Winning time of 1:12.85

They asked why do the organizers allowed these air racers to fly under the beautiful Chain Bridge ? Wouldn’t it be dangerous?

And the answer was: ‘Don’t worry, they have calculated it. Should they hit the bridge, they will be completely destroyed and the bridge will still be in-tact.’ So with this, you can imagine how strong the bridges are ;) My favourite was Mike Mangold’s flawless qualifying run through the 15-gate slalom course set up just metres above the surface of the Danube River on Sunday. Only viewing on TV can then you see it’s wonderful perspective! I suggest you not to miss the videos, click here
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Mangold, the 2005 Red Bull Air Race champion, dazzled the huge Hungary national holiday crowd watching from the banks of the majestic river with a clean run through the 15-gate course that started and finished with a spectacular fly-by underneath Budapest’s landmark Chain bridge. He posted a winning time of 1:12.85. Paul Bonhomme (GBR/Team Matador) took third.

“We’ve won two races in a row but there’s three races left, so we’ve got a good trend going. We did a whole new motor for this race. It’s almost running perfect. There is one minor issue that we’re going to work on before Porto. The machine is doing real well. It’s very easy for me. I just have to fly it correctly and it’s going to win for me,” Mangold said.

Mangold now leads the series, which has three more stops, with 36 points, ahead of the Bonhomme, the surprise package of the 2007 season, who now slips back to second after leading most of the season. He has 35 points. After a slow start this season, Mangold has won three of the last four races: Istanbul, London and Budapest.

The 13 Red Bull Air Race pilots hit speeds of up to 400 kph and forces of up to 10G in the elimination rounds flown on the compact course in front of the Hungarian parliament building. Budapest marked the start of the decisive phase of the Red Bull Air Race World Series. The final three stops of the series are in Porto, San Diego and Perth. source