Most Memorable, Most Spectacular, Most Interesting in the Red Bull Air Race

2008 is coming to a close and while we get our snow shovels out and put our aircraft away in their hangars, I like to sit here over a cup of hot chocolate and think of the most interesting and amazing things that have happened in this past year's edition of the Red Bull Air Race.

So, without further ado, here's Sheiban's list of the most memorable, most spectacular and most interesting stuff that has happened in this year's air race:

Most Interesting Race:

London had it all. A race that was supposed to be won by Paul Bonhomme just didn't happen after a pylon hit and "flying like a bloody idiot" landed him in seventh position. By this account, Hannes Arch was supposed to win it, but after a pylon hit in the semis, Kirby Chambliss took the win and in impressive style—a full 3.34 seconds faster than second place man Nicolas Ivanoff.

As well, two scary pylon hits by Michael Goulian and Alejandro Maclean—with the former getting a piece of pylon on his wing and being less than a foot away from crashing—added to the thrill and admiration of the pilots who have to be very skilled and cool in preventing a perfectly good race from turning to tragedy.

Most Impressive Win

This one is a tie between Kirby Chambliss winning in Detroit and Hannes Arch winning in Budapest.

For Kirby, the win in Detroit was both a first in almost two years and one that was taken on good, clean flying on the narrowest of margins—with only 0.15 seconds separating first from second place man, Paul Bonhomme. Neither man made a mistake but Chambliss was investigated briefly to see if he was flying too low. He won the race on home soil and showed Bonhomme that the Brit just can't waltz away with the championship.

For Hannes, the win in Budapest was a first career victory for him in what can be called "the Monaco Grand Prix of the Red Bull Air Race," and also one that saw him set a track record in the semi-finals. While others were setting times in the range of 1:05 or so, Arch was a full two seconds faster and set the fastest time of 1:03.34. It was impressive and one that will stand.

Most Spectacular Pylon Hit

Without a doubt, it was Steve Jones in Detroit/Windsor who happened to have been carried by strong winds smack into the first pylon of the chicane. Of course, the video below does no justice versus actually being there. The collision with the pylon was the loudest heard that day, almost mimicking a muffled explosion.

Steve Jones, however, is no stranger to spectacular pylon hits; an incident in Monument Valley, Utah in 2007 saw him lose half the covering for the left wheel of his aircraft after flying amazingly low and hitting the ground. A very famous video out there, and Steve was lucky to not lose something more precious than simply a wheel covering.

Most Improved Rookie from the Previous Year

It has to be Hannes Arch, right? Hannes started off as a race steward in the Red Bull Air Race and then tried out for a spot in the Air Race in 2006 at the qualification camp. He was only able to score once in 2007—a fourth place and three points in Rio de Janeiro—but wasn't able to finish higher than ninth in any other race that year. He only took three points.

2008 was a whole new ballgame for Arch as he managed to consistently finish in the top four and win twice. Consistency was the key, and he won the 2008 championship in that manner with a whopping 61 points to his name. A big change from the previous year and one that 2008's rookie, Glen Dell, will have to aspire to.

Best Podium

This one goes to Nigel Lamb for his second place in Perth, Australia. Lamb, who is distinguishable by his yellow Breitling flight suit and plane, had invested a lot of money and time into a new aircraft that was built for the Red Bull Air Race—the MXS. Coming out of the box, the aircraft just wasn't what he was expecting, but he took it in stride as seen in the interviews.

However, with the implementation of the new duo gate, it seemed like the type of thing that Lamb was looking for and one that he and his aircraft was able to capitalize on with a strong second place in the final round in Perth—his best result to date.

The Award for the Nicest Guy

This is a tough one since all the pilots were approachable and fun to chat with, even when they were having a bad day.

I really hate having to pick the nicest guy since Mike Mangold had an interesting sense of humour; Hannes Arch and Michael Goulian were always willing to talk, Nigel Lamb, Steve Jones and Paul Bonhomme were in good spirits; Nicolas Ivanoff was never shy to try out his English; Sergei Rakhmanin was a little reserved, but did his best; Glen Dell was pretty laid back and cool; and Kirby Chambliss was similar to Kimi Raikkonen in terms of his approach to racing, but always willing to speak more than one sentence, unlike his Formula 1 counterpart!

But, the one pilot that stood out for me as the nicest guy out there had to be Peter Besenyei. He is known as the godfather of the Red Bull Air Race and when I met him, he gave a solid handshake and introduced himself very formally, similar to introducing himself to a friend.

He was also one that openly acknowledged the fans of the Air Race and apologized about the cancelled qualifying in Detroit because of the weather conditions. Peter Besenyei may not have won a race this season, but he sure has won admiration for his dedication to the sport and more importantly, the fans.

Anyhow, this concludes the 2008 awards for the Red Bull Air Race. If there's any categories that you'd like to see in the future, don't hesitate to make a comment below here.