|
BRIT BONHOMME BEATS MANGOLD IN SAN DIEGO
The fierce competition between British pilot Paul
Bonhomme and American pilot Mike Mangold came to a head in San Diego today as
Bonhomme claimed his second win of the 2008 Red Bull Air Race World Series
season in front of 63,000 enthusiastic spectators.
 It was another dazzling precision performance for the
British ace, who, after losing to Mangold by a heart-breaking fraction of a
second in 2007, gained a measure of revenge on his American rival with the
hard-earned victory. Although Bonhomme, from Cambridgeshire, made it look easy
with his elegant style of flying through the challenging obstacle course just a
few feet above the water, he was breathing hard and drenched in sweat after
returning to the runway set up on the U.S. Naval Air Station on North Island.
He won the final with a time of 1:18.01 to 1:19.24 for Mangold.
Im very pleased to take the win, said Bonhomme, who also
won the race in Americas Finest City last year. Its a challenging track here in
San Diego. 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.
Bonhomme currently leads the World Series with 18 points.
Mangold is second with 15 points.
Mangold was especially resilient in San Diego, bouncing
back from a distant third three weeks ago to a close second. He worked with his
technician overnight to remove about three pounds of weight from his plane and
put in a fantastic run to beat second-year sensation Hannes Arch in the Semi
Finals, clocking 1:17.74. Bonhomme was only marginally faster in his Semi Final
against Chambliss, with 1:17.59.
 Im pleased to be on the podium considering the
circumstances but annoyed that I cant get my plane to go any faster, said
Mangold, "Pauls got a great plane and hes a great pilot.
Britain's Nigel Lamb, from Oxfordshire, was 6th in
Sunday's race gaining 4 points in the World Series standings. Steve Jones, from Cirencester, struggled with
his plane in the windy conditions. He
finished in 9th place taking 1 championship point.
|
