Simply unbelievable! In only his second year in the event Hannes Arch has taken the Red Bull Air Race World Championship by storm with an incredible run of top results. The season opener in Abu Dhabi (UAE) was the scene of his first major coup as he shocked the international air race elite by claiming the first podium finish of his brief Air Race career.

The Austrian’s strict fitness regime over the winter months paid off right from the word go. At the first race of the season in Abu Dhabi Arch used his toned 76 kg frame and brand new Edge 540 to secure a stunning second place and with it the first podium finish of his Red Bull Air Race career. Having battled his way through the qualification rounds, he sensationally eliminated reigning world champion Mike Mangold (USA) in the semi final. Despite an epic battle against Britain’s Paul Bonhomme in the final, Arch had to settle (for the moment) for second place.

Arch used the next race of the 2008 Series in San Diego (USA) to prove once and for all that the result in Abu Dhabi was far from a one-off. After another strong performance the extreme sportsman from Styria just missed out on the podium after a hard-fought battle with Kirby Chambliss (USA), finishing fourth.

Just a few weeks later, Arch hit back in emphatic fashion in Detroit. While Chambliss topped his previous performance in San Diego and claimed victory in America’s “Motor City”, Hannes Arch once again proved his class among the world’s best air race pilots by securing third place and his second podium in only three races.

The unexpected break in the race calendar following the cancellation of the Air Race in Stockholm gave Arch the opportunity to work on his fitness levels and tweak the setup of his Edge 540 together with his team back in his native Austria.

The fitness and technical work carried out during the break paid off with interest as Arch stormed to second place at the fourth race of the season in Rotterdam (NED). Once again it was Paul Bonhomme who stood between him and his first ever victory in the World Championship, with the Briton winning the final ahead of Arch. However, the man from Austria was to ultimately get his revenge later in a thrilling season…

London was the setting for the fifth race of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship 2008. After qualifying fastest from the Super Eights, Arch had to eventually settle for third place after losing out in his semi-final to Nicolas Ivanoff (FRA) before going on to beat Air Race founder and legend Peter Besenyei (HUN) in the fly-off for third place.

After so many podium finishes, Budapest (HUN) proved to be the city where Arch finally made the breakthrough by securing his first Air Race victory in only his second season in the competition. Having qualified second-quickest from the Super Eights, Arch stormed through his semi-final against reigning Red Bull Air Race World Champion Mike Mangold (USA) to face Britain’s Steve Jones in the final. A clean, fast run through the course over the River Thames secured victory for Arch in the final, finishing well over two seconds ahead of the Briton and claiming his first ever win in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship.

Certainly not one to rest on his laurels, the Salzburg-based pilot grabbed his second win of the season at the very next race in Porto (POR). Having once again posted the second-quickest time in the Super Eights, Arch progressed to the final where he managed to secure victory in a hard-fought battle against 2006 Air Race World Champion Kirby Chambliss (USA).

The dramatic events of the 2008 season meant that Hannes Arch went into the traditional season finale in Perth (AUS) needing just one point to be crowned world champion. His only challenger for the title, Paul Bonhomme, needed to win the final race of the season and hope that Arch finished out of the points to wrestle the championship from the Austrian’s grasp. Arch’s consistency once again came to the fore in as he set the fastest time in qualifying, automatically securing him the one point needed to put him out of Bonhomme’s reach and crown him Red Bull Air Race World Champion 2008! However, the champagne stayed on ice for one more night as Arch concentrated on giving 100% on the final race day of the season, securing third place and an emphatic title win as Bonhomme went on to win the season finale under the blazing Western Australian sun.

All in all a breathtaking second season in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship for Hannes Arch, who basked in the applause of the huge crowd and his fellow Air Race pilots as he was crowned Red Bull Air Race World Champion 2008 under the blue skies of Perth.