Red Bull Air Race

Ascot traded finishing posts for a high-flying fanfare on Saturday as the second half of the 2015 Red Bull Air Race got up and running at one of England's most famed racing venues.

Saturday's qualifying action set the stage for Sunday's crescendo, and it was Great Britain's Paul Bonhomme who finished fastest in the Master Class to claim the top spot heading into race day.

Bonhomme's chances of topping qualification looked slim after Australian Matt Hall broke the record earlier in the day, but the standings leader replicated that feat with a time of one minute and 6.023 seconds to wow the Ascot audience.

In the Challenger Class, Daniel Ryfa of Sweden was more than three seconds ahead of the competition in qualifying, but he surrendered the Challenger Cup to Petr Kopfstein after he completed a superb comeback.

Read on for a look at Saturday's qualifying results and recap, and a glimpse at Sunday's head-to-head schedule for the round of 14, provided by the official Red Bull Air Race website.

Rank	Pilot	Time
1	Paul Bonhomme (GBR)	1:06.023
2	Matt Hall (AUS)	1:06.284
3	Martin Sonka (CZE)	1:07.172
4	Peter Besenyei (HUN)	1:07.443
5	Yoshihide Muroya (JPN)	1:07.864
6	Nicolas Ivanoff (FRA)	1:08.075
7	Kirby Chambliss (USA)	1:08.136
8	Nigel Lamb (GBR)	1:08.220
9	Michael Goulian (USA)	1:08.438
10	Matthias Dolderer (GER)	1:08.439
11	Francois Le Vot (FRA)	1:09.280
12	Juan Velarde (ESP)	1:09.996
13	Pete McLeod (CAN)	1:10.631
14	Hannes Arch (AUT)	DNF

Position	Pilot	Points
1	Paul Bonhomme	34
2	Hannes Arch	29
3	Matt Hall	29
4	Martin Sonka	16
5	Pete McLeod	14
6	Nigel Lamb	13
7	Matthias Dolderer	12
8	Michael Goulian	8
9	Nicolas Ivanoff	6
10	Peter Besenyei	5
11	Yoshihide Muroya	4
12	Kirby Chambliss	2
13	Juan Velarde	0
14	Francois Le Vot	0

Pilot 1	VS.	Pilot 2
Matthias Dolderer	vs.	Yoshihide Muroya
Francis Le Vot	vs.	Peter Besenyei
Michael Goulian	vs.	Nicolas Ivanoff
Juan Velarde	vs.	Martin Sonka
Nigel Lamb	vs.	Kirby Chambliss
Pete McLeod	vs.	Matt Hall
Hannes Arch	vs.	Paul Bonhomme

A host of contenders impressed in training earlier this weekend, but it was clear there was energy left in the reserves as the field failed to crack the barrier of 1:07.

Having claimed back-to-back Air Race victories in Rovinj and Budapest, Hannes Arch was on a mission to complete his hat-trick streak as he sought to leapfrog Bonhomme in the overall standings.

The Austrian had a qualifying session to forget, though, opting for security over speed on his first run and performing a Safety Climb Out before technical problems meant there was no second attempt to be had.

Ironically, because Arch did not show, he finished Saturday as the worst performer and will go head-to-head against Bonhomme in Sunday's round of 14, pitting the standings' top two competitors against one another.

The official Red Bull UK Twitter account tipped the pair to duel this weekend in what's become a fierce rivalry, with that bet turning out to be right on the money:

The @RedBullAirRace Showdown - get all the vital stats on @HannesArch v @TeamBonhomme http://t.co/f0CTVK9Wtt #AirRace pic.twitter.com/okOdCTsi2R

— Red Bull UK (@RedBullUK) August 12, 2015

Ascot makes for a wonderful Air Race venue, and the racecourse's official Twitter account illustrated the contrasting nature of the setting against its action as reigning Red Bull Air Race champion Nigel Lamb took to the skies:

Great sight as @Nigellamb takes off on what is usually the jumps track here at Ascot #AirRace pic.twitter.com/tXnfGUnjJR

— Ascot Racecourse (@Ascot) August 15, 2015

A fastest time of 1:08.220 seconds meant the home pilot didn't impact the leaders too heavily, sitting in mid-table after finishing almost two seconds slower than compatriot Bonhomme.

