Messmer Masters the Blue Thermals: Official Training Day Concludes in Varese
23/05/26, VARESE, ITALY. The fleet is back on the ground, and the stage is officially set. Saturday’s Practice 1 at the FAI Sailplane Grand Prix in Varese delivered a punishing 211-kilometer Alpine preview, testing the grid's tactical prowess ahead of tomorrow's race week kickoff.
While all pilots landed safely at Varese Airfield, the cockpit environment was anything but relaxed. The training task routed competitors through Resegone, S. Giorgio, Almè, and Gurone before the final return glide towards Varese airfield.
The Tactical Landscape: Invisible Energy
The forecasted blue thermals delivered exactly what veterans of the Italian Alps anticipated: an incredibly demanding day characterized by zero cloud markers. Relying entirely on terrain reading, surface heating analysis, and pure instinct, pilots were pushed to their limits to find invisible energy along the foothills.
Climb rates hovered stubbornly between a lean 1.1 and 1.3 m/s, forcing the field to spend significant portions of the race turning circles. In this complex terrain, every positioning decision carried outsized consequences. The unforgiving nature of the conditions was reflected in the attrition rate, with five pilots falling short of the finish line as the lift abruptly vanished in the valleys.
Provisional Podium: Swiss Precision Leads the Pack
Solving today’s meteorological puzzle required immense patience and precision. Swiss pilot Ulrich Messmer (LR), flying the JS3 JET, put on a masterclass in energy management. Messmer conquered the blue skies to take the provisional top spot, recording a highly impressive scoring speed of 90.6 km/h and crossing the line in 2:19:47.
He was followed by fellow Swiss pilot Michael Reiner (MR) in a JS3, who secured second place with a speed of 81.6 km/h (+15:30). Norway’s Arne Martin Güettler (MA) rounded out the provisional podium in his JS3 RES, clocking in at 81.2 km/h (+16:17), narrowly edging out the UK's Jon Gatfield by a mere four seconds.
Top 5 Preliminary Classification:
1st: Ulrich Messmer (SUI) | JS3 JET | 90.6 km/h
2nd: Michael Reiner (SUI) | JS3 | 81.6 km/h
3rd: Arne Martin Güettler (NOR) | JS3 RES | 81.2 km/h
4th: Jon Gatfield (GBR) | AS33Es | 81.1 km/h
5th: Ugo Pavesi (ITA) | ASG29E | 80.9 km/h
Looking Ahead to Race Week
Official scoring is currently in progress. While the raw speeds have been clocked, the race committee is verifying flight logs to confirm the final results.
If today's blue thermal marathon is any indicator, this iteration of the Italy SGP will demand absolute peak performance from the fleet. The practice runs are over; tomorrow, the points count. Stay tuned to sgp.aero channels!
