. It’ll be exciting. But I’m not focused on Paul. I’m focussing on my performance. I’ll try to do fast, clean runs. If I can manage to do that I should be faster because I have a faster aircraft. The pressure is on him because I’ve already been on top of the podium.”

Bonhomme – who has two second places and one victory this season while Arch has a first, second and a third – is eager to take the championship lead away from Arch. Budapest has proven to be the decisive race in the Red Bull Air Race Championship in three of the past four years – with the winner in Budapest going on to win the overall championship. “It’s a good course for me, a lovely course,” said Bonhomme.

Goulian was nevertheless delighted to be near the top of the table in Budapest, helping to negate memories of a frustrating start to the 2009 season. He said the speed limit at the start of the track, new this year, was a bit of a distraction because the pilots have to keep an eye on the bridge and an eye on their speed.“I just happen to like this track,” Goulian said. “I did some mental preparation before coming here. It’s the same plane as in Windsor. It’s got a good engine for straight-line tracks like this. I just hope I can stay consistent because I’m right on the edge with the control. We’ve got a solid plane. It’s a top 5 or a top 6 plane when it’s flown correctly.”

Tens of thousands of spectators are expected to line the banks of the Danube River to watch 15 of the world’s best pilots battle it out in Qualifying, which starts at 13:00 on Wednesday, and the race, which starts at 13:00 on Thursday. The Hungarian capital has become a traditional fixture on the calendar and will host the competition for the sixth year running.

Results first training

Rank Name Nation Int. 1 Int. 2 Int. 3 Rnd. Time Diff. Pen
1 Goulian Michael USA   13.89   32.27   50.85 Run 2 1:13.97    0
2 Ivanoff Nicolas FRA   14.08   32.21   50.48 Run 2 1:14.09  + 0.12  0
3 Bonhomme Paul GBR   15.13   33.51   51.60 Run 2 1:14.27  + 0.30  0
4 Arch Hannes AUT   15.13   35.04   52.52 Run 3 1:14.39  + 0.42  2
5 Chambliss Kirby USA   16.20   34.98   52.49 Run 3 1:15.17  + 1.20  2
6 Mangold Mike USA   14.01   34.65   52.59 Run 3 1:15.89  + 1.92  2
7 Lamb Nigel GBR   15.36   34.97   53.93 Run 3 1:17.82  + 3.85  0
8 Hall Matt AUS   14.59   35.87   56.10 Run 3 1:19.49  + 5.52  4
9 Dell Glen RSA   14.39   35.76   54.96 Run 3 1:19.76  + 5.79  2
10 Besenyei Peter HUN   14.85   38.01   58.11 Run 3 1:21.45  + 7.48  6
11 Maclean Alejandro ESP   17.51   36.83   55.44 Run 2 1:21.64  + 7.67  4
12 McLeod Pete CAN   15.48   44.01   1:04.27 Run 2 1:33.15  + 19.18  12
13 Dolderer Matthias GER   19.16   45.23   1:07.02 Run 1 1:41.42  + 27.45  20
14 Muroya Yoshihide JPN   18.82   44.98   1:11.33 Run 1 DSQ    
15 Rakhmanin Sergey RUS       Run 1 DNS    

Second training:

Rank Name Nation Int. 1 Int. 2 Int. 3 Rnd. Time Diff. Pen
1 Arch Hannes AUT   14.73   33.40   51.21 Run 3 1:13.57    0
2 Goulian Michael USA   14.50   32.72   51.11 Run 2 1:14.13  + 0.56  0
3 Hall Matt AUS   14.79   33.12   51.47 Run 3 1:14.18  + 0.61  0
4 Chambliss Kirby USA   15.19   33.70   51.93 Run 1 1:14.22  + 0.65  0
5 Mangold Mike USA   14.05   33.00   51.58 Run 3 1:14.96  + 1.39  0
6 Dell Glen RSA   14.12   32.95   51.53 Run 2 1:15.50  + 1.93  0
7 Ivanoff Nicolas FRA   15.22   33.53   52.27 Run 1 1:15.59  + 2.02  0
8 Bonhomme Paul GBR   15.26   35.15   53.29 Run 2 1:15.94  + 2.37  2
9 Lamb Nigel GBR   15.14   34.38   52.99 Run 2 1:17.09  + 3.52  0
10 Maclean Alejandro ESP   15.62   35.23   53.66 Run 2 1:17.39  + 3.82  0
11 Dolderer Matthias GER   14.91   35.11   54.13 Run 3 1:18.91  + 5.34  4
12 Muroya Yoshihide JPN   15.99   35.57   54.40 Run 2 1:19.88  + 6.31  2
13 Besenyei Peter HUN   17.00   37.81   58.36 Run 1 1:21.26  + 7.69  6
14 McLeod Pete CAN   15.03   40.77   59.69 Run 2 1:23.27  + 9.70  6
15 Rakhmanin Sergey RUS       Run 1 DNS    

Source: Red Bull Air Race

Related Articles