The high-octane entertainment may put its combatants on the edge of sanity, but Bonhomme's preparation technique was shown to be surprisingly playful:

The leader in @RedBullAirRace Qualifying, @TeamBonhomme, mentally preparing for his next run #AirRace pic.twitter.com/BRv7yR7MNi

— Red Bull UK (@RedBullUK) August 15, 2015

In the Challenger Cup, Kopfstein recovered from a slow qualifying session to top the times at Ascot and close the gap on Challenger Class leader Ryfa.

The Czech finished in 1:20.776 seconds to beat Cristian Bolton and Ryfa to first place, and he now sits just two points off the latter in the overall standings.

The 2015 Red Bull Air Race season is upon us, launching with a sunny stop in Abu Dhabi on Friday. It doesn't get much more picturesque than the United Arab Emirates for the aerobatic action that will continue into the Valentine's Day weekend, as supporters get the first opportunity to catch a glimpse of this year's competitors.

A revamped format and extra pilots have been added, as discussed below the upcoming event's vital details.

Date: Fri, Feb. 13-Sat, Feb. 14.

Location: Corniche Breakwater, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Live Stream: Red Bull (from 7 a.m. ET/12 p.m. GMT on Saturday). Only available for final-eight points battle.

Preview: New Competitors and a New Format

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y1jEToC3JM

The Red Bull Air Race is becoming increasingly competitive. While all 12 of last season's pilots returning, organisers have added two new combatants in the shape of Francois Le Vot and Juan Velarde, reported by the official Red Bull website.

Le Vot, also known by his nickname "Zool," is a former French national champion and servant of the French Air Force. He won three races in last season's inaugural Challenger Cup, making the leap up to the Air Race with aplomb. A sidenote for rivals who may be taking Le Vot lightly: One of his triumphs came in Abu Dhabi, reported by the Air Race website.

Incidentally, the beautiful upcoming location can be seen below, per the Abu Dhabi Events Twitter feed:

Feel your adrenaline rush @Redbullairrace at Corniche Breakwater #InAbuDhabi on Feb 13 & 14 http://t.co/ZdKlTUdHGw pic.twitter.com/7ws6OuRnN4

— Abu Dhabi Calendar (@InAbuDhabi) February 9, 2015

Velarde's route to the competition has been a little different. The Spaniard is a commercial pilot by trade, someone who has spent time as a flight instructor and flyer of freight planes. He represented Spain during all European and World Championships between 2004-11, while winning two gold, three silver and one bronze in the country's national tournament. He also performed in the 2014 Challenger Cup.

The addition of this duo means the format of the Air Race has evolved. This season's Challenger Cup—which proved so successful last year, as the two graduates show—will commence before the opening Round of 14, not during qualifying.

Extra numbers also ensure seven one-on-one races will take place during the Round of 14 exchanges. To keep things simple, seven winners and the fastest loser will progress to the Round of 8, which takes the form of a straight knockout competition in further head-to-head challenges.

Three podium places are up for grabs in the Final Four, which will see the weekend's best quartet race against the clock for the prize. 

"This new format will be a big challenge for the pilots to fly more precisely and better than ever before and we're confident it will make the Red Bull Air Race more exciting and competitive," said Jim DiMatteo, race director of the competition, per Red Bull's website.

British star Nigel Lamb, who won last season's title, believes the added numbers will make this year's competition even more difficult to call, as told to Red Bull: "This year could be anybody's. Everybody's been on the podium, except the two new guys, and both of them are very, very good. It's a campaign and there could be some big, big surprises this year."

