Australia’s Matt Hall has won the 2019 Red Bull Air Race World Championship.
After four Red Bull Air Race World Championship podiums, including three near misses in second place, Australia’s Matt Hall finally won the championship at the season finale in Chiba, Japan, on Sept. 9, 2019, defeating hometown hero Yoshihide Muroya by a single point. Martin Šonka of the Czech Republic claimed third place.
To the delight of the weekend’s 98,000 passionate fans, Muroya had his own moments in the spotlight as he won the race and took second in the World Championship.
The Sept. 9 race was not only the close to this year’s World Championship, but also the series, which included 12 seasons and 94 races. Red Bull Air Race officials announced in May that the races would not continue past 2019.
The final four in the last race included Hall, Muroya, the USA’s Kirby Chambliss and Canada’s Pete McLeod.
In the climactic round, McLeod crumbled with penalties. Muroya played it safe for a conservative 58.630 seconds and Chambliss was 0.971s behind him. Hall needed only to finish third to take the title, and he did just what he needed to do, flying to 1:00.052 for the championship. Final race results: Muroya first, Chambliss second, Hall third.
While he did not win the World Championship title, Muroya’s season was still remarkable, winning three races to one for Hall, and clinching his third career home race victory in Chiba. Chambliss’ race podium was also a fitting finish, as the American has won two Red Bull Air Race titles himself and has the longest career in the sport.
You can watch the all over again, and get more news, at RedBullAirRace.com.
Final standings, 2019 Red Bull Air Race World Championship
- Matt Hall (AUS) 81 pts,
- Yoshihide Muroya (JPN) 80 points,
- Martin Šonka (CZE) 68 points,
- Ben Murphy (GBR) 48 pts,
- Kirby Chambliss (USA) 48 pts,
- Pete McLeod (CAN) 48 pts,
- Nicolas Ivanoff (FRA) 47 pts,
- Mika Brageot (FRA) 44 pts,
- Michael Goulian (USA) 42 pts,
- Juan Velarde (ESP) 39 pts,
- François Le Vot (FRA) 34 pts
- Cristian Bolton (CHI) 27 pts,
- Petr Kopfstein (CZE) 10 pts
- Matthias Dolderer (GER) 6 pts
Wonder if it would be possible for ‘Red Bull’ to sell beverages at Oshkosh. Plenty of people who will be thirsty. And they are interested in airplanes.