Austria’s Hannes Arch won his second consecutive Red Bull Air Race today with a thrilling victory in Porto and Gaia in front of 650,000 spectators, beating American Kirby Chambliss and knocking Britain’s Paul Bonhomme off the top of the World Championship to take the lead.

“It feels really great,” said Arch, who opened up a stunning 9-point lead in the penultimate race of the season. “It’s hard to believe that I just got my second victory in only my second year – and I’m so far ahead in the championship. I’m really enjoying this moment.”

Arch now leads with 54 points. Bonhomme is second on 45 and Chambliss is third with 44 points. Arch needs one point in the final race in Perth on 1st and 2nd November to win the championship. Bonhomme would have to win the season finale and hope Arch would finish with zero points. Arch immediately stomped out speculation that it was in the bag: “I don’t have it yet. As we saw, Paul messed up and if the same thing happens to me in Perth everything can change. The World Championship isn’t over until Perth is finished.”

A total of one million spectators packed the banks of the Douro River during the two days of racing making it one of the biggest crowds at a sporting event in Portugal. Every inch of space was filled with people eager to catch a glimpse of the pilots competing on the high speed track beneath brilliant blue skies against the breathtaking backdrop of the famous red-tiled roofs in the steep river valley.

“It feels like an arena here,” Arch said. “You can feel the crowd’s excitement.” Chambliss was surprised by Arch’s sudden burst of speed in the final. “I ran a good race. I went as fast as this plane will go. I’m satisfied.”

Bonhomme tried to put the weekend in perspective. He had dominated the first half of the championship, winning three of the first four races by wide margins until his home race in London where he finished 7th. He recovered to get third in Budapest but fell to 10th and zero points in Porto – the crucial blow coming in Saturday’s Qualifying when he got a costly disqualification for exceeding the maximum load factor of 12 gs on one high-speed loop.

The 2008 Red Bull Air Race World Championship concludes with the eighth and final race in Perth, Australia in November. “I’ll be there,” Bonhomme said. “It’s not over yet.”