"We'll get him in the end.."

With his victory at the Red Bull Air Race in Rotterdam, Paul Bonhomme added yet another point to his overall lead. His competition is trying to get past him using various tactical recipes.

Two weeks before the home event in London, the Brits are dominating the Red Bull Air Race. In Rotterdam, where the famous RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 docked into the harbour just in time for the race and was greeted by the pilots with a salute. Joining Paul Bonhomme and Steve Jones on the podium were two other Brits. "Paul may be dominating the series right now," commented Steve Jones on his compatriot’s performance, "but we’ll get him in the end."

Second place with a new cockpit roof

The chase of the overall leader is being carried out by his pursuers using highly creative methods. Austrian Hannes Arch, for example, second overall, flew the race in the Netherlands with a totally new, futuristic cockpit roof. "Every innovation makes the rivals nervous," Arch said before the race. "That could work out well for me." In the Rotterdam finals, however, it wasn’t aerodynamics but faults in flying that decided the wins and losses. "I risked everything and flew as directly as possible. But I was just too fast for the chicane," said Arch on his involuntary support of the disassembly of the pylons. Following his second place, he’s now six overall points behind Bonhomme. "It wasn’t me who won the race; Hannes lost it," commented the leader modestly.

New plane for Besenyei

Peter Besenyei, currently fifth overall, wasn’t satisfied with cosmetic changes such as a new cockpit roof. The Hungarian, who came second overall in 2005 and 2006, and placed third overall last year, changed his plane for Rotterdam on the spur of the moment. Instead of the Extra 300SR, he competed in his old Edge 540. "The motor could be a bit more powerful, but the Edge is just more comfortable to fly." And even if the change didn’t get top results in the race, Besenyei’s decision seems to have been the right one. The places first to fifth in the overall table are all occupied by Edge pilots.

New wheels for Mangold & Co.

Also the American pilots Mike Mangold, Kirby Chambliss and Michael Goulian thought to have found a new secret recipe against Bonhomme. Smaller five-inch wheels – thus weighing six kilos less – were supposed to make their planes a tad faster and more versatile. But race management didn’t allow the use of the mini-wheels, which had already been used in San Diego and Detroit, for safety reasons, "… because the starting and landing runways are shorter in Europ," technical director Adrian Judd explained. However it wasn’t only the mini-wheel ban that annoyed the title defender. Following his fifth place in Rotterdam, Mangold is currently only placed fourth overall.

Channel 9 on-air schedule

Catch all the race highlights this Sunday, 27 April on Channel 9. Following is the on-air schedule:

Sydney, Brisbane: 2pm - 3pm
Melbourne, Adelaide: 3pm - 4pm
Perth: 3.30pm - 4.30pm