2014 Red Bull Air Race World Championship


The 2014 Red Bull Air Race World Championship was the ninth season of Red Bull Air Race World Championship, and the first since 2010.
In his seventh season in the series, British pilot Nigel Lamb became the champion for the first time, with consistent finishing being the key to his championship success. After starting the season slowly with just five points from the opening two events, Lamb won his first Air Race competition at Putrajaya Lake in Malaysia, before reeling off five consecutive second-place finishes. These results were good enough for him to surpass former champions Hannes Arch and Paul Bonhomme in the standings; Lamb ultimately finished nine points clear of Arch, with Bonhomme a further two points in arrears. Both pilots won two races during the season, as Arch won at Rovinj, Croatia and at Gdynia in Poland, while Bonhomme won in Abu Dhabi and his home event, at Ascot Racecourse. Nicolas Ivanoff was another two-time event winner, winning at Texas Motor Speedway and the Red Bull Ring, with Pete McLeod winning the remaining event, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The series also introduced a Challenger Cup for the 2014 season, for young pilots to develop their skills. Each pilot entered at least three races in order to accrue points towards the Cup rankings, with the top six pilots after the Las Vegas event being invited to a winner-takes-all event at the Red Bull Ring. Petr Kopfstein won the race by 1.1 seconds over Halim Othman, to take the inaugural title.

Aircraft and pilots

Master Class

PilotAircraftRounds
22 Hannes ArchZivko Edge 540All
91 Péter BesenyeiCorvus Racer 540All
55 Paul BonhommeZivko Edge 540All
10 Kirby ChamblissZivko Edge 540All
21 Matthias DoldererZivko Edge 540All
95 Matt HallMX Aircraft MXSAll
27 Nicolas IvanoffZivko Edge 540All
9 Nigel LambMX Aircraft MXSAll
84 Pete McLeodZivko Edge 540All
99 Michael GoulianZivko Edge 540All
8 Martin ŠonkaZivko Edge 540All
31 Yoshihide MuroyaZivko Edge 540All

Challenger Class

PilotRounds
7 Tom Bennett1–2, 4–5, 8
5 Cristian Bolton4–6
11 Mikaël Brageot1–2, 6–8
6 Luke Czepiela2, 4–5, 7
18 Petr Kopfstein1, 3–4, 7–8
35 François Le Vot1–3, 7–8
88 Halim Othman3, 5, 7–8
25 Peter Podlunšek2–3, 5–6
17 Daniel Ryfa1, 3–4, 6, 8
23 Claudius Spiegel2, 4–5
26 Juan Velarde1, 3, 6–7

The eight-event calendar for the 2014 season. An updated race calendar was released on 15 July, with the scheduled Chinese round being replaced by a round at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria.
RoundCountryLocationDateFastest QualifyingWinning PilotWinning AircraftWinning ChallengerReport
1Abu Dhabi28 February – 1 March Pete McLeod Paul BonhommeZivko Edge 540 François Le Votreport
2Rovinj12–13 April Hannes Arch Hannes ArchZivko Edge 540 François Le Votreport
3Putrajaya Lake, Putrajaya17–18 May Hannes Arch Nigel LambMX Aircraft MXS François Le Votreport
4Gdynia26–27 July Paul Bonhomme Hannes ArchZivko Edge 540 Claudius Spiegelreport
5Ascot Racecourse, Ascot16–17 August Pete McLeod Paul BonhommeZivko Edge 540 Halim Othmanreport
6Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth6–7 September Pete McLeod Nicolas IvanoffZivko Edge 540 Mikaël Brageotreport
7Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas11–12 October Pete McLeod Pete McLeodZivko Edge 540 Halim Othmanreport
8Red Bull Ring25–26 October Hannes Arch Nicolas IvanoffZivko Edge 540 Petr Kopfsteinreport

;Notes

Championship standings

Master Class

;Master Class scoring system
Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9–12th
Points1297543210

Challenger Class

Challenger Class pilots competed in at least three races throughout the season, with each pilot's best three scores counting towards the Challenger Cup ranking. The top six pilots in the ranking qualified for a winner-takes-all race at the Red Bull Ring.

Ranking

;Challenger Class scoring system
Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th
Points1086420

PilotUAE
CRO
MYS
POL
GBR
USA1
USA2
Points
1 François Le Vot111630
2 Daniel Ryfa2323622
3 Tom Bennett5232222
4 Halim Othman61120
5 Mikaël Brageot641320
6 Petr Kopfstein4242420
7 Claudius Spiegel61316
8 Juan Velarde34DSQ414
9 Peter Podlunšek3554212
10 Cristian Bolton6628
11 Luke Czepiela554528
PilotUAE
CRO
MYS
POL
GBR
USA1
USA2
Points

Final

At the last race of the season in Austria, the top six pilots in the standings took part in a race to determine the final ranking of the Challenger Cup.
RankPilotsTime
1 Petr Kopfstein1:05.799
2 Halim Othman1:06.900
3 Mikaël Brageot1:08.112
4 François Le Vot1:08.132
5 Daniel Ryfa1:15.180
6 Tom BennettDNS

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