2015 Red Bull Air Race World Championship


The 2015 Red Bull Air Race World Championship was the tenth Red Bull Air Race World Championship series, contested over eight events in seven countries held between February and October.
British pilot Paul Bonhomme won his third world title by five points, after winning half of the eight races. His closest challenger was Australian pilot Matt Hall, and the pair finished well clear at the top of the championship. Bonhomme won the opening two races of the season in Abu Dhabi and Chiba, before an eighth-place finish – his worst result of the season – in Rovinj, saw Hall tie his points tally with three podium finishes. After Austria's Hannes Arch won in Rovinj and Budapest, Bonhomme and Hall shared the remaining victories between them; Bonhomme won at Ascot and Fort Worth, while Hall took his first Air Race victories at the Red Bull Ring and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Arch completed the championship podium, some 42 points in arrears of Bonhomme.
The series also maintained the Challenger Cup format that was introduced for the 2014 season, for young pilots to develop their skills. Each pilot entered at least five races in order to accrue points towards the Cup rankings, with the top six pilots after the Fort Worth event being invited to a winner-takes-all event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mikaël Brageot of France – who had topped the Cup rankings – won the race by 0.035 seconds over Peter Podlunšek, to take the title.

Aircraft and pilots

Master Class

PilotAircraftRounds
22 Hannes ArchZivko Edge 540All
91 Péter BesenyeiCorvus Racer 5401–3
91 Péter BesenyeiZivko Edge 5404–8
55 Paul BonhommeZivko Edge 540All
10 Kirby ChamblissZivko Edge 540All
21 Matthias DoldererZivko Edge 540All
99 Michael GoulianZivko Edge 540All
95 Matt HallMX Aircraft MXSAll
27 Nicolas IvanoffZivko Edge 540All
9 Nigel LambMX Aircraft MXSAll
12 François Le VotZivko Edge 540All
84 Pete McLeodZivko Edge 540All
31 Yoshihide MuroyaZivko Edge 540All
8 Martin ŠonkaZivko Edge 540All
26 Juan VelardeZivko Edge 540All

; Entering
PilotRounds
77 Francis Barros1–3, 5–7
62 Florian Bergér1–2, 4–8
5 Cristian Bolton1–5, 7–8
11 Mikaël Brageot1, 3–4, 6–8
18 Petr Kopfstein1–2, 4–8
37 Peter Podlunšek2–8
17 Daniel Ryfa1–6, 8

Race calendar and results

The eight-event calendar for the 2015 season was announced on 25 November 2014. An updated race calendar was released on 3 March 2015, which dropped the round in Sochi, Russia and the round in Rovinj, Croatia returned to the calendar.
RoundCountryLocationDateFastest QualifyingWinning PilotWinning AircraftWinning ChallengerReport
1Abu Dhabi13–14 February Paul Bonhomme Paul BonhommeZivko Edge 540 Cristian Boltonreport
2Makuhari, Chiba16–17 May Nicolas Ivanoff Paul BonhommeZivko Edge 540 Petr Kopfsteinreport
3Rovinj30–31 May Paul Bonhomme Hannes ArchZivko Edge 540 Daniel Ryfareport
4Budapest4–5 July Matt Hall Hannes ArchZivko Edge 540 Daniel Ryfareport
5Ascot Racecourse, Ascot15–16 August Paul Bonhomme Paul BonhommeZivko Edge 540 Petr Kopfsteinreport
6Red Bull Ring, Spielberg5–6 Septembercancelled Matt HallMX Aircraft MXS Mikaël Brageotreport
7Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth26–27 September Matthias Dolderer Paul BonhommeZivko Edge 540 Mikaël Brageotreport
8Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas17–18 October Yoshihide Muroya Matt HallMX Aircraft MXS Mikaël Brageotreport

Championship standings

Master Class

;Master Class scoring system
Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9–14th
Points1297543210

Challenger Class

As in 2014, Challenger Class pilots had to compete 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 end of the season.
;Challenger Class scoring system
Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th
Points1086420

Ranking

Final

At the last race of the season at Las Vegas, the top six pilots in the standings took part in a race to determine the final ranking of the Challenger Cup.
RankPilotsTime
1 Mikaël Brageot1:00.521
2 Peter Podlunšek1:00.556
3 Cristian Bolton1:00.920
4 Petr Kopfstein1:02.117
5 Florian Bergér1:02.255
6 Daniel Ryfa1:02.459

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