Red Bull's Twitter feed posted an image of the current champion getting in a few practice rounds:

https://twitter.com/Redbullairrace/status/565159297269907456

Lamb's stunning control was one of the highlights of last year, as featured in Red Bull's top-moments video:

Such manoeuvres will be commonplace when the Abu Dhabi event kicks into gear, with each pilot looking to stamp their authority in a meeting which can provide major confidence for the rest of the campaign.

Lamb will know one minor mistake could impact his ability to retain the crown, particularly with the likes of Le Vot and Velarde looking to make an instant impression.

After the season finale of the Red Bull Air Race in Barcelona in October 2009, I left sports writing to start medical school.

However, the last interview I had performed was with the local hero Alejandro, or Alex, Maclean. Maclean was pretty dejected about the 2009 season but was optimistic for a strong return in 2010.

With my last article done and best wishes received from Team Maclean as I pursued this field, I went from a writer who accidentally stumbled into this sport and found his niche to merely a spectator in what I thought was the coolest sport I had ever come across. I had hoped to return one day in another capacity, but I first had to concentrate on my studies.

Today, tragic news came from Spain that Maclean died in a fatal accident while training for an air show. He was only 41.

It comes with a heavy heart to return to writing—albeit briefly—to pay tribute to one of the most interesting pilots that was in the Red Bull Air Race. I had only interviewed Maclean three times, but being the last pilot to interview with before I pursued another career left me speechless as I read the shocking news this afternoon.

Alex Maclean was one of the most-experienced pilots on the air racing circuit and kept himself out of serious trouble when it came to racing—even under tough conditions—which makes this news even more heart-wrenching.

When I first started in the 2008 season, the Red Bull Air Race wasn't as big as it is today. It mainly had aviation enthusiasts following the sport. My first one-on-one with the pilots came in Detroit that year.

I first met and interviewed Maclean after the cancelled qualifying, since he was quite busy during the media days with others who were more experienced interviewing him, while I was a just a newbie to the whole "interviewing the sports star" process.

This had me wondering: How does a Spanish pilot get more interviews than the three Americans?

It turned out, according to the more experienced journalists and aviation writers, that Maclean was one of the most interviewable pilots!

While I sounded nervous and not completely comfortable with this whole new atmosphere, Maclean took my questions in consideration and answered to the best of his abilities. There was a lot of disappointment since he had very little stick time in his brand new MXS, but he was still very professional and cool, albeit frustrated about the complete cancellation.

Afterwards, when it was time for the media to wrap things up, I quietly asked for a quick fan photo. He smiled!

That was an interesting way to part.

The start of the 2009 season in Abu Dhabi was quite interesting since I was more used to the whole hubbub that is caused whenever the Red Bull Air Race rolls into town, and again, I spoke with Maclean. Nothing special here, except for the fact that his team coordinator (TC), Carola, had a close stumble just as the interview began and we all had to keep ourselves from full-out laughing!

That was the last time I was able to speak one-on-one with Alex Maclean.

I was never able to speak with Maclean in Windsor, Canada, because of the Spanish-language media overrunning his hangar, and it looked like he was taking it in stride too! That was the last race I attended because of the career change.

Overall, Maclean was also one of the nicest guys to the fans and media. When it came to interviews, he came off more as a friend than just a person you were interviewing.

I will remember his on-track attitude in which his happiness for completing the track in a good time or frustration for getting a penalty was visible on his face—often attributed to the "hot Latin blood that goes through him" as the commentators would say!

Maclean's death was a tragedy and the world lost a great talent today.

As a former writer who had some connection with Maclean and his team, the news was shocking and saddening for me.

He will be remembered by this writer not just for his racing, but for the type of sportsman he was when off the track: A nice guy who wouldn't mind a quick chat.

Alejandro Maclean: 1969-2010.

Arguably one of the most charismatic pilots in the paddock, Alejandro (or simply Alex) Maclean is a seasoned Red Bull Air Race pilot with an experienced team. Sometimes though, just having these two cards on hand is not good enough for winning in the top-flight of aerial motorsports.

Maclean—whose name comes from his Scottish grandfather—has had a very tough 2009 starting with a sponsorship deal that didn't go through with Research In Motion and their Blackberry branch.

