By: Red Bull Air Race Series
September 5 2016
EuroSpeedway Lausitz, Germany – Australia’s Matt Hall laid down a scorching time of 53.642 seconds in the Final 4 of the Red Bull Air Race stop at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz on 4 September, and with everything hinging on the final pilot to fly, Germany’s own Matthias Dolderer, it was hard to hear the raceplanes over the home crowd’s cheers of encouragement. Although the German flew his heart out, his 54.417 was only good enough for second – leaving fans breathless with anticipation as Dolderer and Hall are now one and two in the World Championship standings. Pete McLeod of Canada, meanwhile, earned his first race podium of the season with an outstanding third-place effort.
“It was a great week for me. The busy-ness of this track definitely helped me given my style and my raceplane. It’s not the fastest airplane out there, so there was room to fly to a better time,” said McLeod, who is looking forward to the next stop at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the closest race of the season to his home in Ontario. “Going into the States, let’s hope we’ll see more of the same. It’s been a tough season for me, so I’m pretty happy. I'll take the positives and consistency from this race and try to build on that. If I fly like I did this weekend, anything’s possible.”
It was the second consecutive one-two finish for Hall and Dolderer, and the Australian is whittling away at the overall lead that his German opponent has held since April. The result bounced Hall, who finished second on the World Championship podium in 2015, just ahead of 2008 World Champion Hannes Arch on the leaderboard, and while neither pilot can overtake Dolderer’s substantial points advantage in a single race alone, there are two stops left in the season. The drama will commence with the Red Bull Air Race debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, followed by the season final in Las Vegas; and American Kirby Chambliss, currently at fourth overall, is also looking to make a move in his home races.
Tickets for the final two stops of the 2016 Red Bull Air Race season – including the world championship’s debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on 1-2 October – are on sale now. For more information on tickets and all the latest, visit www.redbullairrace.com
Results Master Class EuroSpeedway Lausitz: 1. Matt Hall (AUS), 2. Matthias Dolderer (GER), 3. Pete McLeod (CAN), 4. Martin Sonka (CZE), 5. Hannes Arch (AUT), 6. Michael Goulian (USA), 7. Nicolas Ivanoff (FRA), 8. Kirby Chambliss (USA), 9. Juan Velarde (ESP), 10. Nigel Lamb (GBR), 11. Petr Kopfstein (CZE), 12. François Le Vot (FRA), 13. Peter Podlunšek (SLO), 14. Yoshihide Muroya (JPN)
World Championship Standings after EuroSpeedway Lausitz: 1. Matthias Dolderer (GER) 65.25 pts, 2. Matt Hall (AUS) 48.75 pts, 3. Hannes Arch (AUT) 41.00 pts, 4. Kirby Chambliss (USA) 30.25 pts, 5. Nicolas Ivanoff (FRA) 30 pts, 6. Martin Šonka (CZE) 27 pts, 7. Nigel Lamb (GBR) 25.75 pts, 8. Yoshihide Muroya (JPN) 25.50 pts, 9. Pete McLeod (CAN) 21.50 pts, 10. Michael Goulian (USA) 18.75 pts, 11. Juan Velarde (ESP) 11.25 pts, 12. François Le Vot (FRA) 10.00 pts, 13. Peter Podlunšek (SLO) 4.00 pts, 14. Petr Kopfstein (CZE) 2.00 pts
Canadians In BOLD