Britain's Nigel Lamb Wins a Dramatic Red Bull Air Race World Championship Showdown, Beating Hannes Arch of Austria and Britain's Paul Bonhomme in Season Finale
Britain’s Nigel Lamb won the 2014 Red Bull Air Race World Championship this month with a dramatic victory under pressure at the season finale in Spielberg, Austria. Lamb’s second place finish after secured him the championship after Austria’s Hannes Arch ended up a disappointing fourth place in a nail-biting final in front of a sell-out crowd of 35,000 spectators.
France’s Nicolas Ivanoff won the race in the Austrian Alps for his second victory this season, but the nine points that Lamb won were enough to stave off a powerful challenge from local hero, Arch, and keep the British pilot in first place with a grand total of 62 points from the eight-race world championship. Arch, who could have won the World Championship with a victory in the final, ended up nine points behind Lamb and second overall for the third straight time in the world’s fastest motorsport series after being the runner-up to Paul Bonhomme of Britain in 2009 and 2010.
“It’s just amazing,” said Lamb, who came from far behind in the World Championship with a victory in the third race of the season in Malaysia and then got five straight second place finishes to overtake Arch and Bonhomme in the standings. In Austria, Lamb had watched nervously as Arch dominated all three training sessions before the weekend racing and then crushed everyone else with blazing speed in Saturday’s qualifying at the picturesque Red Bull Ring track, which was surrounded by snow-capped mountains. “I feel very lucky because I didn’t think that my time was even good enough to get on the podium. It’s an amazing feeling. It’s a great day. It’s an indescribable feeling.”
Results: 1. Nicolas Ivanoff (FRA), 2. Nigel Lamb (GBR), 3. Martin Sonka (CZE), 4. Hannes Arch (AUT), 5. Paul Bonhomme (GBR), 6. Michael Goulian (USA), 7. Kirby Chambliss (USA), 8. Pete McLeod (CAN), 9. Yoshihide Muroya (JPN), 10. Matt Hall (AUS), 11. Matthias Dolderer (GER), 12. Peter Besenyei (HUN)
World Championship (final): 1. Nigel Lamb (GBR) 62 points, 2. Hannes Arch (AUT) 53, 3. Paul Bonhomme (GBR) 51, 4. Nicolas Ivanoff (FRA) 42, 5. Pete McLeod (CAN) 38, 6. Matt Hall (AUS) 33, 7. Matthias Dolderer (GER) 21, 8. Martin Sonka (CZE) 18, 9. Yoshihide Muroya (JPN) 10, 10. Kirby Chambliss (USA) 7, 11. Peter Besenyei (HUN) 6, 12. Michael Goulian (USA) 3;
