The U.K.’s Paul Bonhomme won the opening race of the 2015 Red Bull Air Race series in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, edging Australia’s Matt Hall by eight one hundredths of a second in the final round. Canada’s Pete McLeod, who is now sponsored by Garmin Virb, came third more than a half second behind. Hannes Arch, of Austria, was fourth and defending champion Nigel Lamb, of the U.K., was fifth. “Our whole team has a lot of experience and I think we’re able to get out of the blocks faster than the other teams,” said Bonhomme.
The series has added two new race teams, bringing to 14 the number of aircraft that run through the pylons at each event. Francois Le Vot, of France, came 11th in his first outing and Juan Velarde, of Spain, was 13th. Americans Mike Goulian and Kirby Chambliss were 12th and 14th respectively. The series will stage races in Chiba, Japan; Sochi, Russia; Budapest, Hungary; Ascot in the U.K.; and Spielberg, Austria, before ending the season with races in Fort Worth (Sept. 26-27) and Las Vegas (Oct 17-18).
