Winds exceeding 30 knots forced the eighth and final race of the 2016 Red Bull Air Race World Championship to be abandoned, spoiling the swansong of British RBAR legend Nigel Lamb.
The race in Las Vegas this morning had to be called-off before the Round of 14 could be completed, with only Lamb and champion-in-waiting Matthias Dolderer to fly. The Round of 8 and Final 4 had already been canceled as the sun started setting, with the Round of 14 results to stand as final.
With ground crews facing a losing battle to keep the air gates in position, Race Director Jim DiMatteo announced the end of all flying for the day, and consequently the round.
"The strong wind today has resulted in the Race Committee taking the decision to cancel all flying sessions. Safety is our utmost priority and with gusts over 30 knots, it exceeds our ability to conduct the race in a safe manner," Matteo said.
Lamb and Dolderer had been flying holding patterns waiting for the call into track for their head-to-head race, and for Lamb, his final run before retirement.
Poignantly, with no points awarded for Las Vegas, Hannes Arch took third place in the championship posthumously, as only Lamb could have overtaken him in the standings.
Dolderer accepted his Championship trophy in a ceremony held in the Nevada twilight, with Australian Matt Hall also on the podium to collect his second straight runner-up prize. Arch's long-time partner Miriam Höller accepted third place trophy on behalf of the team.
"Second place in the world is never terrible," Hall said. "I should try to embrace the fact that we had injuries, illness and raceplane issues, but even with that bad run we were able to come out second in the world. Imagine what could happen next year if we could have a good run.
Hall was unable to race due to a defect in the wing of his MSX-R, which although repairable, put him out of Las Vegas as the team was not able to identify why the defect occured in time to resolve the issue.
Lamb bows out of Red Bull Air Racing having won the 2014 world championship, also racing an MSX-R.
"My disappointment is just one personal disappointment," said Lamb, "but there was so much effort to make the race happen and I was astounded by the how hard the crews tried to keep those pylons up. Huge credit has to go to the Airgators [ground crews] and the whole race organisation.
"As for retirement, I just found out it's a lot tougher than I expected. The whole day was a lot more emotional than I expected. I'm going to have a celebration tonight with all the pilots, the Red Bull Air Race people, and friends and family that are here. Then I will chill out a bit and reflect.
"We've had an amazing journey in creating a raceplane that I am attached to more than any other flight machine."
The dates for next year's Red Bull Air Race series have not yet been announced.