Red Bull Air Race Budapest 2015

By Ruggero Piccoli and Alberto CelsanBudapest, one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, has been the background for the fourth race of the Red Bull Air Race 2015. The stage was held on July 4 and 5 in the city where it all started 12 years ago when the air race format saw its debut. Despite the hot temperatures during the race’s days, about 10,000 people attended on the Danube banks the world’s fastest motor sport series, which returned in Budapest after six years. Thanks to the impressive scenario of the Parliament Building and the famous bridges, the stage is one of the favorites for both pilots and the public, which had the opportunity to see the aircraft flying at speeds close to 370 km/h through the pylons few meters over the water.The race track was developed over the Danube River in front of the Parliament Building and the planes entered the track flying beneath the famous 19th century Chain Bridge, a spectacular way to start the race, which the master pilots were able to perform safely, as Besenyei explains, “I did this hundreds of times, also upside-down. It’s not a problem.”The race in Budapest was in the middle of the season, and this year, many pilots are still fighting for the title. After the stage in Rovinji, the top of the rank was held by Bonhomme and Hall with 25 points, but the gap with the other pilots was reduced to fewer points. “Everything is possible this year,” said Arch, who was at the third place with 17 points. “It’s not just about who’s the best pilot, but it’s a question of who can deliver his best performance when it counts the most on race day. All of us are capable of flying really fast. I love racing in Europe and am really looking forward to Budapest. I’m always motivated there and got my first victory in Budapest, so it’s a really special place for me.” And the pilot, charged by the victory in Rovinj added, “If I reach the same mental status of Rovinj, I’ll win.”The stage in Budapest has been very special for Peter Besenyei, the local hero, because he came back to fly in front of his fans and especially because this was his first race with the new aircraft as he explained, “I am very happy to race in Hungary after five years as not only the fans are waiting for it, but all the pilots as well. It is one of our favorite locations. In Hungary, it will be even more special for me to race my new plane for the first time. The previous plane (Corvus) is a great piece of technology, but unfortunately not competitive in racing. With my new Edge, I expect to climb up in the rankings. The plane is faster and made for racing. I will fight hard and give my best to finish on a top spot.”The race’s days has been characterized by high temperatures, which created a lot of humidity from the river waters. These two factors compromised the performances of many pilots because they reduced engine performances and led to stall problems. And also inside the cockpit, high temperatures were a bad feeling, as McLeod said, “racing with such close obstacles like bridges or buildings has not been a security issue thanks to the great professionalism of the pilots. The problem instead was that temperatures reached 44 or 45 degrees celsius inside the cockpit.”Challengers Cup

The Challengers pilots flew in the same track of the Masters, but they started over the Chain Bridge for safety issues. Six challengers were ready to compete in Budapest, and Daniel Ryfa reached the final victory with the time of 1:09.070. The Swedish pilot, who also earned the fastest time in Saturday’s Qualifying, was at his second win in a row and confirmed his great 2015 season, “I had everything figured out, and it worked very well. I’m quite happy about that!” Second place for the French pilot, Mikael Brageot, who was three-tenths of second late. Third place for Slovenian Podlunsek. All the Challengers completed their race without any penalties, and the time laps were very close each other. “It feels really great. I was last in the lineup to fly, and I was looking forward to that––you know who’s in the lead, and it’s really exciting.”

