2014 Red Bull Air Race World Championship

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The 2014 Red Bull Air Race World Championship was the ninth season of Red Bull Air Race World Championship, [1] and the first since 2010.

Contents

In his seventh season in the series, British pilot Nigel Lamb became the champion for the first time, with consistent finishing being the key to his championship success. After starting the season slowly with just five points from the opening two events, Lamb won his first Air Race competition at Putrajaya Lake in Malaysia, before reeling off five consecutive second-place finishes. These results were good enough for him to surpass former champions Hannes Arch and Paul Bonhomme in the standings; Lamb ultimately finished nine points clear of Arch, with Bonhomme a further two points in arrears. Both pilots won two races during the season, as Arch won at Rovinj, Croatia and at Gdynia in Poland, while Bonhomme won in Abu Dhabi and his home event, at Ascot Racecourse. Nicolas Ivanoff was another two-time event winner, winning at Texas Motor Speedway and the Red Bull Ring, with Pete McLeod winning the remaining event, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The series also introduced a Challenger Cup for the 2014 season, for young pilots to develop their skills. Each pilot entered at least three races in order to accrue points towards the Cup rankings, with the top six pilots after the Las Vegas event being invited to a winner-takes-all event at the Red Bull Ring. Petr Kopfstein won the race by 1.1 seconds over Halim Othman, to take the inaugural title.

Starting in 2014 it was sanctioned by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) as an official motorsport, [2] meaning provision of FAI medals especially designed for the Red Bull Air Race, the inclusion of all races in the FAI Events Calendar, and the official approval by the FAI of the race Rules & Regulations. Also, the FAI provided a safety delegate who attended all events to supervise safety aspects. [3]

Aircraft and pilots

Master Class

No.PilotAircraftRounds
22 Flag of Austria.svg Hannes Arch [4] Zivko Edge 540 All
91 Flag of Hungary.svg Péter Besenyei [4] Corvus Racer 540 All
55 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Paul Bonhomme [4] Zivko Edge 540 All
10 Flag of the United States.svg Kirby Chambliss [4] Zivko Edge 540 All
21 Flag of Germany.svg Matthias Dolderer [4] Zivko Edge 540 All
95 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Matt Hall [4] MX Aircraft MXS All
27 Flag of France.svg Nicolas Ivanoff [4] Zivko Edge 540 All
9 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Nigel Lamb [4] MX Aircraft MXS All
84 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Pete McLeod [4] Zivko Edge 540 All
99 Flag of the United States.svg Michael Goulian [4] Zivko Edge 540 All
8 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Martin Šonka [4] Zivko Edge 540 All
31 Flag of Japan.svg Yoshihide Muroya [4] Zivko Edge 540 All

Challenger Class

No.PilotRounds
7 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tom Bennett [5] 1–2, 4–5, 8
5 Flag of Chile.svg Cristian Bolton [6] 4–6
11 Flag of France.svg Mikaël Brageot [5] 1–2, 6–8
6 Flag of Poland.svg Luke Czepiela [6] 2, 4–5, 7
18 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Petr Kopfstein [5] 1, 3–4, 7–8
35 Flag of France.svg François Le Vot [5] 1–3, 7–8
88 Flag of Malaysia.svg Halim Othman [6] 3, 5, 7–8
25 Flag of Slovenia.svg Peter Podlunšek [5] 2–3, 5–6
17 Flag of Sweden.svg Daniel Ryfa [5] 1, 3–4, 6, 8
23 Flag of Germany.svg Claudius Spiegel [5] 2, 4–5
26 Flag of Spain.svg Juan Velarde [5] 1, 3, 6–7

Race calendar and results

The eight-event calendar for the 2014 season. [7] An updated race calendar was released on 15 July, with the scheduled Chinese round being replaced by a round at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. [8]

RoundCountryLocationDateFastest QualifyingWinning PilotWinning AircraftWinning ChallengerReport
1Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi 28 February – 1 March Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Pete McLeod Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Paul Bonhomme Zivko Edge 540 Flag of France.svg François Le Vot report
2Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia Rovinj 12–13 April Flag of Austria.svg Hannes Arch Flag of Austria.svg Hannes Arch Zivko Edge 540 Flag of France.svg François Le Vot report
3Flag of Malaysia 23px.svg  Malaysia Putrajaya Lake, Putrajaya 17–18 May Flag of Austria.svg Hannes Arch Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Nigel Lamb MX Aircraft MXS Flag of France.svg François Le Vot report
4Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Gdynia 26–27 July Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Paul Bonhomme Flag of Austria.svg Hannes Arch Zivko Edge 540 Flag of Germany.svg Claudius Spiegel report
5Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Ascot Racecourse, Ascot 16–17 August Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Pete McLeod Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Paul Bonhomme Zivko Edge 540 Flag of Malaysia.svg Halim Othman report
6Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth 6–7 September Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Pete McLeod Flag of France.svg Nicolas Ivanoff Zivko Edge 540 Flag of France.svg Mikaël Brageot report
7Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas 11–12 October Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Pete McLeod Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Pete McLeod [N 1] Zivko Edge 540 Flag of Malaysia.svg Halim Othman report
8Flag of Austria.svg  Austria Red Bull Ring 25–26 October Flag of Austria.svg Hannes Arch Flag of France.svg Nicolas Ivanoff Zivko Edge 540 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Petr Kopfstein report
Notes
  1. Race day abandoned due to bad weather. The results for the event were determined via qualifying order.

