Bests Paul Bonhomme By Just 0.15 Seconds

Whew... that was close. US pilot Kirby Chambliss beat Britain's Paul Bonhomme in a spectacular Red Bull Air Race World Series battle in Detroit Sunday, in front of a crowd of 750,000 American and Canadian spectators.

Chambliss was clocked in a winning time of 1:12.08, just 0.15 seconds faster than Bonhomme (1:12.23) in the third race of the 10-stop 2008 World Series. It was Bonhomme’s first loss of the season after winning the first two races in Abu Dhabi and San Diego.

The Brit still leads the competition, with 26 points... but Chambliss proved he can be beaten.

"I went crazy up there and went out as fast as I could fly," said Chambliss, following one of the most exciting races on the most difficult course ever seen in the four-year history of the Red Bull Air Race World Series. Chambliss, the 2006 champion, had watched Bonhomme beat Austria's Hannes Arch moments earlier in a fantastic semi-final duel with a blistering time of 1:10.01.

"It was only fractions of a second separating us in the end," said Chambliss. "He'd just run a 1:10 and I was pretty sure he was going to beat me. I thought it was going to be impossible for me to beat that."

Huge crowds lined the shores of the Detroit River in the first ever Red Bull Air Race to take place on the border of two nations, the United States and Canada.

Hannes Arch took third with a clean run and a time of 1:12.73, beating American Mike Mangold (1:15.44) in the 3rd Place Fly-Off. Arch, who joined the World Series just last season, is the surprise package of 2008 with second place in the first race in Abu Dhabi, fourth in San Diego and now third in Detroit.

Arch posted an impressive time of 1:11.71 in the semi-finals. Racing in Detroit was hampered by heavy winds that forced the cancellation of the Qualifying sessions on Saturday.

After two back-to-back races in the United States, the competition moves to Europe next month with the next race in Stockholm, Sweden on July 5-6.

FMI: www.redbullairrace.com