14 of the world’s best race pilots definitely had no easy task at this, the second stop of the season in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship 2016, in Spielberg. Despite the difficult conditions, the athletes raced with impressive precision and at speeds as high as 370 km/h through the air gates, didn’t allow the wind or the snowflakes to get them out of their zone, and served up a competition that was exciting to watch.
Petr Kopfstein, the Czech Master Class Pilot on Team Spielberg, was the first opponent of spectator-favorite, Hannes Arch. The Austrian won through with a solid, error-free run, earning appreciative applause from the grandstands. After a sparkling victory in qualifying, Spaniard Juan Velarde, who had already brought strong performances in this World Championship, took too high a risk on this particular race Sunday and was eliminated in the “Round of 14” for pushing too many G’s.
In the “Round of 8” in his home race, Hannes Arch met US pilot Kirby Chambliss. With a fantastic run, the Styrian definitely warmed the hearts of his fans at the Red Bull Ring. Clocking 57.254 seconds, the local hero put down a really hot time, one that Kirby Chambliss was not able to catch. Which then brought Hannes Arch, along with Pete McLeod (CAN), Matthias Dolderer (GER) and Nigel Lamb (GBR), into the finals – a top quartet for the grand showdown in Styria!
Canadian Pete McLeod opened the battle for trophies in this year’s Austrian appearance of the ultimate motor sports series in aviation. With a spirited flight, Hannes Arch temporarily took the lead, but then had to hold his breath. Matthias Dolderer has shown on countless occasions, why he should always be counted one of the favorites in every race. In Spielberg 2016, he followed on the heels of Australian Matt Hall, who had been able to celebrate the first win in his career in Styria in 2015. In similar fashion, the German also managed to secure his own first gold trophy and took over leadership in the World Championship. Hannes Arch congratulated his opponent: “I am super satisfied, even with second place. Of course, I always want to come in first, but I am pleased everything turned out so well. The team did great work and the fans were fantastic. And the fact that Matthias was able to pull out such an amazing run, incredible! He took lots of risks and he deserved to win.”

Spielberg Race 2016, Finale Results
:

1.     Matthias Dolderer (GER)             00:56.996

2.     Hannes Arch (AUT)                    00:57.336

3.     Nigel Lamb (GBR)                      00:57.349

4.     Pete McLeod (CAN)                   00:57.598

World Championship Overall Standings 2016 (after 2 of 8 races): 
1. Matthias Dolderer (GER, 27 points), 2. Nicolas Ivanoff (FRA, 19), 3. Hannes Arch (AUT, 12), 4. Pete McLeod (CAN, 11), 5. Kirby Chambliss (USA, 11), 6. Nigel Lamb (GBR, 9), 7. Francois LeVot (FRA, 9), 8. Matt Hall (AUS, 8), 9. Michael Goulian (USA, 6), 10. Peter Podlunsek (SLO, 3), 11. Yoshihide Muroya (JPN, 3), 12. Martin Sonka (CZE, 2), 13. Juan Velarde (ESP, 1), 14. Petr Kopfstein (CZE, 0);

Red Bull Air Race on ServusTV. On Monday, 25 April, Hannes Arch and German Red Bull Air Race Pilot Matthias Dolderer will both be making live guest appearances at 9:15 p.m. in the show “Sport und Talk aus dem Hangar-7”, at which time they will review all of the highlights of the Spielberg race.

