After a disappointing ninth place in Qualifying on Saturday, Austria’s Hannes Arch went in to the main race on Sunday with his back to the wall and knowing that he had to finish in the top four to keep alive his chances of overall victory in the 2009 world championship. “It was a weekend of ups and downs. The straight course didn’t benefit us – our plane is better on tight, twisty ones. I was off form in Qualifying and we had to work really hard to fight our way onto the podium,” explained Arch after his run through the 6.6km course in the city’s old port, subjecting the pilots to up to 12g at some of the 17 gates.

Arch now lies second in the overall world championship standings with 51 points, four behind leader Paul Bonhomme. The Briton may be red-hot favourite going into the final race of the season, but reigning world champion Arch certainly won’t give up his crown without a fight. “The Barcelona course suits our plane. Now we’ve got absolutely nothing to lose and I’ll be looking to put Bonhomme under pressure in Spain – all the way to the bitter end.”

Final result Porto: 1. Paul Bonhomme (GBR) 1:09.23 min; 2. Hannes Arch (AUT) 1:10.17 min; 3. Matt Hall (AUS) 1:11:23 min

Current overall standings Red Bull Air Race World Championship 2009 (after 5 of 6 races): 1. Paul Bonhomme (GBR) 55 points; 2. Hannes Arch (AUT) 51 points; 3. Matt Hall 33 points

Pictures free of charge for editorial use. Credit: Balazs Gardi for Global-Newsroom