Sets Up A "Who's The Better Pilot?" Battle For Next Year

Britain's Paul Bonhomme scored a stylish victory in the final race of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship in Perth on Sunday, in front of a crowd of more than 200,000 spectators... while Hannes Arch was crowned 2008 World Champion after finishing third.

Bonhomme collected his 4th victory trophy of the season with a triumph over compatriot Nigel Lamb on a sunny afternoon in Western Australia to take second place overall for the second consecutive year.

"I was very pleased to win here in Perth," said Bonhomme, who had dominated the first half of the season before Arch took control in the second half. "I got to Perth early this year to get acclimatised and that paid off. The airplane is not really going that well but at least I have been flying it well here."

Flying an Edge 540, Arch became the first European to win the World Championship after Americans Mike Mangold (2005, 2007) and Kirby Chambliss (2006) won the title for the world's most exciting high-speed, low-altitude precision-flying competition.

"Paul deserved the win today and I'm thrilled to win the overall Championship," said Arch, 41, who appeared close to tears on the podium when the Austrian national anthem was played. "Over the whole season I had a very fast plane. The secret was to be consistent. I had the advantage of being behind Paul most of the season so the pressure was on him, not me. Today I felt the pressure and hit a pylon."

At a good-natured press conference in Perth, both Arch and Bonhomme agreed the results in Perth would only fuel arguments through the off-season about who was really the best pilot in 2008. Arch is the World Champion with 2 wins and 61 points while Bonhomme had 4 wins and 54 points.

"Clearly it's me," said Bonhomme with a smile when asked what he would tell those debating about which pilot was the best in 2008. Arch replied: "It's not just about who is the ‘best pilot'. It's tactics, it's the plane and it's the team."

Chambliss, who had 2 wins in 2008, took 3rd place overall with 46 points while Mangold was 4th on 44 points. Hungary's Peter Besenyei (34 points) managed to stave off a late-season challenge from Britain's Steve Jones (33 points) in a fantastic battle for 5th place while Spain's Alejandro Maclean jumped from 10th to 8th place on the strength of his 4th place finish in Perth. The turn-filled Australia track was just what the doctor ordered for Lamb and Maclean, who had the best results of the year Down Under. Their MXS planes had struggled against the Edge 540s until now.

"It's awesome," said Lamb of his career-best 2nd place and first podium since getting 3rd in San Diego in 2007. "I was excited about the 2009 season before this race and this has reinforced that."

The 2009 Red Bull Air Race World Championship race calendar will be announced soon.

FMI: www.redbullairrace.com