Primed to succeed

But this month’s column isn’t about the end of the series, what led to it and the impact it has had on me and my team. We’ll leave that for a later date when the dust has settled and we can accurately look back on what was such an amazing sport to be a part of. I believe that we well and truly put Australian aviation on the international map with our results, and it was a privilege to have that opportunity. More on that another time.

Leading into Kazan we were faced with a handful of options as a team for how to shape the final three races, in consideration of the series being on a timeline before it ended for good. We could sit back and enjoy travelling to three more international locations, we could throw our toys out of the cot and protest the decision, or we could get on with the racing and push hard like it was any other race.

We chose the third option, and if you’re a regular reader of this column, that shouldn’t surprise you. I’m the type of person that needs to be challenged, I want to succeed, even when others might think the efforts are futile.

I’m lucky that I have a race team that share these sentiments. Collectively, Matt Hall Racing has worked too hard and invested too much financially and personally to have done anything other than treat the final three races like anything other than a normal race. Kazan was the first opportunity to prove we could keep our minds clear and focus on a task in an adverse situation.

It was agreed that with three races remaining, there would be three opportunities to stand on the winners’ dais. We said that if we could finish this shortened season with the most points, we would be the last ever Red Bull Air Race World Champions – a tantalising prospect, but not one we could even begin to consider with three races remaining.

With the cards laid out on the table, and with our agreement of what we would like to achieve we set about preparing for the final races as we would any other race.

‘So, our strategy was simple: hang it out and go for the win. Nothing to lose and everything to gain’

Our strategy for the season was adjusted. No longer would it be a race of consistency across eight races, as we had in previous years. Our year had turned into a sprint of three races, and with only one race (Abu Dhabi in February) preceding the final trio of races, there were more pilots in with a shot at the title than ever before.

In 2018 we were among the title contenders all season. With three races to go last year, we sat among the top three in the championship. So, our ability to hold our nerve and put our best foot forward was proven that season, just as it had been proven in 2016, 2015 and 2009 when we stood on the end-of-season podium.

With the new pressure of a shortened series in 2019, it wasn’t a foreign feeling for us to get our backs up, put our heads down and aim to be among those with a good shot at securing a title. We had been here before.

But what we did need to take into account were some harsh realities of the season ending. Our race plane is a highly specialised aircraft, purpose-built for air racing by Zivko Aeronautics and incredibly modified by our team to make it a sharp weapon that can win races.

Hundreds and thousands had been poured into this plane. Our wish list for how we would like to improve it had been seemingly endless over the past three years. Faced with only a handful of events left we needed to determine if we would continue developing it or just use the tool we had.

But we’re a competitive bunch, so development wasn’t cast aside. We made a decision as a team to follow through with a few low-key items which we knew would be a benefit to us over the coming races. But it was a fine balance of determining what was necessary to ensure we would remain competitive and what was indulgent under the circumstances.

We also needed to have a serious discussion about our race strategy.

During season’s past our strategy would change and adapt according to the stage of the season. To remain in contention, we would aim to finish top two. If certain pilots qualified for the Final 4 with us, we would decide if it was more important to secure a podium or hang it out for victory.

One of the questions I had to ask myself with these few remaining races was whether or not I had anything to prove as a pilot?

Sure, I am still hunting my first world title, but for me the reality is that I have won races and have a cabinet full of trophies. Our team has been incredibly consistent these past years and I felt we had nothing more to prove. So, our strategy was simple: hang it out and go for the win. Nothing to lose and everything to gain.

The race strategy is also an indicator of how we as a team want to be perceived in these final races. We’re grateful for everything that the air race has provided us with and for being a part of the series – there really aren’t a lot of people who have had the privilege.

At the final hurdle, we want to be remembered as the team that always fought hard for top results, the team that is thankful for the opportunities granted to us, and to be known as the team that didn’t give up…all the way to the end of the series as we know it. Two races to go, and our next challenge is Lake Balaton in Hungary in the middle of July. Smoke on…