Arch receives nine world championship points for his fourth place, meaning that the 42-year-old is – at least for the time being – forced to relinquish his lead in the overall standings to Bonhomme, whose second place and eleven valuable points increase his tally in the world championship 2009 to 42 points. Following the race in Budapest Arch lies just one point behind the Briton, while Nicolas Ivanoff (FRA) remains in third place on 29 points after being disqualified in the Hungarian capital.

“Of course I’m less than happy and disappointed with the result today. I put in a perfect run, but it ended with a questionable decision by the Judges that I can’t understand. I was the fastest pilot out there, everyone could see that – even the other pilots didn’t see a mistake. But we’re definitely not going to give up now; we’re going to hit back in Porto,” commented a visibly angry Arch. The reining world champion was handed a penalty for incorrect level flying at Gate 5, a mistake not recognisable with the naked eye.
Despite his disappointment, Arch took the opportunity to honour the Austrian fans who had made the journey to cheer him on: “I want to thank everybody for the incredible support – I have never seen so many Austrian flags at a race! It’s just a shame we couldn’t crown it with a win.”

The next race in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship takes place on 12/13 September 2009 in Porto (POR).

Red Bull Air Race Budapest 2009: Final Result
Michael Goulian (USA) 1:12:51 min.
Paul Bonhomme (GBR) + 0.62 sec.
Kirby Chambliss (USA) + 1.02 sec.
Hannes Arch (AUT) + 1.32 sec. (incl. two-second penalty)

Overall world championship standings after four races:
Paul Bonhomme (GBR) 42 points
Hannes Arch (AUT) 41 points
Nicolas Ivanoff (FRA) 29 points

Images free of charge for editorial purposes. Credit: Balasz Gardi (Global-Newsroom)