A Grand Finale at Starmoen: Kalmbach Conquers Race 5 as Holighaus Claims the SGP Norway Title
04/07/2026 - Starmoen, Norway - The FAI Sailplane Grand Prix of Norway reached its breathtaking conclusion following an incredible week of world-class racing and complex tactical battles. Thirteen competitors launched from Starmoen into a Norwegian summer day that demanded extreme patience and unwavering nerve.
With the overall championship and a ticket to the World Final in Chile hanging in the balance, the final 222-kilometer task delivered a spectacular finish to Series 13.
The Final Task: A Test of Patience and Precision
The decisive route threaded the fleet through six challenging turnpoints: Starmoen → Holtet → Haslemoen → Pramhussætra → Sigernessjøen → Gjesåsen → Jømna → Starmoen Finish S.
The Norwegian airmass proved demanding, with thermals averaging below 2.0 metres per second for the majority of the field. The resulting scoring speeds clustered tightly between 90 and 108 km/h, confirming that the day would be won not through pure cruise aggression, but through meticulous leg-by-leg consistency and thermal selection.
Race 5: Kalmbach’s Masterclass in Consistency
Germany’s Klaus Kalmbach was the first pilot to take-off today, and delivered an unforgettable, high-pressure performance to win the ultimate final race. Piloting his JS-3-18m, Kalmbach crossed the finish line with a time of 02:02:40 and a winning average speed of 108.3 km/h.
Kalmbach’s victory was built on compounding consistency across the seven legs. The race cracked wide open on the short 18km Leg 4 (Pramhussætra to Sigernessjøen), which saw a staggering 121.2 km/h speed spread between the fastest and slowest finishers. Kalmbach posted a highly conservative 75.1 km/h on this stretch, but he conserved vital energy. He then recovered emphatically on the final two legs, blasting toward Jømna and into the finish at 160.4 km/h and 197.0 km/h respectively. He arrived at the final sector with both the altitude and speed necessary to convert his homeward run into a decisive daily victory.
The Daily Podium and The Chasing Pack
2nd - Maciej Walasek (M1): Finished 5 minutes and 28 seconds behind Kalmbach. Walasek posted the day's equal-fastest Leg 4 speed at an impressive 164.3 km/h, but bled critical time on Leg 6 when he managed only 98.0 km/h against Kalmbach's blistering pace.
3rd - Arne Martin Güettler (MA): The local favorite pushed his JS3 RES 18m to the absolute limit, finishing just 33 seconds behind Walasek. Güettler recorded the fastest individual leg of the entire day, unleashing a massive 218.0 km/h on the final glide to Starmoen.
4th - Michael Pfennig (S): Crossed the line just six seconds behind Güettler, despite recording his own phenomenal 213.8 km/h final sprint.
The demanding geometry of the course claimed two competitors as Rune Hovda and Petr Panek (IGC) failed to complete the task by a few kilometers - and had to start their engines to get back home, resulting in a DNF for the day. At this elite level of competition, turnpoint execution carries the same weight as the strongest thermal.
The Ultimate Crowning: Holighaus Takes the Championship
While Kalmbach celebrated a brilliant daily victory, the overall championship delivered one of the most dramatic conclusions in SGP history.
After five intense racing days, Tilo Holighaus and Arne Martin Güettler found themselves locked in an astonishing dead heat, both sitting at exactly 35 championship points. Utilizing his superior countback record across the week, Tilo Holighaus secured the overall title to become the Champion of the FAI Sailplane Grand Prix of Norway 2026.
The final event classification stands as follows:
1st: Tilo Holighaus (35 Points) - Champion & World Final Qualifier
2nd: Arne Martin Güettler (35 Points) - Reserve List
3rd: Klaus Kalmbach (33 Points)
The FAI Sailplane Grand Prix at Starmoen showcased the very best of aviation sports: unforgiving weather, brilliant engineering, and tactical mastery. A massive thank you goes out to our incredible volunteers, officials, partners, and the global audience who followed the live streams and tracking all week.
We look forward to seeing Tilo Holighaus carry this momentum into the World Final in Chile!
