The Czech Republic's Martin Sonka won a thrilling Red Bull Air Race final in Hungary on Sunday as third-placed Matt Hall went to outright first place in the championship standings.
Sonka beat France's Mika Brageot, who scored his first ever podium finish, Matt Hall and the USA's Michael Goulian in the Final 4
Sonka, who finished second in the 2017 championship behind Yoshi Muroya, had struggled for form this year, with a third place in China his best result going into Budapest.
"It's a beautiful view from on top of the podium," he said. "I love it every time. It was a very important race because now we are in the middle of the season and of course it's really important for us to stay in contact with the top pilot. It's great.
"We change[d] all six cylinders for this race, which was a lot of work, the whole team was working hard for this moment so a big thank you to my team. And thanks to fans we've had such great support from the Czech fans here."
Sonka was quick all weekend, qualifying in first place before getting a walk-over in the Round of 14 when opponent Matthias Dolderer did not start due to illness. He then accounted for Frenchman Francois Le Vot in the Round of 8.
His pace continued into the Final 4, with his 0:57.502 faster than his qualifying time. Brageot put up a very respectable 0:57.849, a time which guaranteed him a spot on the podium when the chasing Goulian had a nightmare run, collecting a total of seven seconds in penalties for three separate infringments.
Sonka's win was sealed when Hall's time of 0:58.103 was good enough for only third. The Australian later admitted he was focused more championship rival Goulian than he was in going for his third consecutive win.
"It's been a stressful week for us," Hall said. "We've had a few things go wrong, but the team pulled everything together. We were still doing engine runs on the plane this morning, so as I say it's been stressful.
"This was Goulian's fourth Final 4 in a row so that's good consistency. I was trying not to let World Championship tactics get in my flying today, but when I heard his time, I decided to be conservative and just beat him, not try and worry about the other two.
"That might turn out to be a mistake with Sonka later in the year, but at least it pushes Mikey down a couple of points behind me."
Hall now sits on top of the championship ladder on 45 points, two clear of Goulian on 43 points. Sonka is in third place on 34.
With the season at the halfway point, Hall has two wins to his name, with Goulian and Sonka taking one each. The next round of the 2018 Red Bull Air Race World Championship is in Kazan, Russia, 25-26 August.