Matt Hall has had to endure cyclonic storms, a typhoon and an earthquake during his preparation for this weekend's second round of the Red Bull Air Race in Chiba, Japan.
In the last three weeks Hall has sat through the storm that battered Sydney and Newcastle, the remnants of Typhoon Noul and an earthquake that rattled his hotel.
Regardless, he is on edge and keen to get on the track after the three-month break since the first round at Abu Dhabi back in February, where he missed out on a race win by just 0.084 sec.
“To come so close in Abu Dhabi brought mixed emotions to be honest,” Hall said. “I was ecstatic to be on the podium in second and so close to Paul [Bonhomme] but on the other hand I was disappointed to miss my first win by such a small margin.
“The good thing is I know what it takes to win now and I feel, being that close, that I am capable of winning.
“I have wanted to race again every day since that round and now with the delays we have had getting airborne after the typhoon here in Japan I feel like a caged lion.”
With no Australian round, Hall considers the Chiba round his home race, especially with minimal time difference between Japan and the east coast of Australia.
“It’s a good race for me too in that the time zone is just an hour behind Sydney. That’s great for us with no jet lag and it’s also great for Australians back home who can watch the race live on Fox Sports or on-line in a friendly timeslot on Sunday afternoon.
“Hopefully I can do the job for them and get a good result.”
The Chiba round will be telecast in Australia on Fox Sports or via www.redbullairrace.com from 2-3pm AEST (Round of 14) on Fox Sports 3 and 4-5pm AEST (Round of 8 and Final 4) on Fox Sports 2. Saturday’s qualifying can be seen on-line via www.redbullairrace.com from 5pm AEST.