Red Bull Air Race World Championship 2009 heads to San Diego

Nicolas Ivanoff of France won the second Red Bull Air Race World Championship of the season in San Diego on Sunday with a superb run in the finals while championship leader Hannes Arch of Austria fell to third after suffering a bird strike that tore a grapefruit-sized hole on the back of his plane. Britain’s Paul Bonhomme took second place in front of 55,000 spectators watching the race over San Diego Bay under bright blue skies. Ivanoff’s victory narrowed the championship race considerably after two races with Arch (23 points) still ahead of Ivanoff (21) and Bonhomme (20).
There were more than 100,000 spectators who watched the two days of racing in San Diego. The championship now moves north to Windsor, Ontario in Canada on 13/14 June for the third of six races this year.