Smooth And Fast

American Mike Mangold lived up to his billing as pre-event favorite as he won his second title in as many weeks at the rain-delayed Zeltweg Red Bull Air Race in Austria on Saturday. The race had been delayed for three hours due to heavy thunderstorms.

The win followed hard on the heels of his victory in Rotterdam and moves him to the top of the World Series Rankings, ahead of Hungarian Peter Besenyei, who finished second. The victory moved Mangold to 16 points in the rankings, one ahead of Besenyei, champion here in 2003 when the race was also part of AirPower, one of the premier air shows in Europe.

Mangold, flying his Edge 540 in front of a crowd in excess of 140,000, finished 8.84 seconds ahead of Besenyei while Paul Bonhomme from Great Britain came in third, 11.32 seconds behind the winner.

Steve Jones, also of Great Britain came in fifth in his Extra 300S, and is third in the rankings with nine points. American Kirby Chambliss had to settle for fourth spot with eight points despite being in second place after the first round.

Mangold set the fastest time in both rounds of what is the third stop of the World Series, taking the lead with a first run of 01:40.49. He set a day's best in the second round with a time of 01:35.58.

The World Series takes to the skies next at the Rock of Cashel in Ireland on July 24th.

FMI: www.redbullairrace.com