To add insult to injury, the Spaniard was always receiving the short end of the stick when it came to his time in the track. This would result in pylon hits, penalty points and other small things that pushed him down the rankings with a seventh place in Porto being his best result of the year.

Had he not pulled an over-G, and Maclean might have been a little higher in the rankings for that race and not classified as DSQ for the Super Eight round.

"Obviously my worst season ever and paradoxically the one that I have spend more time, money and effort in improving both the whole team and the results," says Maclean in an e-mail. "It...has been a really frustrating season but on the other side I have learned a lot" he goes on pragmatically.

Many areas could be blamed for his lack of results in 2009. One of the issues that Maclean has alluded to is the power plant of his MXS. Being one of only five of the 15 pilots in 2009 to have the newest race-specific aircraft in his hangar, and the second one after Nigel Lamb in 2008 to take delivery of it, Maclean was in an unenviable position.

"I can really blame my 2009 results mostly to the engine which is a 2007/8 engine and up to a smaller degree the plane handling" says Maclean and when asked about why he didn't upgrade, "I just could not afford a new engine like other teams with maybe better finances or help.

"I strongly believe on the MX performance and reliability and that much more than the EDGE 540 which in fact is proving or has proved not to be as reliable, however next year there will be a new EDGE 540 and this could mean that we will need to update our MX quite a lot."

Going into the offseason and looking ahead, Maclean tells Bleacher Report "next season we will have a new plane...and we will try our best to have it ready, be ready and get some help from sponsors, since...spending more will lead into a better result..."

The final thoughts after this interview is that for the No. 36 team, it appears like the offseason is going to be another challenge as the team regroups to get themselves in shape for 2010—both technically and financially—and be at least one step over the competition.

The off-season is going to be very interesting to see how Maclean and the others improve...

Hannes Arch (AUT) appears to have found his mojo again! The Austrian flew a very disciplined qualifying round to take pole position, take a crucial championship point, and narrow the gap to Paul Bonhomme (GBR) to three points. Arch has a grand total of 52 points against Bonhomme's 55.

The best case scenario is that Arch wins and Bonhomme not take a position higher than fourth if the Austrian has any hope of defending his championship. Basically, Arch needs to stay four points ahead of Bonhomme since if they tie, the Brit will take the championship on countback since he's been on the podium more often.

The complicated Barcelona track is a fitting finale for the 2009 season of the Red Bull Air Race and with two gates being in close proximity to each other, a lot of mistakes were bound to happen - with a grand total of five gate touches happening and many more incorrect knife flying (IKF).

This being Alejandro Maclean's home race, the Spaniard wasn't able to capitalize too well and qualified 10th overall in his MXS. This will be the last time he is flying this MXS and will be acquiring a new one for next season - according to an interview that will be published next week.

The Wild card round will feature Glen Dell (RSA), Yoshi Muroya (JPN), Sergey Rakhmanin (RUS), Pete McLeod (CAN) and Mike Mangold (USA).

McLeod believed earlier this week that he would be able to get at least one more championship point to his name, but now he's going to have to fight to make it into the Top 12 and see what will happen from there.

Further up the field, Matthias Dolderer (GER) has kept himself in fifth place while Red Bull duo Kirby Chambliss (USA) and Peter Besenyei (HUN) qualified in ninth and eighth places respectively.

Matt Hall of Australia is impressing everyone and has been able to qualify in third place just behind Nicolas Ivanoff (FRA) and ahead of Bonhomme, but the final ranking will be what counts.

