The most exciting Red Bull Air Race World Championship battle in the sport’s history concludes with a showdown in the Styrian mountains in Spielberg, Austria on October 25/26 with Britain’s Nigel Lamb clinging to a slim lead over Austria’s Hannes Arch and defending World Champion Paul Bonhomme of Britain.
SPIELBERG (AUT) - For the first time since the Red Bull Air Race began in 2003, the World Championship is coming home to Austria. The Red Bull Ring in Spielberg will welcome back the race pilots as they touch down for the season final in October 2014 for a showdown at the world-famous racetrack. The site of the Red Bull Ring has a long history of motorsports, most notably as host to Formula One for 18 consecutive years throughout the 1970s and 1980s. After undergoing massive renovations and adopting a new name, the state-of-the-art Red Bull Ring racetrack hosted the DTM series in 2011, and welcomed back Formula One in June 2014 for the Austrian Grand Prix.
“We’re using every race as a learning experience, but now the focus is next year,” Goulian says. We’re going to have very limited time to work on our planes between seasons, so decisions have to be made: Do you leave the plane in Europe after the next race in Austria and have a company there work on it? Do you air-freight it home to the U.S.? Do you buy a new airplane?”
SPIELBERG (AUT) - For the first time since the Red Bull Air Race began in 2003, the World Championship is coming home to Austria. The Red Bull Ring in Spielberg will welcome back the race pilots as they touch down for the season final in October 2014 for a showdown at the world-famous racetrack. The site of the Red Bull Ring has a long history of motorsports, most notably as host to Formula One for 18 consecutive years throughout the 1970s and 1980s. After undergoing massive renovations and adopting a new name, the state-of-the-art Red Bull Ring racetrack hosted the DTM series in 2011, and welcomed back Formula One in June 2014 for the Austrian Grand Prix.
“We’re using every race as a learning experience, but now the focus is next year,” Goulian says. We’re going to have very limited time to work on our planes between seasons, so decisions have to be made: Do you leave the plane in Europe after the next race in Austria and have a company there work on it? Do you air-freight it home to the U.S.? Do you buy a new airplane?”
In the next days, Goulian and his team have to make those decisions amid the intense activity of back-to-back races in the world’s fastest motorsport series. But that’s the way the whole season has been for the 46-year-old from Maynard, Massachusetts, who had sold his racing plane when the series went on hiatus in 2010 and only got it back last October to prepare for the new season. At one race after another this year, it simply didn’t deliver the speed he needed, no matter how he flew or what his mechanics tried.
The same is also true for Kirby Chambliss, who only made it once into the Final 4 this year...
“We’re looking at every aspect of the team – I mean everything, literally – in order to fix this for next year,” Chambliss acknowledges. His team has been working tirelessly to resolve the issues, even installing a new engine between races, but other changes require the lull of the off-season, brief as it is.
Nonetheless, the Texas-born pilot, who now makes his home in Arizona, is still eager to show his stuff as the high-speed, low-altitude action of the world’s fastest motorsport series comes to its season final in Spielberg (AUT) for the first time. It’s simply not in his nature to give up for even a second, and he if he can find a way to win, he’ll take it.
The same is also true for Kirby Chambliss, who only made it once into the Final 4 this year...
“We’re looking at every aspect of the team – I mean everything, literally – in order to fix this for next year,” Chambliss acknowledges. His team has been working tirelessly to resolve the issues, even installing a new engine between races, but other changes require the lull of the off-season, brief as it is.
Nonetheless, the Texas-born pilot, who now makes his home in Arizona, is still eager to show his stuff as the high-speed, low-altitude action of the world’s fastest motorsport series comes to its season final in Spielberg (AUT) for the first time. It’s simply not in his nature to give up for even a second, and he if he can find a way to win, he’ll take it.
By: Editor
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