San Diego – May 5, 2008 — Revenge is so sweet, even the second time around.
That must be what Britain’s Paul Bonhomme is thinking after Sunday’s Red Bull Air Race win in San Diego.
Bonhomme narrowly defeated American Mike Mangold in the final, which helped take the sting out of last season’s even narrower defeat by Mangold, who won the overall 2007 series championship by a fraction of a second.
Although Bonhomme made it look easy with his elegant style of flying through the challenging obstacle course just above the water of the San Diego Bay, he was breathing hard and drenched in sweat after his flight. He won the final with a time of 1:18.01 to 1:19.24 for Mangold.
“I do like San Diego,” said Bonhomme, who also won the race there in 2007 and who dominated during the qualifying races on Saturday. “It’s a challenging track here. You have to be consistent in every session all the time. Today we saw some tight flying, and I had to work very hard to get this spot.
“If anybody says they expect it to be easy, I would say it’s hard work and getting harder all the time,” he said. “These other guys are not standing still.”
Mangold said he was pleased to be on the podium, but frustrated, too. He worked with his technician overnight to remove about three pounds of weight from his plane.
“I’m..annoyed that I can’t get my plane to go any faster,” said Mangold. “I think the conditions were ideal in the semi final. I just got a little bit too wild in the final, a bit too sloppy.”
Kirby Chambliss of the United States took third place, beating Hannes Arch of Austria.
Bonhomme now leads the championship with 18 points following his victory over Arch in the first race of the season three weeks ago in Abu Dhabi. Mangold is second with 15 points, after placing third in Abu Dhabi. Arch is third in the overall series with 14 points.
The next race in the series takes place in Detroit, Michigan, on May 31 and June 1.
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Britain’s Paul Bonhomme celebrates after taking first place at the San Diego Red Bull Air Race on Sunday. It is his second win in as many races. Photo courtesy Red Bull Air Race.
Paul Bonhomme’s time of 1:18.01 earned him the top step of the podium after Sunday’s race in San Diego.
Photo courtesy Red Bull Air Race.
Mike Mangold flies the course in the final round of the competition. His time of 1:119.24 gave him second place.
Photo courtesy Red Bull Air Race.
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