The rankings for tomorrow is as follows:

1. Hannes Arch (AUT) - Edge 540: 1:21.06
2. Nicolas Ivanoff (FRA) - Edge 540: +1.10
3. Matt Hall (AUS) - MXS: +1.43
4. Paul Bonhomme (GBR) - Edge 540: +1.69
5. Matthias Dolderer (GER) - Edge 540: +2.01
6. Nigel Lamb (GBR) - MXS: +2.33
7. Michael Goulian (USA) - Edge 540: +2.73
8. Peter Besenyei (HUN) - MXS: +3.51
9. Kirby Chambliss (USA) - Edge 540: +3.94
10. Alejandro Maclean (ESP) - MXS: +4.08
11. Mike Mangold (USA) - Edge 540: +4.38
12. Pete McLeod (CAN) - Edge 540: +5.39
13. Sergey Rakhmanin (RUS) - MXS: +5.39
14. Yoshi Muroya (JPN) - Edge 540: +7.86
15. Glen Dell (RSA) - Edge 540: +16.19

In less than 24 hours, a new champion will be crowned or a defending one will retain it. Who can win it in the end?

2009 Could be Paul Bonhomme's (GBR) year, but the season isn't over, so let us not jump to conclusions too quickly!

The Portuguese stop in the 2009 edition of the Red Bull Air Race saw both a return to form for the defending champion Hannes Arch (AUT) but an even bigger return for Bonhomme who not only won the race, but took the qualifying point just 24 hours earlier to build up a cushy four point lead over his rival with only one round left to go.

However, overshadowing these two men in the fight for the title was rookie Matt Hall (AUS) who only in his fifth Red Bull Air Race was able to step onto the podium and take home some hardware!

Rookie Matthias Dolderer (GER) looked like a contender for the Final Four, but two two-second penalties in the Super Eight round cost him dearly and left him in sixth.

Kirby Chambliss (USA) had a technical issue with his Edge 540 in the Super Eight round and couldn't compete at all. The fastest man in practice had to settle in eighth place with a DNS.

In the technical areas, the track in Porto seemed to have been giving the pilots of the MXS aircraft the most trouble. Overall, it appeared that two-second penalties for incorrect level flying (ILF) at various gates hurt them.

One of the reasons for this, and one that former Red Bull Air Race pilot and commentator Steve Jones alluded to was the 420 degrees per second roll rate. Since it is a pretty sensitive aircraft, the pilot might turn within the gate unconsciously.

Wild Card

Four pilots, as opposed to five, took part in this round. Absent was Glen Dell (RSA) for having an unsafe aircraft. Pete McLeod (CAN) was hoping to not make any errors but an unfortunate penalty left him down.

Sergey Rakhmanin (RUS) also had some trouble and couldn't improve in the Wild Card either.

The two experienced hands of Mike Mangold (USA) and Nicolas Ivanoff (FRA) both went through as both put in disciplined races, but the latter took on a penalty.

Top 12

An eventful round, the old order got shaken up again but this time with Michael Goulian (USA), Yoshi Muroya (JPN), Nigel Lamb (GBR), and Nicolas Ivanoff (FRA) falling to the wayside. Muroya, Lamb and Ivanoff each took an ILF penalty of two seconds thus ending their races that day.

Further up, Kirby Chambliss broke into the 1:08 area by posting the fastest time of the day: a 1:08.88, just a hair faster than Bonhomme.

Matthias Dolderer wowed everyone by taking third overall in the Top 12 round with many betting that he would be a force to be reckoned with in the Final Four.

Hannes Arch however was too slow and came in behind Dolderer by just over a second while Hall, Alejandro Maclean (ESP), Peter Besenyei (HUN), and Mike Mangold rounded out the contenders for the Super Eight round.

Super Eight

This round looked to be a very tight one since the gap between first and eighth was just under three seconds in the previous round.

Chambliss had to drop out of this round because of technical difficulties and thus came in eighth of eight pilots.

The biggest loss had to be that of Maclean who went over-G in the second Vertical Turning Manoeuvre and was subsequently disqualified. Pull over 12 G's and you're disqualified. Maclean came seventh.

Matthias Dolderer looked to have been a contender for the next round because he just kept getting faster and faster but two ILF penalties of two seconds each ended his campaign and the German had to settle for sixth.

Mangold and Besenyei had their best results of the season so far, even with penalties attached to their names. Besenyei moved into fourth place and the Final Four while Mangold took fifth place with a weak engine. The American was happy with his result.

