Intro:

Pete McLeod's fastest time in qualifying was enough to secure a maiden Red Bull Air Race victory after Sunday's (October 12th) event in Las Vegas was called off due to high winds.

Script:

Breezy conditions made life difficult for the pilots participating in round seven of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Nicholas Ivanoff and title contender Hannes Arch were both penalised for hitting the 25-metre-high pylons.

In all, 11 of the 12 pilots completed their runs before high winds toppled several of the pylons, forcing organisers to cancel the event.

The times from Saturday's qualifying session were therefore taken as the final results, which meant that Pete McLeod clinched a first Air Race win.

The Canadian admitted that his maiden victory hadn't panned out the way he had expected it to.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Pete McLeod, Red Bull Air Race Las Vegas winner:

"It feels great to be on top of the podium and I've though about this for a long time. It is a little different than I imagined it, kind of getting there with a qualifying win rather than a true win on race day, but there's not much we can do with the weather, for sure."

Briton Nigel Lamb finished in second place for a fourth round in succession and moved to the top of the season standings ahead of Arch, who dropped down into second.

The 2014 Red Bull Air Race season climaxes at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria on October 25th and 26th.