After back to back victories in France and Japan, Matt Hall is aiming for a Red Bull Air Race World Championship hat-trick as he prepares to take to the skies over Budapest.
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The Hungary leg of the 2018 series comes at a crucial point for Hall’s season – tied on 36 points with USA’s Michael Goulian after the opening three bouts saw the American pilot take gold, silver and bronze.
Both pilots are having their best start to a season in years, and a third consecutive spot atop the podium for Hall would send a strong message to the rest of the field, as well as put him in good stead for a title-tilt as the Championship soars towards the half point of the year.
“A third win would be a nice result, of course, but it’s not all that we’re aiming for,” Hall said.
“Expecting too much is the best way to put too much pressure on yourself and we want to avoid that – if that all results in another win that’s great.”
Hall also knows the chance to collect another haul of championship points could be “important”, but it’s not the Australian pilot’s “main focus”.
“There is a bit of a little buffer with the other guys [in the series] but it just puts us in a reasonable spot so far,” he said.
“We may already have secured ourselves a top four placing, but that’s not what I’m aiming for anymore. I want to win.
“That said, it takes just one race to spin everything on its head so we’re not looking too much at the standings and focusing on every race as it comes.”
Newcastle’s ace flyer said the main focus for Budapest is the “rough” nature of the course, with the crew preparing for the “wild conditions”
“You never really know what you’re going to get out there over Budapest until you start flying in the track and actually see what’s happening,” he said.
“It can be a really challenging track if the winds rise. It’s really rough in those wild conditions, but if there’s no wind it’s one of the fastest courses on offer.
“That said, the plane is going well and I’m going well, so we just have to focus on ourselves and hopefully that earns us another key result.”
Hall will race on June 23-24, with qualifying races held on Saturday from 10am local time, and Sunday hosting the main title fights.
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: Matt Hall, Michael Goulian (36), Yoshihide Muroya, Martin Sonka (19), Matthias Dolderer, Mika Brageot (15), Pete McLeod (11), Kirby Chambliss, Francois Le Vot, Juan Velarde (9), Ben Murphy, Petr Kopfstein (6) Cristian Bolton, Nicolas Ivanoff (1).