The top three came out as Arch, Bonhomme, and Hall. Besenyei would join them for the Final Four.

Final Four

Three experienced hands and a rookie. What's more is that the two men battling it out for the championship would be going neck and neck, with whoever being more cautious here losing.

Arch was the first man in and appeared to have put in a decent time of 1:10.17 with no penalties. A slight scare during the race as the Austrian was under investigation for a possible ILF.

Next up was Besenyei and with a two-second penalty from the start for an ILF, it was all over for the Hungarian unless Hall or Bonhomme would falter. He put in a 1:14.10.

Hall was gunning to go and not only did he manage to beat out Besenyei, he was able to do it cleanly! A 1:11.23 sealed his podium position!

Finally, it was all down to Bonhomme. If he wins, four points over Arch; if he takes second, he'd only be one point ahead. The Brit started off and by the first split, was 0.07 of a second behind but not only was he able to close it at the second, but actually come out ahead a full 0.94 of a second ahead of his Austrian rival by the time he passed the Breitling gates at the end of his run!

The final result of the fifth round of the Red Bull Air Race in Porto goes as such:

1. Paul Bonhomme (GBR) - Edge 540

2. Hannes Arch (AUT) - Edge 540

3. Matt Hall (AUS) - MXS

4. Peter Besenyei (HUN) - MXS

5. Mike Mangold (USA) - Edge 540

6. Matthias Dolderer (GER) - Edge 540

7. Alejandro Maclean (ESP) - MXS

8. Kirby Chambliss (USA) - Edge 540

9. Michael Goulian (USA) - Edge 540

10. Yoshi Muroya (JPN) - Edge 540

11. Nigel Lamb (GBR) - MXS

12. Nicolas Ivanoff (FRA) - Edge 540

13. Sergey Rakhmanin (RUS) - MXS

14. Pete McLeod (CAN) - Edge 540

With one more round in Barcelona on a tight and twisty track, will Paul Bonhomme hang onto his lead to take his first championship or will Hannes Arch snatch it in the 11th hour? Stay tuned for Oct. 4!

This was a week to behold for the Red Bull Air Race as fog bestowed the very beautiful and historical section of the Douro River thereby resulting in the 15 pilots involved not being able to put a lot of time in track training this previous week.

This could probably be why the results are as they are!

Porto seems to be the place where reversals of fortunes occur. In 2008, we all remember what happened to Paul Bonhomme (GBR) last year at this same location and that result turned the tide to lead Hannes Arch to becoming champion.

In 2009, Bonhomme is riding a wave in making the third time a charm for getting his Red Bull Air Race championship.

Defending champion Hannes Arch (AUT) has had to fare for ninth place - just outside the Wild Card, but he needs to put in a more cautious flight if he wants to win and narrow down or even overtake the Brit in the points standings.

Three rookies took positions in the top five with Matt Hall (AUS), Yoshi Muroya (JPN), and Matthias Dolderer (GER) coming in third, fourth, and fifth respectively. Kirby Chambliss (USA) missed out on a third consecutive qualifying point and starts second.

To complete the top 10 are Alejandro Maclean (ESP) in sixth, Nigel Lamb (GBR) in seventh, Peter Besenyei (HUN) in eighth, Hannes Arch in ninth, and Budapest winner Michael Goulian (USA) in 10th.

Pulling over-G's in this track is quite easy and many of the pilots were cautious about this issue. Lamb was an unfortunate victim as he pulled a record 12.8 G's of force on his and the plane's body. However, that was only Q1 and with a second round, the Englishman was able to put in a decent but "mediocre," according to him, time which was enough to put him in eighth position and a spot in the Top 12.

Most notably missing from the action this weekend is Glen Dell (RSA). His Edge 540 raceplane failed its technical compliance inspection and Technical Director Adrian Judd suspended the team from the weekend's race.

Further down the field, two of the most experienced pilots will have to compete in the Wild Card: Mike Mangold (USA) in 12th and Nicolas Ivanoff (FRA) in 11th after the former took a minor penalty in the second run coupled with a slow engine while the latter hit a pylon and took on too many penalties in both his runs.

