Australian Red Bull Air Race Championship pilot Matt Hall is the only pilot left with a chance to upset series leader Paul Bonhomme and win the championship, in Sunday’s decider in Las Vegas in the United States.
Hall sits eight points behind Bonhomme, but is 29 points ahead of third placed Hannes Arch. With 12 points for a first place and nine for a second, Hall could still take the championship from Bonhomme, but his second place is secure.
“So we have second place in the bag,” he said. “So we have nothing to lose as we can not be in any worse situation than we currently sit in second. How many points can Paul get? Well I can’t control that, so I just need to have a great result and see what happens.”
The last round of the season will take place in the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The challenges on this event aren’t just about the circuit itself; Las Vegas is nearly 2000 feet above sea level and can have temperatures of 28 degrees Celsius at this time of year, suggesting density altitude may be a factor in engine power and manoeuvrability.
Matt Hall scored third place in the championship in his first season in 2009. In the process he also became the first pilot to gain a podium finish in their debut season.
The former Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18 pilot and Australian Aerobatics Championship winner has spent his down time between the last two races of the season completing a Supermarine Spitfire conversion with the Temora Aviation Museum.