Sailplane Grand Prix European Qualifiers Conclude
The last SGP in Europe took place at Vinon in France in September. See the winners of all the SGP Qualifying events below.
1st place Mike Young
On the final podium of SGP Vinon Mike Young with 30 points took 1st place followed by Erik Borgmann 2nd with 29 points
and Maximilian Seis 3rd with 27 points.
Congratulations to Mike Young and Erik Borgmann for winning their ticket for the SGP Final 2023 in Pavullo.
2nd place Erik Borgmann
3rd place Maximilian Seis
The next event will be held at Gawler in Australia 2 - 8 of January 2023. Gawler was the host for the first ever SGP event and enjoys excellent soaring conditions in South Australia. More news and entry can be found at australia23.sgp.aero
The Chile national FAI SGP event has become a victim of the current difficulties facing the world. Due to mounting shipping costs and other pressures it has been decided to cancel the 2023 event. Viticura in Chile has been the host for some great FAI SGP events and we look forward to returning there in the coming years.
The last National FAI SGP for the 11th series event will be held at Worcester in South Africa 22 - 28th of January 2023. Worcester has a remarkable location in Cape province with possibilities for long distance ridge and mountain tasks.
For more information go to southafrica23.sgp.aero
The final for the 11th series will take place at Pavullo in Italy in September 2023. sgpfinal23.sgp.aero
Gintas Zube Wins SGP Bosnia and Herzogovina
In an exciting final race at Livno Gintas Zubefrom Lithuania won with a very high speed of 162 kph. He beat Germans Matthias Sturm and Stefan Langer to the finish line.
Gintas has now qualified for the final next year in Pavullo, Italy, congratulations! Thank you all organisers and volunteers for another great event in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
SGP Germany Winners Declared
After a great racing week, SGP Germany at Eisenhutenstadt is now over and winners have been declared. The top three places were won by:
1 Dirk Windmüller AS33es 30
2 Robin Förster ASG-29E 18m 28
3 Andreas Kühl JS3 - 18m Jet 26
Congratulations to the top two pilots, Dirk Windmüller and Robin Förster from Germany, who have now qualified to compete in the SGP Finals in Pavullo, Italy in September 2023.
Mario Kiessling Wins SGP Italy
After six racing days, Mario Kiessling, Ventus-3t, Germany increased his points total and won SGP Italy in a tense, low flying race.
Italian Thomas Gostner won the day finishing the championships on 16 points. He completed the 209km course with a speed of just 62 kph which demonstrated the difficulty of the day. Mario came home 2nd finishing the SGP on 34 points. Alberto Sironi took 3rd place again today and finished in 2nd place overall with 33 points.
Gilles Navas finished the contest in 3rd place overall and so still has a possibility of reaching the finals depending on how all the Series 11 qualifying contests finish up
Mario Kiessling and Alberto Sironi haved qualifed for the SGP Final next year in Pavulo, Italy.
Linas Miežlaiškis Wins SGP Lithuania
After three racing days at Paluknys the winner of SGP Lithuania is Linas Miežlaiškis from Lithuania. He gained 15 points in all which is enough to secure his place in the SGP Finals at Pavullo in Ausust 2023.
Linas said, 'The day the fastest and the weather conditions were the best during this week. Today I managed to gain some extra altitude on the final leg because I chose a better path, so I had more energy to convert to speed. We exploited the clouds over the woods, and went to cloud base of 1,700m. In general I really enjoyed this competition. Everyone was flying with the same wing loading and same gliders and the rules worked well.’
The top five pilots were flying ASW20s and the remaining pilots were flying LS3s.
Łukasz Grabowski Wins SGP Poland
After seven racing days at Żar, the winner of SGP Poland is is Łukasz Grabowski. Marek Sawczuk took 2nd place, and Tilo Holighaus 3rd. Congratulations to the winner and all the competitors. Łukasz gained 40 points ahead of Marek on 26 and Tilo with 24 points.
Race 1
The first race of SPG Poland at Żar took place in beautiful weather sunny with cumulus to 2200m.
The task was set towards the south-east following the mountains to Jaworzyna, Vielka Raca, Giewont and Kocierz. The route gave the competitors the opportunity to try their hand at the Tatra Mountains.
Seven of the registered contestants finished the 377km course. Stanisław Biela won today taking 8 points after coming across the finish line with a task speed of 113.2 kph. He was followed by Łukasz Grabowski at 113.1 kph and Marek Sawczuk at 106.3 kph.
Race 2
The second race on 15 May also had good weather with a similar cloud base. A 380km task was set. Five of the eight SGP competitors completed the task lead by Łukasz Grabowski for his first day win with a speed of 104.7 kph to take 6 points, putting him at the lead of the field after two races. Marek Sawczuk and Zdzisław Bednarczuk took 2nd and 3rd positions. German Tilo Holighaus, the only non Pole in the contest, took 4th place.
The weather forecast was for good cumulus conditions, but the weather en route turned out to be difficult. Thermals were cycling quickly with windy and difficult soaring lower down. But with cloud bases up to 2750m the pilots who were able to stay high did well.
Race 3
The task was 305km under weakening conditions. Zdzisław Bednarczuk won the day completing the task at 93.9 kph. Tilo Holighaus took 2nd place followed by Bogdan Dorozko.
Race 4
After a one day break due to the weather the 4th race was run on 18 May. The conditions were demanding with blue skies, weak and broken thermals and strong winds up high. The task was 214km. Again only five competitors reached the finish line. Łukasz finished in 1st place at 86.3 kph putting him firmly in the lead with 20 points after four days.
Race 5
The task was shorter at 157km. Łukasz won his third day putting him in a very strong position to win the contest with two more race days to go.
Stefan Langer Wins SGP Sweden
After three no flying days, SGP Sweden concluded with a low fast 257km race over the forests and lakes of Sweden.
German Stefan Langer won the day giving him 21 points in total. This was enough to win the Grand Prix three points ahead of Klaus Kalmbach and Hermann Leucker who both finished the contest with 18 points. Just squeaking ahead on overall time Klaus took second plance with Hermann third. Congratulations to the winners and all the pilots.