In the Red Bull Air Race World Championships, the goal is to go head-to-head against 14 of the world’s best race pilots to complete a course of 25-meter high air gates in highly maneuverable, lightweight planes as quickly as possible. If you happen to brush one of the inflatable pylons, you incur penalty seconds. The pylons tear immediately on contact. Of course, Hannes Arch wouldn’t be a Red Bull Race Champion if he didn’t constantly search for new challenges. Gazing on the Tauern Wind Park in his Styrian homeland, the native of Trofaiach had often played with the idea of attempting a slalom flight in Oberzeiring: “If, as a Red Bull Air Race pilot, you have such a windfarm at your front door and fly past it, it’s no wonder that you also want to fly through it at some point!” Wind turbines don’t bend, and that’s precisely why the idea of flying in between such massive “gates” had such an irresistible appeal for the Austrian pilot. He assures us:  “Respect is of ultimate importance, and without my experience as a Red Bull Air Race pilot I would never have given flying between them a second thought.” The Tauern Wind Park lies at 1900 meters above sea level and, with its 14 wind turbines, is the highest windfarm in Austria, also one of the highest in the world.

With official permission from the authorities in consultation with Wind Park management, and after intensive preparations, just a few days ago Hannes Arch finally powered his way between the 60 meters-high wind turbines in the Niedere Tauern mountains, realizing the wish he had been nurturing for so long. After the flight at over 300 km/h and stresses on his body of as much as 6 G, the Styrian was absolutely beaming as one of the few, if not the first person ever to fly a slalom route through a wind park: “I don’t know if a pilot has ever done anything comparable. Regardless, I am super happy that I was privileged to have such an experience”, and the Austrian continues: “One of the greatest challenges in comparison to the Red Bull Air Race is having to adapt far more to the natural conditions. In the middle of the mountains, you are rising and falling. You can’t fly as close to the obstacles, which increases the radius, and, at around 300 km/h, things can get a bit tight. Every second, you have to be perfectly clear in your mind that you have wind turbines in front of you and need to know precisely what you are going to do next. Though it has nothing to do with the Red Bull Air Race, it’s every bit as much fun, with the added benefit that it’s not about the time you clock. Things will get really serious again at the next race in Spielberg!”

Hannes Arch loves his home region, the mountains and flying – all of which came together in the premiere of the “Wind Park Rally” in Oberzeiring. For the passionate pilot, this flight was a perfect change of pace in order to clear his mind for the next important race. The anticipation of his fans and the atmosphere at the Red Bull Ring are a real motivator for Hannes Arch, of course. Plus, the local hero still has an account to settle at the Spielberg. He wants to celebrate the home victory he has sought for so long, having missed out on the 2014 World Championship title by a whisker, and touching the first pylon in last year’s race, which immediately put him out of contention. Awaiting fans in Spielberg on 23/24 April will be an enthralling motorsports competition along with a first-class program of side events. Tickets and complete information are available at www.redbullairrace.com/de_AT/event/spielberg-2016. 

“From Abu Dhabi I must take the positive side with me, the entry in the final 4 and the second best time of the day.  One can build up on this”, says Hannes Arch after the first race and his preparation for the season.  The groundwork concerned less the plane, on which no great modifications were made, but mainly the body and mental ability of Hannes.  He trained for many hours in the mountains for this purpose.  This investment in body and soul, as well as the time he spent with his partner and his family gave him new energy for concentration and reflection for the 2016 season.

During the winter the newly composed team invested a lot of time in analysis, for the plane is in itself   fast, but it takes more than just having a good machine.  Data management, technicalities, mental training, body fitness, in end effect all this supports the fact that Hannes is fast in the air when necessary.

“Our team achieved top work, now we must take this drive with us to Spielberg”, says the optimistic Styrian who looks forward to his home race at the end of April.  With a second stop on 23^rd and 24^th April, the Red Bull Air Race returns again to the Red Bull Ring which naturally pleases Hannes especially.  “It is always great for me to fly at home although after the last two races there, I have an account open, but that motivates me even more, to be able to give my best for all my true fans!  For me it is my home race as I come from Styria and grew up not far from Spielberg.  Irrespective of the fact that the track really suits me, we fly at different levels, there are trees between so particularly difficult, but also the course is very exciting to fly.   Sometimes the wind in Spielberg plays a big factor, as a gust of wind can strongly influence the race, much as was clear in 2015.  The race in Spielberg is always very emotional for me because there are so many fans present.  Also my family and many friends are there who push me even more with their enthusiasm”, says with pleasure Austria´s fastest pilot on the Austria stop of the series.

