The Fifth round of the Championships took place on June, 20 under the watchful eye of the Statue of Liberty. Yes, for the first time in Red Bull Air Racing History, New York was the host city for a race and many felt is was one of the best venues ever. The 5.5km track made up of 13 gates was laid out over the Hudson River between the Statue and the Manhattan skyline.

British pilot, Paul Bonhomme, with some impressively consistent times, finally put an end to the string of victories by Hannes Arch. Although it has to be said he was aided by the pylon strike by Arch which incurs a 6 second penalty. Later, Arch exclaimed "It was just a couple of centimeters that made the difference. I would rather lose here like that in style, going for it, than completely screw it up. So I think those guys in front of me owe me a beer.”

The crowd of 75,000 watched Arch push it to the limit and beyond, only to fall to 4th place. Two seconds behind Bonhomme was Nigel Lamb in second place and just a fraction behind him American Kirby Chambliss grabbed his second straight podium in his home race. Chambliss, the 2006 champion, later said, “As an American, I’m very, very proud,” he said. “It’ll sink-in in a while. I have to personally thank Hannes for hitting that gate. Thank you Hannes!”

The victory marked a record breaking 12 straight podiums for Bonhomme, and leads the championship with 53 points to 48 by Hannes Arch. Nigel Lamb is currently 3rd with 47 and Chambliss is 4th with 35 points.

The next race in the series is Aug. 7-8 at the EuroSpeedway in Lausitz, Germany.