Last-Minute Upset Turns the Tide in New York

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Britian’s Paul Bonhomme literally inched his way into a victory at the New York stop of this year’s Red Bull Air Race World Series. Race favorite Hannes Arch from Austria posted the best race times during the practice sessions and Saturday’s qualifying runs. But his lead slipped away from him when he hit a pylon with his wing tip in his very last run giving him a six-second penalty added on to his total time. With less than three seconds separating the times of the top three contenders all of Arch’s hopes of winning, or even placing in the top three, had all but vanished. "Yes, it’s been a great day," commented Bonhomme after the races. "I concentrated on me, my aeroplane, and the track today. Now I think we can celebrate, though."

British pilot Nigel Lamb came in second place with American pilot Kirby Chambliss rounding up third place. Local favorite Michael Goulian flew solid runs all weekend but couldn’t get the aircraft to perform faster than the track averages. And a late penalty for incorrect knife-edge flight in the Super-8 round eliminated his chances to fly in the final four. Matthias Dolderer unveiled his new aircraft in New York, an Edge 540 V3, the same type aircraft flown by fellow racer Hannes Arch. Despite the new aircraft, however, Dolderer did not score well enough to proceed beyond the top-12 round. Arch, despite losing in the last seconds with a pylon hit, is overall very pleased with his performance in New York. "I think it was a good run. I did exactly what I wanted to do to tighten it up," said Arch on his performance. "I was just a couple of centimeters out with the pylon but I prefer to lose like I lost here – in style – than to screw it up completely. Actually, I think all of those guys owe me a beer." The New York race marks the fifth of eight races in the 2010 Red Bull Air Race World Series. All the teams now have a 6-week break until the next race held in Lausitz, Germany.

For more information and to follow the races, visit their official web site at RedBullAirRace.com.

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Panoramic view of the Ellis Island Race Track.

Air gate.

Alejandro Maclean.

The perfect spot to watch.

Hannes Arch.

Close to the action.

Kirby Chambliss.

Matt Hall.

Matthias Dolderer.

Nicolas Ivanoff.

Nigel Lamb.

Shutterbugs capture the action.

Paul Bonhomme.

Pete McLeod.

Matthias Dolderer.

Mike Goulian.

Nicolas Ivanoff.

Paul Bonhomme.

Pete McLeod.

Peter Besenyei.

Mike Goulian.

Nigel Lamb.

Hannes Arch.

Martin Sonka.

Sergey Rakhmanin.

Paul Bonhomme.

Matthias Dolderer.

Pete McLeod.

The video heli sees all.

Gathered for the show.

Mike Goulian.

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