LAUSITZ, Germany – Australia’s Matt Hall is looking forward to getting back into the cockpit in the Red Bull Air Race in Germany next week and said he hopes to finish the roller-coaster 2010 season on a high note.

Hall, the most successful rookie in the history of the sport last year, added he was disappointed about the announcement that the world championship would be taking a one-year break in 2011 to fast-track technology developments and revise commercial aspects but added he believes the plans are designed to strengthen the future of the sport and make sense.

“We’re all ready for the Germany race,” Hall said ahead of the sixth and final stop of the 2011 season that will be staged at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz, south of Berlin, a world-class motorsport circuit with grandstand seating.

“We have a few more items planned for the aircraft in Germany to get it handling as nice as possible and then we’re just planning on enjoying the last race of the season.”

Hall, a former RAAF fighter pilot who finished third overall in his rookie season, has been plagued at times by misfortune in his second season.

But he did get a career-best second place at his home race in Perth, finishing just behind Hannes Arch of Austria in a thrilling battle over the Swan River in April. Prior to that he had a costly mechanical failure in Abu Dhabi and ended up eighth. He also did not participate in New York race after he was sanctioned by Air Race officials following the incident Windsor in which the Australian and his aircraft skimmed the surface of the Detroit River. He was fourth in Rio, based on Qualifying day results, after the race was rained out.

“This has definitely been a frustrating season,” Hall said. “The good news is when I did get to race, I came second in a high-pressure home race. So we have lots to look forward to as we finish this year with lessons to carry forward.”

Hall is currently in 8th place overall with 22 points — not bad considering he has only three results compared to five results for the other pilots. The 22 points total is also only seven points behind fifth place — Pete McLeod of Canada. So a lot could still happen in the standings in the final race in Germany on August 7-8, where 12 points are up for grabs for the winner. Britain’s Paul Bonhomme — who the record books will show finished in third place and behind Hall in Perth — leads the championship with 53 points.

“My plans and goals for the race  in Germany are to demonstrate that we are still a force to be reckoned with in the future,” Hall said.

“I know I cannot affect the championship for 2010, though I can certainly make the top guys worry about the future by going into this race happy, relaxed and getting a good result with very smooth flying.”

Hall was the epitome of consistency in his rookie season. That helped him get third place overall even though he only once finished on the podium — third place at Porto — in six races in 2009. Unfortunately the pilot from Merewether NSW was not able to repeat that this year. Hall has had a lot of time since the North America races to reflect on the season.

“It has been a much-needed break between New York and Germany,” he said. “I had the chance to review all my lessons after my accident and address the issues that had surfaced. Of note was the way I had developed my business over the last 18 months, which had me basically involved in all aspects of the team. I was able to step back and reallocate responsibilities, which will lead to a more efficient team in the future as we continue to grow. That in turn has allowed me to relax more.”

Hall also said he was disappointed there will be no races in 2011 but welcomed the changes in the works for the long-term future of the sport.

“I understand the reasoning behind the decision,” he said. “There are a number of areas the air race have pinpointed to make the event stronger for the future, including development of a long term race calendar, stronger commercial relationships and organisational structure. This can only be a positive, as is the organisation’s commitment to improving safety.”

If you want to see how you would look under the sort of G-forces Matt and the rest of the Red Bull Air Race pilots face during a race, click on this cool Facebook link.

Red Bull Air Race star Matt Hall has catapulted himself into the developing world of mobile technology by launching his very own iPhone application.

The former Royal Australian Air Force fighter pilot, who served in combat on exchange with the US Air Force in the Persian Gulf, is amongst 15 of the planet’s best pilots contesting this year’s Air Race World Championships. In 2009 the Australian became the first rookie pilot to win a spot on the World Championship podium and Hall has now created another slice of history – the first pilot in the Championship to have his very own iPhone application and one of just a handful of elite sportsmen and women around the globe with an application.

Contained within the app can be found all the news from Matt Hall Racing, the latest from the Red Bull Air Race, Matt’s blog, Twitter and Facebook, a gallery of racing images as well as Matt’s schedule and the latest race results.

Hall, who is in Perth, Australia, preparing to contest the second round of this year’s series, said he was very excited to have entered the mobile IT world.

“When the opportunity came up to launch my own iPhone application I jumped at the chance,” Hall said. “I have had an iPhone for a few years now and I can’t live without it. I also have a website so creating an application was a natural progression.

“The aviation industry, Red Bull Air Race followers and motor sports fans around the world in particular have a thirst for information and news about our sport and with this application I can help all of them learn more and keep pace with what’s happening in the track.”

Aviation fan and mobile guru Robert Brus of AppSolutely Mobile Development helped Hall get his application up and running.

“Matt Hall is as highly respected an aviator as there is and we wanted to work with him to create an application that allowed him to continue to build his profile and spread the word about his ongoing list of achievements,” Mr Brus said.

“Online and mobile development is exciting and engaging and that is exactly how I would describe Matt Hall and his skills in the air.”

Hall remains focussed on one day becoming the first ever Australian to win a round of the Red Bull Air Race and ultimately the World Championship.

The application is available at the iTunes store for $4.99AUD by clicking HERE.

The team at Matt Hall Racing is pumped to give you the chance to be Matt’s wingman!

The first ever Matt Hall Racing YouTube video competition is up and flying – to see more click here.

How it works

Every month from now until the end of the race season we will award a Matt Hall Racing gift pack of a hat, t-shirt and Team Guide for the video featuring Matt that the team thinks is the best of that month.

At the end of the year one of the monthly winners and one other entrant drawn at random will win a joy flight with Matt.

Make sure your video is between one and three minutes long and you send us an email to team@matthallracing.com to let us know you have loaded it to YouTube.

Good luck!!

**Joy flight prizes will be redeemed at Maitland airport in NSW. Winners will have to get their own transport to Maitland.