2015 Red Bull Air Race World Championship
The 2015 Red Bull Air Race World Championship was the tenth Red Bull Air Race World Championship series, contested over eight events in seven countries held between February and October.
British pilot Paul Bonhomme won his third world title by five points, after winning half of the eight races. His closest challenger was Australian pilot Matt Hall, and the pair finished well clear at the top of the championship. Bonhomme won the opening two races of the season in Abu Dhabi and Chiba, before an eighth-place finish – his worst result of the season – in Rovinj, saw Hall tie his points tally with three podium finishes. After Austria's Hannes Arch won in Rovinj and Budapest, Bonhomme and Hall shared the remaining victories between them; Bonhomme won at Ascot and Fort Worth, while Hall took his first Air Race victories at the Red Bull Ring and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Arch completed the championship podium, some 42 points in arrears of Bonhomme.
The series also maintained the Challenger Cup format that was introduced for the 2014 season, for young pilots to develop their skills. Each pilot entered at least five races in order to accrue points towards the Cup rankings, with the top six pilots after the Fort Worth event being invited to a winner-takes-all event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mikaël Brageot of France – who had topped the Cup rankings – won the race by 0.035 seconds over Peter Podlunšek, to take the title.
Aircraft and pilots
editMaster Class
editNo. | Pilot | Aircraft | Rounds |
---|---|---|---|
22 | Hannes Arch[1] | Zivko Edge 540 | All |
91 | Péter Besenyei[1] | Corvus Racer 540 | 1–3 |
Zivko Edge 540[2] | 4–8 | ||
55 | Paul Bonhomme[1] | Zivko Edge 540 | All |
10 | Kirby Chambliss[1] | Zivko Edge 540 | All |
21 | Matthias Dolderer[1] | Zivko Edge 540 | All |
99 | Michael Goulian[1] | Zivko Edge 540 | All |
95 | Matt Hall[1] | MX Aircraft MXS | All |
27 | Nicolas Ivanoff[1] | Zivko Edge 540 | All |
9 | Nigel Lamb[1] | MX Aircraft MXS | All |
12 | François Le Vot[1] | Zivko Edge 540 | All |
84 | Pete McLeod[1] | Zivko Edge 540 | All |
31 | Yoshihide Muroya[1] | Zivko Edge 540 | All |
8 | Martin Šonka[1] | Zivko Edge 540 | All |
26 | Juan Velarde[1] | Zivko Edge 540 | All |
- Entering
- Challenger Class competitors François Le Vot and Juan Velarde, who were fourth and eighth respectively in 2014, joined the Master Class.[1]
Challenger Class
edit- All Challenger Cup Pilots used an Extra 330LX.[3]
No. | Pilot | Rounds |
---|---|---|
77 | Francis Barros[4] | 1–3, 5–7 |
62 | Florian Bergér[4] | 1–2, 4–8 |
5 | Cristian Bolton[1] | 1–5, 7–8 |
11 | Mikaël Brageot[1] | 1, 3–4, 6–8 |
18 | Petr Kopfstein[1] | 1–2, 4–8 |
37 | Peter Podlunšek[1] | 2–8 |
17 | Daniel Ryfa[1] | 1–6, 8 |
Race calendar and results
editThe eight-event calendar for the 2015 season was announced on 25 November 2014.[5] An updated race calendar was released on 3 March 2015, which dropped the round in Sochi, Russia and the round in Rovinj, Croatia returned to the calendar.[6]
Round | Country | Location | Date | Fastest Qualifying | Winning Pilot | Winning Aircraft | Winning Challenger | Report |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | United Arab Emirates | Abu Dhabi | 13–14 February | Paul Bonhomme | Paul Bonhomme | Zivko Edge 540 | Cristian Bolton | report |
2 | Japan | Makuhari, Chiba | 16–17 May | Nicolas Ivanoff | Paul Bonhomme | Zivko Edge 540 | Petr Kopfstein | report |
3 | Croatia | Rovinj | 30–31 May | Paul Bonhomme | Hannes Arch | Zivko Edge 540 | Daniel Ryfa | report |
4 | Hungary | Budapest | 4–5 July | Matt Hall | Hannes Arch | Zivko Edge 540 | Daniel Ryfa | report |
5 | United Kingdom | Ascot Racecourse, Ascot | 15–16 August | Paul Bonhomme | Paul Bonhomme | Zivko Edge 540 | Petr Kopfstein | report |
6 | Austria | Red Bull Ring, Spielberg | 5–6 September | cancelled | Matt Hall | MX Aircraft MXS | Mikaël Brageot | report |
7 | United States | Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth | 26–27 September | Matthias Dolderer | Paul Bonhomme | Zivko Edge 540 | Mikaël Brageot | report |
8 | United States | Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas | 17–18 October | Yoshihide Muroya | Matt Hall | MX Aircraft MXS | Mikaël Brageot | report |
Championship standings
editMaster Class
edit- Master Class scoring system
Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9–14th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Points | 12 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
|
Bold – Fastest Qualifying Pilot |
Challenger Class
editAs in 2014, Challenger Class pilots had to compete in at least three races throughout the season, with each pilot's best three scores counting towards the Challenger Cup ranking. The top six pilots in the ranking qualified for a winner-takes-all race at the end of the season.
- Challenger Class scoring system
Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Points | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
Ranking
editPos. | Pilot | ABU |
CHI |
ROV |
BUD |
ASC |
SPE |
FTW |
Drop | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Mikaël Brageot | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 28 | ||
2 | Daniel Ryfa | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 28 | |
3 | Petr Kopfstein | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 28 | |
4 | Cristian Bolton | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 24 | |
5 | Peter Podlunšek | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 18 | |
6 | Florian Bergér | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 14 | |
7 | Francis Barros | DSQ | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | ||
Pos. | Pilot | ABU |
CHI |
ROV |
BUD |
ASC |
SPE |
FTW |
Drop | Points |
Final
editAt the last race of the season at Las Vegas, the top six pilots in the standings took part in a race to determine the final ranking of the Challenger Cup.
Rank | Pilots | Time |
---|---|---|
1 | Mikaël Brageot | 1:00.521 |
2 | Peter Podlunšek | 1:00.556 |
3 | Cristian Bolton | 1:00.920 |
4 | Petr Kopfstein | 1:02.117 |
5 | Florian Bergér | 1:02.255 |
6 | Daniel Ryfa | 1:02.459 |
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "pilots". RedBullAirRace.com. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ^ "Besenyei unveils new raceplane". Red Bull Air Race World Championship. Red Bull Air Race GmbH. 29 June 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
- ^ "New Challenger Cup ready to take off in 2014". RedBullAirRace.com. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
- ^ a b "New Challenger Cup duo land for 2015". RedBullAirRace.com. 11 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
- ^ "2015 race dates announced in Japan". RedBullAirRace.com. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
- ^ "Red Bull Air Race Announces New Race Location for 2015 Season". RedBullAirRace.com. 3 March 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.