Red Bull Air Race World Championship

It is hard to imagine how the 2007 Red Bull Air Race World Championship could possibly have been any more exciting than it was. It has been a year full of close races, countless upsets, a scintillating championship battle not decided until the final race of the season, and new faces emerging at the top of the sport to challenge -- and at times even blow away -- the established hierarchy.

American Mike Mangold (Team Cobra) ended up winning the championship on
4th November in Perth, Australia by what turned out to be just fractions of a second after an improbable comeback in the final race, erasing a two-point deficit he had taken with him going into Perth and just pipping Britain's Paul Bonhomme (Matador).

The two had been duelling for the championship lead all season -- to the delight of the four million spectators at the 10 races held worldwide. In fact, the two arch rivals were so close that they were still even on 47 points each after the final race in Perth. To determine the champion, they had to turn to the rulebook on tie-breakers. But both Mangold also had the same number of 2007 wins (3), same number of second places (3), thirds (3), fourths (0) and fifths (1). It wasn't until they turned to the next level of tie-breaker -- placings in the elimination rounds -- that they were able to find a winner. And there both had the same number of firsts in elimination rounds (four). But when second places were tallied up, it was Mangold who was first twice while Bonhomme was first just once. It boiled down to the elimination round in Porto, the eighth race of the season. In what turned out to be the decisive battle of 2007, Mangold was second, just 0.43 seconds ahead of Bonhomme in third. In other words -- after 10 races in nine countries around the world, the 2007 championship was ultimately decided by four-tenths of a second.

The incredibly tight contest at the top was a fitting metaphor for the entire 2007 season. There were five different race winners -- Mangold, who won the title in 2005 and was sixth in 2006, and Bonhomme, who was fifth in 2005 and fourth in 2006, each had three wins apiece in 2007. Hungary's Peter Besenyei (Red Bull) won the first race in Abu Dhabi, Britain's Steve Jones (Matador) upset Mangold to win the final in Porto, and France's Nicolas Ivanoff (Team M.R.T) surprised everyone with his splendid victory in the final race in Perth. Oddly enough, defending champion Kirby Chambliss (USA/Red Bull) did not win a single race in 2007, although he was in the final in two of the last four races. Chambliss had won four of the eight races in 2006 and won that championship with ease -- a three-point margin over Besenyei in second place. This year, Besenyei took third and Chambliss was fourth.

The new knock-out system turned out to be a catalyst for the increased drama and by the end of the season it was widely recognised as a major factor behind the welcomed upheaval at the top. Not only did the timings tighten considerably this season, the new format made it possible for even those who were a few seconds off the pace to advance all the way to the semi-finals or even the final. There were knock-out round races this year that were decided by just 0.01 second -- one-hundredth of a second.

It was indeed an amazing season!

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