May 10, 2010 — Hannes Arch of Austria was declared the winner of the Red Bull Air Race in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday when adverse weather conditions made it impossible to continue the racing during the Top 12 round and the results were then based on Saturday’s Qualifying sessions.

The Austrian had won the Qualifying point. Britain’s Nigel Lamb was awarded second place based on coming second in Qualifying while championship leader Paul Bonhomme was forced to settle with a disappointing third place in the third race of the 2010 season.

Heavy rain and winds swept across Rio, drenching the 250,000 spectators, during the Top 12 round that initially forced a delay of the high-speed, low-altitude flying in front of the city’s Flamengo Beach with pilots in the air called back to the Race Airport.

Bonhomme and the other pilots had all known that rain was in the forecast for Sunday even though it had been bright and sunny all week. They all put their best efforts into winning Qualifying on Saturday because they knew there was a risk that the race could not be completed. Bonhomme, who got his very first racing victory in Rio in 2007, was disappointed with his Qualifying run. Accustomed to flying in bad weather in Britain, he was hoping to get the chance to make amends for his Qualifying defeat on Sunday as light drizzle made the flying challenging during the Wild Card session and the first half of the Top 12. 

“Hey, it’s a net loss of four points in Rio so that’s a shame,” said Bonhomme with a smile. The 2009 champion dismissed suggestions that the pressure from a resurgent Arch and vastly improved Lamb was causing him problems. “No, not at all,” Bonhomme said. “It’s a long season. We’ve got another five races so it should be good fun.”

The next Red Bull Air Race takes place in Windsor, Canada on June 5/6. According to the Official Rules & Regulations of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship (Part A, Clause 7): In the case of bad weather, the Race Committee may decide to cancel flying sessions on Race Day. In the case where there are no valid flying sessions the rankings will be based on the results of Qualifying.