These Guys Are Good... No "Bull"

Aero-News has learned American pilot Kirby Chambliss chalked up his third win of the season this weekend, in the Red Bull Air Race that took place in Istanbul, Turkey July 29.

Britain's Paul Bonhomme placed a close second... helped along in his quest to join the ranks of the series' top pilots -- including reigning series champion Mike Mangold and Peter Besenyei -- by his new Edge 540 aircraft.

Over 1.5 million spectators crowded the banks of the Golden Horn estuary in Istanbul to watch the world's best pilots fly at speeds of over 250 mph, as they raced against the clock in a bid to win points in the fifth leg of the international series.

Chambliss currently has the overall lead, with a total of 22 points in the World Series standings... followed closely by Besenyei, and then Mangold. The results were the narrowest in the history of the Red Bull Air Race, with Bonhomme just 0.48 seconds behind Chambliss. Mangold missed out on a top spot after hitting an Air Gate and incurring a 10 second penalty.

Chambliss was thrilled with his win, exclaiming "I am a very lucky man today!" adding, "You have to be consistent. I go out there and always fly aggressively. To me second place is nothing but the first loser."

Crowds watched in awe as the pilots raced through the high speed course, negotiating a series of 'air gates' just meters above the water. Taking place for the first time in Istanbul, chicanes were a brand new feature of the race track... with pilots having to weave through the single pylons as well as fly between the parallel gates.

The next race takes place on the River Danube in Budapest, Hungary on August 20.

(Editor's Note: In a related note, the Aero-News staff was privileged to catch... completely by accident... Fox Collegiate Sports' coverage of an earlier Red Bull Air Race Saturday night. Our consensus was it was one of the best hours of television any of us had seen of late -- and more than made up for the fact we couldn't find the remote control for our Osh House family's DVD player, putting a crimp in our plans to watch "One Six Right."

(If any television honchos are reading this... you need to get these races on regular TV NOW; aerial racing makes far better television than any three of the so-called "reality" shows currently polluting the airwaves.)

FMI: www.redbullairrace.com