Martin Šonka claims title at Kazan leg of Red Bull Air Race
Martin Šonka (CZE) celebrated victory in the fifth stop of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship that took place in Kazan on August 25-26. 14 Master Class pilots and 6 Challenger Class pilots competed in the race.
"For me it's truly special to win here, in Kazan. Thank you for such a warm welcome. Michael Goulian doesn't let me lose steam, and I'm thankful to him and other pilots for this. Our team worked hard; everything here was organized to the highest standard," the winner of the race said at the press conference.
Šonka had been struggling to find his perfect line this week, but it all came together in the Round of 14 and he didn't look back from there on. He was the last pilot to fly and knew he had to beat Michael Goulian's time of 52.238s if he was going to be on the top spot of the podium.
At the first split time Šonka was behind Goulian, but he aced his VTM and started clawing back time on the American pilot. He was 0.375s ahead at the halfway point, but he started to drop time again. He was able to hold on and crossed the Finish Gate 0.115s ahead of Goulian.
Kirby Chambliss was first to fly in the Final 4 and set the early pace. His time of 52.304s was the one Goulian had to beat, which he did. In his own flight it looked as if Goulian was going to lose out to Chambliss. His split time went from green to red, but as he finished his run he was 0.115s ahead.
Next into the track was Juan Velarde, and although he flew cleanly and quickly, he was unable to beat Chambliss' time and handed the American the final place on the podium. Michael Goulian sat on top of the standings with 55 points, while both Martin Sonka and Matt Hall were joint second on 49 points.
Kazan hosts the Red Bull Air Race for the second time. This year the race's track changed. Unlike last year, when it stretched over the water area along the Kremlin Embankment, this year it had a curved shape and provided a good view from the area adjacent to the Kazan Family Centre and from the area of the Kremlin Embankment located closer to the Kazan Kremlin. Mainly thanks to this fact, a record number of spectators - 128,000 (55,000 on Day 1, and 73,000 on Day 2) attended the event.
"The track this year is different. We realized how technically challenging it is, and for us it's a special race, of course. It's simply fantastic that we managed to win at this stop. We needed to use our efforts to the maximum. The victory is very valuable for us. Kazan is an amazing city. It's a pity that we do not have much time to enjoy it," Martin Šonka concluded.
Red Bull Air Race 2018
2-3 February: Abu Dhabi, UAE
20-22 April: Cannes, France
26-27 May: Chiba, Japan
23-24 June: Budapest, Hungary
25-26 September: Wiener Neustadt, Austria
6-7 October: Indianapolis, USA
17-18 November: Fort-Worth, USA.