Wow! It really is wild out there! Chambliss records a 1:09.585... leaving Sonka currently in the FL position
Velarde is next and could well beat the American out there now... but those wind conditions will really demand absolute focus now
Yoshi Muroya: "It's a big game and especially with the wind change and turbulence it's very difficult to fly. The plan is running well. Two more to go."
And Velarde is up now, it's his to take if he can fly error free
First split time is green and the VTM is dialled in... he's gaining on Chambliss' time and this looks great for the Spanish team!
Green all the way and it's clean! Velarde is through to the Round of 8 with a 1:05.360!
Sonka still remains as the FL pilot... with four more heats to go... this will be the longest wait of his career...
The second of our American heroes will face off now against Nicolas Ivanoff... here comes Mike Goulian!
This is a fairly evenly matched head to head, although the pilots are very contrasting competitors
Goulian isn't always the fastest, but he has been on an upward trend in 2017
And it's a solid run from Goulian, clean and controlled...
Will it be enough to beat the Frenchman?
It's a 1:07.517 for Goulian
Ivanoff could really go either way with this run... he's a serious threat to Goulian, but only on a good day
Yet to make the Final 4 this year, Ivanoff excels at the speedway tracks so will have his hopes pinned on this race to make amends
He's into the track at 152.48kts and ready to ruin Goulian's day...
He's well ahead at the first split time! It's green for Ivanoff!
- Pylon Hit!
But it's not a done deal! Ivanoff gets an incorrect level at Gate 15 and a pylon hit at Gate 16!
And the buzzer sounds one last time and it's game over...
Ivanoff gives Sonka another chance to hold onto the FL spot... he posts 1:13.242 with 7s added in penalties
And so the excitement builds as we expect Sonka to be back in the runnings...
Kirby Chambliss: "Sure I'm disappointed, we've had a good season up until this. The team performed great and the plane was running good, so it's all on me. I was trying to be super aggressive. I want to thank everyone for coming out here."
Two heats to go... Le Vot V Kopfstein now
13th in Quailfying, Le Vot has his work cut out to beat Kopfstein... unless we see another massive error in the next run
Wow! It really is wild out there! Chambliss records a 1:09.585... leaving Sonka currently in the FL position
I wish you guys could turn on the live race on here... I'm so sad we can't watch it live
