Florian Bergér (GER) today won the Red Bull Air Race Challenger Cup for the second time, after the final Challenger Class race of the 2017 race season was cancelled due to bad weather.

With rain and low cloud greeting pilots in the morning, the Challenger Class race was first postponed and then cancelled. 

Race Director Steve Jones said: ”Safety for the Red Bull Air Race is of the utmost priority and due to low clouds and rain, we cannot proceed with the Challenger Cup race. 

“At the moment, the race track is not safely operational. We are monitoring the weather and expect it to improve before the Master Class race begins.” 

The cancellation meant Bergér had done enough to win the Challenger Cup. He also won in 2015, the first pilot to win back-to-back Challenger Cup championships.

Bergér said the win was bitter-sweet, as he would liked to have raced on Sunday, but overall he was happy. "This was a great season for me," he explained, "I was on the podium every race, and I have won two seasons now back-to-back. I am a little disappointed we couldn’t race today, but overall I am very, very happy that I am standing on top of the podium."

A co-pilot for Lufthansa in his working life, he said his "biggest dream" was to graduate to the Master Class of the Red Bull Air Race. "My aerobatic background helps me a lot here in the Red Bull Air Race," he said. "My biggest dream is to become a Master Class pilot, and this year I learned a lot. The Challenger Class is a good step to the Master Class."

Daniel Ryfa (SWE) and Luke Czepiela (POL) both finish the season on 34 points overall and take second and third on the overall standings. Ryfa takes second due to two race wins, one more than Czepiela.

Kevin Coleman (USA) finishes fourth overall with Melanie Astles (FRA) in fifth and Ben Murphy (GBR) in sixth.

Full results at www.redbullairrace.com.

Photo © Daniel Grund/Red Bull Content Pool