ABOUT
DISCOVER SAILPLANE GRAND PRIX
What is the race format?
Each race takes place around a closed course of about 200-300 km and usually takes about 2 hours depending on the weather conditions in the race area with up to 20 gliders competing simultaneously.
A contest will normally be over five or six days allowing the pilots the opportunity to compete in different conditions. Each race starts with the opening of a 5km long start line by the race director. The start provides an exciting spectacle with all the competitors streaming through the start together. The first pilot to cross the finish line wins the race!
How do you win the race?
The race winner is the pilot who has selected the best route and made most efficient use of the available energy in the sky and having completed the course is the first across the finish line. This requires excellent piloting skills to identify and use the thermal currents that will give them altitude that is then converted into speed. The energy availability is constantly changing, requiring the pilot to continually evaluate his tactics both in relation to the energy conditions and his position relative to the other competitors.
How do you win the SGP?
On each of the race days the top nine pilots are awarded points according to their position, the pilot amassing the most points by the end of the contest is the winner.
What is Soaring flight?
Mankind has always dreamt of flying like a bird especially those soaring birds you see lazily circling on a summer’s day. Modern sailplanes now make soaring flight possible for man and in them he can fly higher, faster, and farther than the greatest of birds, using only the energy in the sky.
Sailplane pilots can stay airborne for hours by flying through air that is ascending as fast or faster than the glider itself is descending, thus gaining energy, they can convert this energy into speed to cover great distances at remarkable speeds.
The rising currents are created by the suns energy warming the ground and the air adjacent to the ground. The warmed air rises in columns with enough volume and energy to carry a sailplane up with it. To stay in the column of rising air the sailplane pilot will circle constantly adjusting his circle seeking the best part of the thermal.
Once the pilot has gained all the available altitude he flies on his course looking constantly for more energy to help him make efficient progress. In favourable conditions long lines of energy may form enabling the glider to fly for prolonged periods without having to circle.
The essence of racing soaring flight is to find the most energy and use it as efficiently as possible.
Soaring offers a sense of freedom unique in the modern world. A soaring pilot is no longer earthbound, they will constantly look for lift clues in the air, such as birds and cumulus clouds; that can help you to meet the continuing challenge of staying aloft.
The intellectual challenge of soaring is its main appeal to many glider pilots. Gravity tells you that you and your machine, which together may weigh 500 to 2000 pounds, have no business staying aloft and that your place is on the ground since you have no engine to stay airborne. You know that the sun and the wind are providing an invisible force frequently far stronger than the force of gravity, but it's up to you to make the most of that force through your interpretation of it and of your own pilot skills. The best combination brings the longest flight, the highest altitude gain, or the fastest speed in a contest.
Partnership
If you would like to become a partner of the Sailplane Grand Prix, please contact the SGP Group via the contact form below.
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History
The FAI Sailplane Grand Prix (SGP) began with two experimental events—first in Gawler, Australia (January 2001), followed by Saint-Auban, France (June 2003). These early competitions set the stage for a revolutionary format in glider racing.
The first official FAI World Sailplane Grand Prix was held in Saint-Auban, France, in September 2005, marking the start of a global sporting phenomenon. The series quickly gained momentum:
2007: The 2nd World SGP in Omarama, New Zealand.
2010: The 3rd World SGP in Santiago, Chile.
Since then, the SGP has expanded worldwide, drawing elite pilots and thrilling audiences with its unique, high-intensity racing format.
We are currently in Series 12, with Series 13 already announced—culminating in an epic World Final in Chile, January 2028. The excitement keeps soaring higher!