Bonhomme triumphs in New York Red Bull air race

Britain's Paul Bonhomme won the 2010 Red Bull Air Race World Championship by taking second place behind Austria's Hannes Arch in the final race of the season at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Germany on Sunday 8 August. In another thrilling duel, Australia’s Matt Hall got the third podium of his career with third place in the 50th race in the sport’s history while Germany’s Matthias Dolderer finished seventh to the delight of the big home crowd. A total of 118,000 spectators watched the racing.

Bonhomme, who also won the 2009 championship, finished the six-race season with 64 points and two victories, in Abu Dhabi and New York. Arch, the 2008 champion, ends the year with 60 points and four wins, in Perth, Rio, Windsor and Germany. Britain's Nigel Lamb ended up third overall on 55 points.

Arch stopped the clock through the 15-gate track set up in the infield of the EuroSpeedway Lausitz race track in 1:12.30 while Bonhomme took second in 1:12.66 and Hall was in 1:17.41 - hurt by four seconds in penalties. Lamb was knocked out of the Final Four due to a flat tire suffered just before take-off.

Arch, who now has seven career wins, pushed Bonhomme to the limits all season and kept the pressure on his British rival to the final round. Bonhomme had posted faster times than Arch all weekend and had won the Qualifying point earlier on Sunday. But Arch pulled out all the stops in the Final Four, posting a blistering time that Bonhomme could not match.