Abu Dhabi Qualifying sees Ben Murphy in 9th

Matthias Dolderer of Germany performs during qualifying
Matthias Dolderer of Germany performs during qualifying

The first weekend of the Red Bull 2018 Air Race season has got underway with 2016 Champion Matthias Dolderer topping the table.

The German set the pace with a time of 52.795s with just one run after having a DNF due to him breaking the 12G limit on his second.

American Michael Goulian posted a time of 53.392s, which, whilst over half a second slower than Dolderer, was enough to secure second place in Qualifying.

Third place went to world champion Yoshihide Muroya who set a time of 53.404s.

Ben Murphy of Blades Racing qualified 9th
Ben Murphy of Blades Racing qualified 9th

Britains Ben Murphy of the Blades Racing time ended up 9th in qualifying with a time of 54.351s.

This means that Ben will be up against 6th place qualifier Juan Velarde in the round of 14 race.

Qualifying Results

Place Name Nationality Time Penalties
1 Matthias Dolderer GER 0:52.795 0:00.000
2 Michael Goulian USA 0:53.392 0:00.000
3 Yoshihide Muroya JPN 0:53.404 0:00.000
4 Mikael Brageot FRA 0:53.416 0:00.000
5 Kirby Chambliss USA 0:54.032 0:00.000
6 Juan Velarde ESP 0:54.045 0:00.000
7 Martin Sonka CZE 0:54.323 0:00.000
8 Petr Kopfstein CZE 0:54.336 0:00.000
9 Ben Murphy GBR 0:54.351 0:00.000
10 Francois Le Vot FRA 0:54.702 0:00.000
11 Cristian Bolton CHI 0:55.011 0:00.000
12 Pete McLeod CAN 0:55.176 0:02.000 More Info
13 Nicolas Ivanoff FRA 0:56.444 0:00.000
14 Matt Hall AUS DNF 0

Watch live here http://live.redbullairrace.com/Event/Red_Bull_Air_Race_2018_-_Abu_Dhabi

 

About Nick Harding 2043 Articles
Nick is the senior reporter and editor at UK Aviation News as well as working freelance elsewhere. He has his finger firmly on the pulse on Aviation, not only in the UK but worldwide. Nick has been asked to speak in a professional capacity on LBC, Heart and other broadcast networks.