At the 2015 Red Bull Air Race season opener in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, Cristian Bolton of Chile put in a top time of 1:02.231 in to win the first Challenger Cup race of 2015 – and the first ever of his career.
ABU DHABI (UAE) – In a cloudless day on the Arabian Gulf, Petr Kopfstein of the Czech Republic finished second, and Mikael “Mika” Brageot of France also stood on the podium, in third.
Now in its second season, the Challenger Cup is new element of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship that gives the next generation of pilots the chance to develop their low-altitude flying skills under racing conditions. This weekend’s Challenger Cup field was rounded out by Daniel Ryfa of Sweden (fifth) and two pilots new to the competition, Florian Berger of Germany (fourth) and Francis
Barros of Brazil (sixth).
With all six of the talented up-and-comers eager to start the season on a high note, a beaming Bolton was clearly thrilled with his win. “I’m starting my second year in the Challenger Cup, so all that learning and experience is resulting in what happened for me today,” he said. “My last flight was in Fort Worth, Dallas last year and I finished second, which I thought was great. But this? This is really exciting.”
Challenger Class
| Rank | Pilot | Run Time | Penalties | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 |
 |
Cristian Bolton | CHI | 1:02.231 | 0:00.000 |
| 02 |
 |
Petr Kopfstein | CZE | 1:02.605 | 0:00.000 |
| 03 |
 |
Mikael Brageot | FRA | 1:03.025 | 0:00.000 |
| 04 |
 |
Florian Berger | GER | 1:03.597 | 0:00.000 |
| 05 |
 |
Daniel Ryfa | SWE | 1:04.735 | 0:02.000 More Info |
| 06 |
 |
Francis Barros | BRA | DSQ | 0 |