Championship standings

Master Class

Master Class scoring system
Position 1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th  7th  8th  9–12th 
Points1297543210
Pos.Pilot UAE
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg
CRO
Flag of Croatia.svg
MYS
Flag of Malaysia.svg
POL
Flag of Poland.svg
GBR
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
USA1
Flag of the United States.svg
USA2
Flag of the United States.svg
AUT
Flag of Austria.svg
Points
1 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Nigel Lamb 5812222262
2 Flag of Austria.svg Hannes Arch 2121885453
3 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Paul Bonhomme 1255157551
4 Flag of France.svg Nicolas Ivanoff 85116316142
5 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Pete McLeod 34481131838
6 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Matt Hall 47335641033
7 Flag of Germany.svg Matthias Dolderer 698114431121
8 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Martin Šonka 76610978318
9 Flag of Japan.svg Yoshihide Muroya 931012699910
10 Flag of the United States.svg Kirby Chambliss 11109410101177
11 Flag of Hungary.svg Péter Besenyei 10117771212126
12 Flag of the United States.svg Michael Goulian DNS1212912111063
Pos.Pilot UAE
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg
CRO
Flag of Croatia.svg
MYS
Flag of Malaysia.svg
POL
Flag of Poland.svg
GBR
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
USA1
Flag of the United States.svg
USA2
Flag of the United States.svg
AUT
Flag of Austria.svg
Points
ColourResult
GoldWinner
SilverSecond place
BronzeThird place
GreenPoints finish
BlueNon-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
PurpleRetired (Ret)
RedDid not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
BlackDisqualified (DSQ)
WhiteDid not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
BlankDid not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)

Bold – Fastest Qualifying Pilot

Challenger Class

Challenger Class pilots competed in at least three races throughout the season, with each pilot's best three scores counting towards the Challenger Cup ranking. The top six pilots in the ranking qualified for a winner-takes-all race at the Red Bull Ring.

Ranking

Challenger Class scoring system
Position 1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th 
Points1086420
Pos.Pilot UAE
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg
CRO
Flag of Croatia.svg
MYS
Flag of Malaysia.svg
POL
Flag of Poland.svg
GBR
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
USA1
Flag of the United States.svg
USA2
Flag of the United States.svg
DropPoints
1 Flag of France.svg François Le Vot 111630
2 Flag of Sweden.svg Daniel Ryfa 2323622
3 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tom Bennett5232222
4 Flag of Malaysia.svg Halim Othman61120
5 Flag of France.svg Mikaël Brageot 641320
6 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Petr Kopfstein 4242420
7 Flag of Germany.svg Claudius Spiegel61316
8 Flag of Spain.svg Juan Velarde 34DSQ414
9 Flag of Slovenia.svg Peter Podlunšek 3554212
10 Flag of Chile.svg Cristian Bolton 6628
11 Flag of Poland.svg Luke Czepiela554528
Pos.Pilot UAE
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg
CRO
Flag of Croatia.svg
MYS
Flag of Malaysia.svg
POL
Flag of Poland.svg
GBR
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
USA1
Flag of the United States.svg
USA2
Flag of the United States.svg
DropPoints

Final

At the last race of the season in Austria, the top six pilots in the standings took part in a race to determine the final ranking of the Challenger Cup.

RankPilotsTime
1 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Petr Kopfstein 1:05.799
2 Flag of Malaysia.svg Halim Othman 1:06.900
3 Flag of France.svg Mikaël Brageot 1:08.112
4 Flag of France.svg François Le Vot 1:08.132
5 Flag of Sweden.svg Daniel Ryfa 1:15.180
6 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tom Bennett DNS

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References

  1. "Top pilots buckle up for 2014". RedBullAirRace.com. 7 October 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  2. "Red Bull to discontinue Air Race - Australian Flying".
  3. "Red Bull Air Race World Championship". 10 October 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "pilots". RedBullAirRace.com. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "New Challenger Cup ready to take off in 2014". RedBullAirRace.com. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Three New Pilots Earn Race Wings". RedBullAirRace.com. 5 April 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  7. "RACES". RedBullAirRace.com. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  8. "Austria to Host Red Bull Air Race Season Final". RedBullAirRace.com. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.