British flyer Bonhomme wins for fourth time at Red Bull air show at TMS

At speeds Wilbur and Orville Wright could have only dreamed of, nervy aviators dueled above and inside Texas Motor Speedway at the Red Bull Air Race World Championship on Sunday.

In the end, however, pilots and their teams were left to endure a familiar result and the sounds of a familiar anthem in the winner’s circle, that of the British, in honor of one of her majesty’s loyal subjects, not to mention ace aircraft navigator, Paul Bonhomme.

Bonhomme won for a fourth time in seven races this season, edging Matt Hall of Australia. Bonhomme is the odds-on favorite to claim an unprecedented third world title when the circuit gathers for the season finale Oct. 17-18 in Las Vegas.

“It’s not a given what happens next,” said Bonhomme, who holds a comfortable eight-point lead over Hall. “I’ve been asked about the championship. I’m not even thinking about it. I’m not.

“There is no point in me worrying about the world championship up until the Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas.”

Bonhomme ran the fastest in the day’s Final Four, bobbing in an out of air pylons on a two-lap run of 55.285 seconds. Hall was next at 56.052. Yoshihide Muroya of Japan was third at 59.413, which included a three-second penalty for hitting a pylon. Martin Sonka, a son of the Czech Republic, was fourth, finishing at 1:02.9 after five seconds in penalties for a pylon hit and incorrect flying level.

The most inhibiting factor on Sunday was the wind, which played havoc with pilots in Turns 7 and 8 and 14 and 15 (they’re the same).

Hall, one of two pilots to run two laps of the course under 55 seconds, needed to finish in the top three to have a chance in Vegas.

In the format, the pilots race against another competitor in the Round of 14 and Round of 8.

In the first round, Hall drew Nigel Lamb, who registered the day’s fastest time, 54.620. Hall advanced to the round of eight as the fastest loser, running a 54.800.

“I was pretty happy with how we pulled it together today,” Hall said. “It’s a challenging track and today challenging conditions with the wind going the wrong direction for that last turn.

“We’re still in the hunt. The objective at the beginning of the year was to be within striking distance of the championship at the end of the year and we’ve accomplished that goal.”

Race organizers said 30,000 turned out for the two-day event of qualifying and racing, with some stunt aerobatics thrown in.

Many were there to see native Texan Kirby Chambliss, who was knocked out in the first round by Sonka. Chambliss, making an aggressive run after Sonka’s opening 55.846, was hit with a two-second penalty for incorrect passing of an air gate.

“The best we’ve run at this track up to that point was a 56.3,” said the Corpus Christi-born Chambliss. “I knew I had to go flat out. It’s not the result I wanted in Texas. I’m a Texan, I wanted to win, like everywhere else, but definitely here.”

The most consistent performer was Bonhomme, who knocked out Hannes Arch of Austria in the first round with a two-lap run of 56.039 and Canadian Pete McCleod, who did not finish his run.

“The whole week has been super hard work, but good fun,” Bonhomme said. “An eight-point buffer is nothing. It can be wiped out in an instant, but there’s no point in stressing about it. That’s just a waste of mental energy.”

This story was originally published September 27, 2015 at 6:31 PM with the headline "British flyer Bonhomme wins for fourth time at Red Bull air show at TMS."