Although the weather couldn't have been more perfect, the day was a bittersweet one for Detroit residents who saw the event moved across the river to Windsor, Canada due to a lack of funding in the economy-stricken city. The darkened GM towers looming across the Detroit River were a stark reminder of the struggles the area faces. The tone on the Detroit side was one of subdued enthusiasm, shell-shocked but hoping for any sign of a silver lining after watching the Detroit Red Wings suffer a bitter loss to Pittsburgh in the do-or-die moments of Game 7 in the NHL Stanley Cup Finals less than 36 hours before. 

 

On the Windsor side, however, the crowds were thick and raucous on the grassy strip in front of Ceasar's Palace Casino, roaring with delight at every gravity-defying hairpin turn the stunt pilots made as they worked their way through the river course. Thirteen competitors from around the world took turns tearing down the river at speeds often exceeding 365 kmh, blasting past (and sometimes through) giant inflated pylon cones and performing nearly-unthinkable aerobatic maneuvers. The lineup included four rookies from four continents, as well as seasoned pros. Newcomers included 25-year-old Canadian Pete McLeod - the youngest yet to race in the high-speed, precision event - and Japan's Yoshihide Muroya, Matt Hall from Australia and German Matthias Dolderer.

 

 

Most of the racers struggled to avoid penalties on the course, but Bonhomme managed to fly a series of flawless runs, posting a winning time of 1:08.16 on the 15-gate course. It was Bonhomme's ninth career win and put him just one point behind Austria's Hannes Arch in the championship.

 

 

Arch was second, 1.15 seconds behind, and American Kirby Chambliss took third. Canada's Pete McLeod scored the first championship point of his rookie career with an 11th-place finish.

 

The pilots were judged on how fast they complete the course, which guides them past the Renaissance Center and Hart Plaza in Detroit before they double back and go straight skyward for several seconds before making a final pass.

 

"It's awesome," said Olline McElroy of Detroit. "It's nice to have something like this for the city. I was here last year, but the pilots are even better this year."

 

The Red Bull Air Race makes six stops in different cities around the world over the summer, and this is the second of two North American stops.