bonhomme wins red bull air race in interlaken
Paul Bonhomme (GBR/Team Matador) beat Mike Mangold (USA/Team Cobra) in the fifth Red Bull Air Race World Series event of the season in Interlaken, Switzerland on Sunday 15 July, flying through a low-level obstacle course of air gates in front of a spectacular vista of snow-capped Alpine peaks.
After his second win of the season, Bonhomme is still leading the championship with a total of 26 points followed by Mangold two points behind.
He completed a superb run at speeds of up to 400 kph (250 mph) with forces reaching 10G, through the course stretched out in front of the trio of famous Swiss peaks – the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau -- in a time of 01:11.08 minutes.
"I didn't feel the last run was quite as good as my previous one, but hey, it did the trick. The wind was getting stronger during the day, very subtly. I'm very happy. The airplane's in tip-top shape”, said Bonhomme.
In second place was Mike Mangold (USA/Team Cobra), who trailed by 1.79 seconds through the circuit. Some 60,000 spectators turned out to watch the weekend race held under scorching mid-summer temperatures.
In the consolation race for third place, Peter Besenyei (HUN/Team Red Bull) beat Steve Jones (GBR/Team Matador). The stop in Interlaken is bthe fifth leg of the 10-race Red Bull Air Race World Series. Previous races were held in Abu Dhabi, Rio de Janeiro, Monument Valley (U.S.A), and Istanbul. Last year there were more than six million spectators at eight races.
Seven times Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher was among the spectators watching the world's fastest race series. The German superstar, who lives in Switzerland, was visibly enthralled by the race.
The victory widened Bonhomme's lead over 2005 champion Mangold ahead of the
British pilot's home race in London