They will join Sergey Rakhmanin (RUS) who is sitting in 13th and rookie Pete McLeod (CAN) who has the last place spot. Rakhmanin was just plain slow while McLeod just took on penalty after penalty (A whopping 12 seconds in his first run alone!).

The final tally and times for tomorrow's race are looking as such:

Rank	Name	Nation	Int. 1	Int. 2	Int. 3	Rnd.	Time	Diff.	Pen
1	Bonhomme Paul	GBR	12.82	31.97	50.25	Q1	1:10.03		0
2	Chambliss Kirby	USA	13.01	32.59	50.67	Q2	1:10.26	+ 0.23	0
3	Hall Matt	AUS	12.91	32.79	50.75	Q2	1:10.78	+ 0.75	0
4	Muroya Yoshihide	JPN	13.00	32.70	50.84	Q1	1:10.97	+ 0.94	0
5	Dolderer Matthias	GER	13.46	33.25	51.41	Q1	1:11.09	+ 1.06	0
6	Maclean Alejandro	ESP	12.76	32.37	51.15	Q2	1:11.23	+ 1.20	0
7	Lamb Nigel	GBR	13.14	32.95	51.57	Q2	1:11.53	+ 1.50	0
8	Besenyei Peter	HUN	13.04	32.85	51.63	Q2	1:11.61	+ 1.58	0
9	Arch Hannes	AUT	13.01	33.04	51.64	Q1	1:12.12	+ 2.09	0
10	Goulian Michael	USA	12.96	32.29	50.67	Q2	1:12.43	+ 2.40	2
11	Ivanoff Nicolas	FRA	12.85	35.13	53.07	Q1	1:13.07	+ 3.04	2
12	Mangold Mike	USA	13.75	34.36	52.97	Q1	1:13.45	+ 3.42	0
13	Rakhmanin Sergey	RUS	13.17	33.97	53.52	Q2	1:14.51	+ 4.48	0
14	McLeod Pete	CAN	15.47	35.91	54.91	Q2	1:17.45	+ 7.42	4

Porto is another one of those beautiful and scenic races in the Red Bull Air Race World Series. The course gives more of a drag race feeling than any sort of technical track that was experienced earlier this year like Abu Dhabi, San Diego, Windsor, or Budapest.

For this edition of Correspondent's Thoughts, I have too many thoughts ahead of the upcoming race in Porto but I have taken the three most important.

Arch vs. Bonhomme at the site of where the lead changed in 2008

The first train of thought about the upcoming race concerns the championship. We have a straight fight coming up between Paul Bonhomme and Hannes Arch with the margin being only a single solitary point.

The Briton has been the most consistent pilot this season with three second places and a first while the Austrian has never been in the same position twice even though he was able to win the first two qualifying sessions of the season and a point in each.

Now, why is this being brought up? It is quite simple: everything changed in Porto in 2008. If we rewind by 12 months, Bonhomme was the man to beat while Arch was quickly learning the ropes of the sport in only his sophomore year.

In Porto, Bonhomme went over-G during qualifying, was disqualified from the Super Eight round and had to compete in the One Point round. He made an error, took a penalty and walked away pointless for the first time that season.

To rub salt into those wounds, he was previously tied in terms of points with Arch, but was ahead based on the virtue that he had won three races while Arch only had one and now that he wasn't in contention, he could not compete in the Final Four and the Austrian took the win.

Bonhomme needed a miracle to win the championship. He would have to hope that Arch could not qualify in the Top Eight in the next and final round in Australia. We all know what happened afterwards...

So, can the Brit shake off the demons of the past here in Portugal and show Arch how it is done, or will Arch give Bonhomme a run for his money? Will fortune go the other way for Arch here?

What's Up With the MXS?

Nigel Lamb had one of the best starts to his season but it all went for nought. Alejandro Maclean wasn't doing too badly in Abu Dhabi and was even optimistic of his aircraft. Sergey Rakhmanin was consistently in the points with his new equipment but slipped down to last in Budapest.