The Red Bull Air Race in Spielberg is so special for the fans because the whole race can be closely followed as it happens directly in front of the eyes of the spectators.  Not only do you feel the emotion live but also the impressive speed,  precision and reaction which is required of the pilot, when at 400 km an hour he roars through the pylons.  Also the position of the Race Airport, which lies directly on the track, makes it still more exciting for the fans as the pilots here are nearer to the fans as by many other locations.  Additionally the spectators are offered a super all-round programme for the time when there is nothing happening in the air, for there is a full programme of entertainment for the whole family.

The first of “Round of 14” of the Red Bull Air Race World Championships 2016 in Abu Dhabi had a number of hidden surprises. Whilst Martin Sonka (CZE) and the World Champion of 2014, Nigel Lamb (GB) did not survive the first round due to difficult mistakes, the Frenchman Francois Le Vot  was able to gain points with a faultless run as “Fastest Loser”. The Austrian Hannes Arch made it really exciting.   In a direct duel with Juan Velarde (ESP), it looked like a calculated  lead for the Styrian up until shortly before the end of his run due to the incorrect passing of Air Gate 13, two penalty seconds were given and the Spaniard with anmextremely small margin of a seventh hundred of a second took over the lead. The top favourite in the fight for the WM title had less luck. 
In the “Round of 8” Hannes Arch met with US American Michael Goulian. The Styrian kept a cool head, and with a faultless flight, laid down a good time.  Goulian gave his best, remained without penalty, but could not break the time of Hannes Arch.
For his final debut Le Vot had the exercise in Abu Dhabi to lay down a top time, the Frenchman had however to pocket  a two second penalty. Hannes Arch went in as second into the race, but was not rewarded for his full commitment. The Styrian passed over the safety line, was disqualified and ended his racing day outside the point scala. Matthias Dolderer and Nicolas Ivanoff then gave a thrilling battle for the win which the Frenchman very closely won. 
Focus for Hannes Arch fully concentrated on Spielberg. The Austrian Hannes Arch did not leave a good track in Abu Dhabi, but took it with good humor  “I must just grin a little, because I had reservations right from the beginning about the course. Today I kept to the G-craft- limit. When you do not pull, then you turn to the crowd line over which I then flew. Therefore something was not quite right with the track. Congratulations to Nicolas, Matthias and Francois, who all made well of the situation. My focus is now fully on Spielberg, where I would naturally like to fly on the podium at home and I would like to tell my fans that I will give my best!” 

All information of this home race with Hannes Arch in Spielberg (23/24^th April) and tickets at www.redbullairrace.com/de_AT/event/spielberg-2016.

For the 9^th time consecutively, Abu Dhabi will host the kick-off event of the Red Bull Air Race season, just as it has become tradition over the course of the previous years. The breath-taking skyline of the UAE capital offers the perfect backdrop for this spectacular competition. 14 of the world’s best pilots will rush through the air gates at the Arabian Gulf in their fast race planes that fly at speeds of up to 370 kph. The biggest challenge for man and machine is the high temperature under the desert sun.

After the retirement of reigning world champion Paul Bonhomme (GBR), the 2016 Red Bull Air Race World Championship is a whole new game. Apart from Hannes, some other pilots are in the mix for the title, such as Australian Matt Hall who missed the title by 5 points in 2015, or Martin Sonka from the Czech Republic who has been a constant in the top rankings in previous years. But Hannes is highly motivated and will do everything to finally win his longed-for second title. At Abu Dhabi, he had some good experiences in the past: “I like the first race of the season because it’s mentally challenging. There’s lot of unknowns, and that’s something I can deal with quite well.” His goal is clear: “I want to reach the finals without any penalty.” His slogan for the race is to “stay cool” as it “is always quite hot at Abu Dhabi!”

All races will be broadcast live on www.redbullairrace.com.