"It was a hard day at the office but today was great fun – I enjoyed that ," said Bonhomme after hitting speeds of near 370 km/h on the track that featured a static start in front of the majestic grandstands and a challenging course made up of 12 Air Gates standing 25 meters high on the infield of the track. "All I can say is this was due to teamwork, teamwork, teamwork. I’m only the driver. I just point the plane in the right direction."

It was the second time the Red Bull Air Race was staged in Ascot, just west of London, that has quickly become one of the most attractive air race locations in the world and a favorite of the pilots who relish taking off and landing on the grassy strip in front of the big crowd.

Austria's Hannes Arch, who struggled in the training session and was last in Qualifying on Saturday, finished a disappointing eighth after winning the last two races in Budapest and Rovinj, Croatia. Arch had a great run in the Round of 12, just beating Bonhomme. But Bonhomme was the “fastest loser” and advanced to the Round of 8. But Arch was unable to get his engine started before the Round of 8 and was forced to retire. “It’s frustrating if you can’t race but that’s life,” said Arch, who slipped to third overall with 30 points.