Japan's Muroya takes early World Championship lead with Qualifying win

Japan's Muroya takes early World Championship lead with Qualifying win posted: 09/02/2019

Tension was in the air at Qualifying for the Red Bull Air Race season opener in Abu Dhabi on Friday, as a new rule awarded World Championship points to the top three. The 2017 World Champion Yoshihide Muroya of Japan seized the opportunity, earning three points and the top of the overall standings in first. Canada's Pete McLeod took second and the USA's Michael Goulian earned third. With 25 points on offer to the winner of Saturday's race, in less than 24 hours any one of the 14 international pilots could claim the head of the overall leaderboard.

Abu Dhabi, UAE

- History's 12th consecutive Qualifying in spectacular Abu Dhabi witnessed appropriately spectacular flying on Friday. Muroya, who has not won a race since he clinched the 2017 title, avoided the over-G penalties that have sometimes been his nemesis to deliver textbook Vertical Turning Manouevres on his way to a time of 53.024. McLeod logged 53.240 and Goulian's time was 53.400.

- Based on the new points system, the winner of Qualifying earns three points, the second place finisher takes two points and the third-place pilot earns one. Goulian was awarded one point, but although McLeod came in second to Muroya, based on a post-race technical inspection, the Race Committee decided not to award the Canadian two points due to the fact that one magneto was out of the limit on his raceplane. It was apparent that the issue was not intentional, and so McLeod's second-place ranking will be maintained.

- Defending World Champion Martin onka of the Czech Republic finished fourth, exactly a half second behind his longtime rival Muroya, and from top to bottom, the entire field of 14 pilots were separated by just 1.568s.

- The 2018 World Championship was determined by only five points, so the points picked up in Qualifying across the season could make a critical difference overall at the end of the season.

- Muroya also captured the season's first DHL Fastest Lap Award on Friday, which is presented to the pilot who clocks the fastest single lap of the two-lap Qualifying runs. At the end of the season, the pilot with the most DHL Fastest Lap Awards will win the coveted DHL Fastest Lap Trophy.

- In 2018 the Abu Dhabi racetrack was exactly the same, and the race podium was: first place Goulian; second place Muroya; third place Kirby Chambliss (USA). A technical disqualification put onka in fourth.

The matchups

- Muroya will be challenged by Nicolas Ivanoff of France, who won the Abu Dhabi race in 2016.

- McLeod will take on the USA's Kirby Chambliss, who has a previous 2006 win in the capital.

- Goulian goes up against Petr Kopfstein (CZE), who has so far been flying conservatively to allow a new engine to fully break in.

- onka, who took his career-first race win in Abu Dhabi in 2017, will face Chile's Cristian Bolton.

- The 2018 overall runner-up Matt Hall (AUS) will see a showdown with Ben Murphy (GBR).

- 2016 World Champion Matthias Dolderer (GER) will compete against Mika Brageot (FRA).

- Fran ois Le Vot (FRA) will take on Juan Velarde (ESP).

Yoshihide Muroya (JPN): This is just three points, but at the end of the year maybe it's going to be a big three points. It's really important to collect as many Qualifying points as possible, and this is a really good start. We were sometimes struggling with Over-Gs last year - we prepared a lot for that, and for now it's working out. My head-to-head against Nicolas Ivanoff tomorrow will not be easy - he has a fairly new engine - but I will stick with the same plan, same tactics, same lines, and we will see.

Results Master Class Qualifying, Abu Dhabi 2019: 1. Yoshihide Muroya (JPN) 53.024, 2. Pete McLeod (CAN) 53.240, 3. Michael Goulian (USA) 53.400,4. Martin onka (CZE) 53.524, 5. Mika Brageot (FRA) 53.572, 6. Juan Velarde (ESP) 53.687, 7. Ben Murphy (GBR) 53.748, 8. Matt Hall (AUS) 53.792, 9. Fran ois Le Vot (FRA) 54.177, 10. Matthias Dolderer (GER) 54.180, 11. Cristian Bolton (CHI) 54.228, 12. Petr Kopfstein (CZE) 54.425,13. Kirby Chambliss (USA) 54.571, 14. Nicolas Ivanoff (FRA) 54.592

About Red Bull Air Race

The Red Bull Air Race World Championship is an aerial motorsport series that demands a combination of speed, precision and skill. Using the fastest, most agile, high performance race planes, pilots compete in iconic locations over water and land. The high speed, low altitude and extreme manoeuvrability required make it only accessible to the worlds most exceptional pilots.

Flying just metres from the ground, 14 Master Class pilots race against the clock whilst reaching speeds of up to 370 km/h, requiring a combination of precision and skill unmatched in the world of aviation. Pilots must be in peak physical condition as they endure forces up to 12G while navigating the technical racetracks made up of air-filled pylons.

The Air Race was developed in 2003 and is accredited by the F d ration A ronautique Internationale (FAI), with more than 90 races completed across five continents. As the most advanced aerial challenge in existence, competing in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship is the highest accolade for elite pilots.

A Challenger Cup feeder series was introduced in 2014 with the goal of facilitating the development of the unique skills required for the Master Class for the next generation of pilots.

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