Red Bull Air Race: Muroya finds the magic at season opener
To the amazement of 50,000 spectators across the opening weekend of the 2019 Red Bull Air Race season in Abu Dhabi, the 2017 World Champion Yoshihide Muroya (JPN) claimed the race win by just 0.003s over his longtime rival, defending World Champion Martin Šonka of the Czech Republic.
The result sets the tone for the eight-race season to come, and with third-place Michael Goulian (USA) just one point behind Šonka in the overall standings, plus 11 other elite contenders in the mix, there is no telling who will be on top at the November finale.
Although Abu Dhabi provided beautiful flying conditions, a significant shift in wind direction since Friday’s Qualifying resulted in numerous errors. The opening Round of 14 featured seven head-to-heads, with the fastest of each pair advancing, joined by the Fastest Loser. Šonka and Goulian advanced easily.
But the first round was especially tense for the man who finished overall runner-up to Šonka in 2018, Matt Hall (AUS).
Already dealing with raceplane issues, Hall faced another challenge in his head-to-head with Great Britain’s Ben Murphy when he was assessed a penalty. But when Murphy received four seconds of penalty including a pylon hit, the Aussie escaped to make the Round of 8 for the 50th time in his career. There he would face off with Šonka.
The Hall vs. Šonka showdown was the last matchup in the Round of 8, but the rivals made it worth the wait. Hall flew cleanly, but his 54.760 left the window open, given that Šonka had flown just over a second faster in the opening round.
Then Šonka took off and incurred a one-second penalty for an Over G, and the race was on. Knowing that another Over G would be disaster, the Czech champion pushed as hard as he dared, and just managed to nip a disappointed Hall by 0.256.
In addition to Šonka, the pilots who advanced to the all-important Final 4 were Goulian, Muroya and French pilot Nicolas Ivanoff. But a shock ensued when Ivanoff discovered technical problems and was unable to start his engine, giving him a "Did Not Start" and fourth place.
Muroya, Goulian and Šonka were assured a spot on the podium, but who would take the win? Muroya flew a sizzling 53.780, and Goulian couldn’t quite maintain the pace, clocking 54.009. It was all up to Šonka. The Czech pilot had the lead for the first splits, but then slipped back to give Muroya the win by three-thousandths of a second.
As the winner of both Qualifying and the race, Muroya made the most of a new World Championship points system in 2019. Points are now awarded for top finishers in Qualifying, and the number of points available on Race Day has changed, as well.
Muroya racked up 3 points for Qualifying plus 25 points for the race victory, for 28 overall. In second overall, Šonka has 22 points, while Goulian holds 21. It is still anyone’s World Championship to claim.
Muroya said: “It was really close today, but our teamwork worked out. The wind had shifted 180 degrees, so it was very, very difficult to get through Gate 7 today.
"I think maybe everyone was struggling there. It’s important to win to maximise the points, and our flights were very consistent from Free Practice 1 to the Final, so we’re really happy about that.”
For ticket information and all the latest news on the Red Bull Air Race, visit www.redbullairrace.com.
Results Master Class, Abu Dhabi 2019
- Yoshihide Muroya (JPN)
- Martin Šonka (CZE)
- Michael Goulian (USA)
- Nicolas Ivanoff (FRA)
- 5. Matt Hall (AUS)
- Juan Velarde (ESP)
- Mika Brageot (FRA)
- Kirby Chambliss (USA)
- Pete McLeod (CAN)
- Petr Kopfstein (CZE)
- Matthias Dolderer (GER)
- François Le Vot (FRA)
- Ben Murphy(GBR)
- Cristian Bolton (CHI)
Photo credit: Predrag Vuckovic/Red Bull Content Pool
