Australian pilot Matt Hall has finished third in the final round of the 2010 Red Bull Air Race World Championship at EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Germany.
Hall finished behind only Austrian Hannes Arch and back to back world champion Paul Bonhomme (Great Britain) in the race over the packed motor sport venue. Another Brit, Nigel Lamb, was fourth after suffering a puncture on the runway that stopped him from taking part in the final four shootout.
Hall’s third moved him up one place in the overall championship to seventh behind Bonhomme, Arch and Lamb.
“I was happy with how I flew today, with the confident and smooth lines and the style I was hoping for,” Hall said.
“I did make a conscious decision to back off in the final four to make sure i didn’t hit any pylons and in the end I think that slowed me down but I am happy.”
Front on in the track
The race was a wonderful end to the year for Hall after what has been a challenging second season in the Championships following his record breaking rookie year in 2009 when he placed third overall.
Despite a career best second placing in front of a home Australian crowd in Perth in April, the 38-year-old from Merewether has battled technical issues with his engine and aircraft, a race ruined by rain, a near crash in Windsor (Canada) and a subsequent race committee imposed sanction from the showcase New York event in June.
There was also the announcement late last month that the Championship will take a year’s break in 2011 to restructure the organisation, work on building host city relationships and improve safety.
“It was a good result to top off what was an up and down year and has given me confidence again that I can match it with the best guys in the world,” Hall added.
“I am now looking forward to being part of the championship and improving even more when it returns in 2012.