Results Challenger Cup Budapest:1. Daniel Ryfa (SWE), 10 pts.; 2. Mikael Brageot (FRA), 8 pts.; 3. Peter Podlunsek (SLO) 6 pts.; 4. Petr Kopfstein (CZE) 4 pts.; 5.  Cristian Bolton (CHI), 2 pts.;  Florian Berger (GER), 0 pts.Overall Standings Challenger Class:1. Daniel Ryfa (SWE), 2. Petr Kopfstein (CZE), 3. Cristian Bolton (CHI), 4. Mikael Brageot (FRA), 5. Peter Podlunsek (SLO), 6. Florian Berger (GER), 7. Francis Barros (BRA)World Championship QualifyingThe qualifying session on Saturday saw the first success in his career for Matt Hall, who won the qualifying with a time of 58.323 seconds. The second place was reserved to Yoshihide Muroya while Arch took the third position after being the second best pilot during the trainings. The local hero, Besenyei, reached the 10th place, after a prudential qualification lap due to a penalty.Qualifying Results:1. Matt Hall (AUS) 58.323, 2. Yoshihide Muroya (JPN) 59.011,  3. Hannes Arch (AUT) 59.328, 4. Pete McLeod (CAN) 59.480, 5. Kirby Chambliss (USA) 59.496, 6. Nigel Lamb (GBR) 59.553, 7. Martin Sonka (CZE) 59.756, 8. Paul Bonhomme (GBR) 59.812, 9. Nicolas Ivanoff (FRA) 1:00.151, 10. Peter Besenyei (HUN) 1:00.862, 11. Francois Le Vot (FRA) 1:02.364, 12. Juan Velarde (Spain) 1:03.839, 13. Matthias Dolderer (GER) 1:03.974, 14. Michael Goulian (USA) 1:04.403 World ChampionshipAll the pilots in the top of the World Champions standing passed easily the round of 14. Hannes Arch was unstoppable through the first two elimination rounds, comfortably advancing through the Round of 14 and the Round of 8. Pete McLeod easily won against the rookie, Le Vot. Paul Bonhomme won the fight against Martin Sonka, who lost for only 0.06 seconds, time which allowed him to pass at the Round of eight as the faster looser. Matt Hall got the best on Michael Goulian, who got a penalty for incorrect level flying. Incredible match between Nicolas Ivanoff and Nigel Lamb: the French pilot exceeded maximum G and did not finish his race, and it seemed very easy for Lamb to win the round but he made the same over G error of Ivanoff and didn’t complete the lap. The English pilot, however, won the round thanks to the better qualification time.In the Round of eight, Bensenyei made an incredible lap exalting all his fans, but McLeod flying as a very expert pilot was able to gain time on each turn, and with a very flat turn over Margherita Bridge, he won the turn and passed to the Final 4. Easy victory for Arch against Lamb, who did for the second time the same over G error over Margherita Bridge. The surprise of the Round of right was Sonka, who won against the winner of the qualification Hall, that lost the opportunity to defend his position in the championship.All the pilots with perfect laps flew the Final 4. Only Martin Sonka suffered a stall over the Chain Bridge, causing a loss of seconds, but he was able to reach the third final position. Fourth place for McLeod and second one for Paul Bonhomme who with these points was able to confirm his overall leadership. Hannes Arch confirmed his great status by winning the second race in a raw after Rovinj. The World Championship standings after the fourth race confirm Bonhomme as the leader, while Arch reached Hall at the second place. The 2014 champion, Nigel Lamb stood in sixth place, and he seems unable to gain positions.Results Budapest:1. Hannes Arch (AUT), 2. Paul Bonhomme (GBR), 3. Martin Sonka (CZE), 4. Pete McLeod (CAN), 5. Matt Hall (AUS), 6. Peter Besenyei (HUN), 7. Matthias Dolderer (GER), 8. Nigel Lamb (GBR), 9. Yoshihide Muroya (JPN), 10. Kirby Chambliss (USA), 11. Michael Goulian (USA), 12. Francois Le Vot (FRA), 13. Juan Velarde (ESP), 14. Nicolas Ivanoff (FRA).World Championship standings:1. Bonhomme 34 points, 2. Arch 29, 3. Hall 29, 4. Sonka 16, 5. McLeod 14, 6. Lamb 13, 7. Dolderer 13, 8. Goulian 8, 9. Ivanoff 6, 10. Besenyei, 11. Muroya 4, 12. Chambliss 2, 13. Velarde, 14. Le Vot