Matt Hall still is the top-performing rookie but has slipped in the past two races from fifth place in the first two rounds down to seventh in the last two. Peter Besenyei was only able to once make it into the Final Four in San Diego but has had to languish the rest of the season.

So what do all these pilots have in common? Their MXS aircraft appear to have been letting them down.

Now, could this be because of human errors such as gate-touches or could it be that the other pilots and their Edge 540 aircraft have an advantage in terms of agility for "river" courses?

Is the MXS perhaps too advanced for the European tracks? Is the development of the Edge easier because it is more tried and true whereas the MXS is more experimental since it has only been in the Air Race for a season?

I would like to hear your comments on this matter.

This is said because the MXS was in the Final Four twice in the first three races and I suspect had Lamb not need to SCO in Windsor, he might have even been able to participate in the final round of the race.

Can Nicolas Ivanoff Bounce Back?

His passion is flying and the first two races this season, he looked like a sure candidate for the championship and could mix things up with Bonhomme and Arch. With a brand new and competitive Edge 540—an upgrade from his old Extra 300.

He was in third place at the season opener in Abu Dhabi and won in San Diego—proof that the podium in the Emirates was no fluke.

However, that went to the wayside as the Frenchman had a bit of a hiccup in Windsor as he hit a pylon and just couldn't recover in Budapest either.

The Frenchman has been categorized as a bit of an enigma since he's blindingly quick in one race, but then nowhere to be found in the next and all with the same equipment.

Ivanoff doesn't have much of a chance at taking the championship in 2009, but if he is anything like the first two rounds, he does have the potential of influencing it between the two top men right now.

Can Ivanoff bounce back? Use the comments to express your views!

Correspondent's Thoughts is an opinion piece written by Sheiban Shakeri for Bleacher Report ahead of each Red Bull Air Race.

Hello everybody! We are reaching the final races of the 2009 Red Bull Air Race season and the championship is still wide open for the taking, with Paul Bonhomme and Hannes Arch neck-and-neck. Only one point divides the two pilots with two rounds left.

The Briton has a narrow one-point lead over his Austrian rival for the first time this season after a sensational second-place in Budapest, Hungary.

The winner of course was American Michael Goulian, who has been waiting for a long time to stand on the top-step of the podium.

Behind him came Paul Bonhomme who has stood on the second step three of the four times this season; and Kirby Chambliss who is having a bit of a resurgence with winning the qualifying round twice this season.

Most notably absent from the podium was Arch who took a penalty in his final run and came fourth overall; a first-time absence for the defending Austrian world champion.

The biggest improvement in Budapest was German rookie Matthias Dolderer who not only kept himself out of the Wild Card round, but was able to make it through the Top 12 and into the Super Eight round. He finished with a strong fifth place to his name.

The break appeared to hamper who took 15th and last place overall. This is the first time all season that the Russian wasn't able to take a single point.

Porto is a regular stop on the Red Bull Air Race circuit and can have surprises occur at any point.

The track is essentially a drag-race type with the pilot flying in from the direction of the Atlantic Ocean through the start/finish gate, flies through the level (blue) gate two, navigates his way through the chicane, through two more level gates where he will make a vertical turning manoeuvre, fly the track in reverse fashion and do it all again once more!

The Red Bull Air Race website has provided a very nifty Google Map of the location.

In 2008, Hannes Arch won the race in style but this is the site where Paul Bonhomme really lost the championship. After an over-G moment in qualifying and making a mistake in the Point One round, the Briton left Portugal with no points to his name.

To add insult to injury, he was level on points with Arch previously and with the Austrian winning the full complement on race day, Bonhomme needed a miracle that never transpired.

The optimal time here last year was a 1:07 set by race winner Hannes Arch so expect slightly faster times. Of course, that is only if we get beautiful and sunny days for the next weekend.

For Porto, the big question now is whether Paul Bonhomme can keep his cool against his Austrian rival and finally make some headway into the championship. In Porto, we shall find out!