Great Britain’s Nigel Lamb has moved into the overall lead of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship, following the series’ Las Vegas leg.

There was high drama on race day when heavy winds that gusted at speeds above 30kts toppled several of the 25m-high pylons. Eleven of the twelve pilots made it through the wind-swept track at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, despite a high number of penalties and mistakes. Paul Bonhomme of Britain and Austria’s Hannes Arch, who were locked in a tight battle for the title with Lamb, both struggled on the high-speed, low-altitude track with unaccustomed mistakes in the heavy winds and would have been eliminated in the Top 12 round had the race continued to the Super 8.

Pete McLeod of Canada was declared the winner after organisers were forced to cancel the flying in the first of three final rounds. McLeod won the first race of his career by virtue of his victory in Qualifying on Saturday.

Lamb, who writes a regular column for Pilot magazine, currently has a total of 53 points following his fourth second place in a row. Arch is in second with 48 points, while Bonhomme has 47.

The final race of the 2014 season will take place in Spielberg, Austria on 25-26 October.

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