PRESS RELEASE
Leszno, Poland British Gliding Association
Tuesday 5th August 2003
Mixed Fortunes at World Gliding Championships
Day 7 at the World Gliding Championships provided plenty of challenges for the pilots.
The conditions were generally good, but the consensus was that the tasks had been set
at the very limit of what was possible. The task lengths ranged from 482.4km for the
Standard Class up to 618.8km for the Open Class gliders, the largest ‘formula.’
In the end, most pilots completed the 15m and Standard Class tasks. However, the
longer tasks set for the larger 18m and Open Class gliders proved to be just too long
and, after a long day in the cockpit, the majority of pilots landed out. This was a day
when a slip could be very expensive in terms of overall position.
Nowhere was this more apparent than in the Standard Class where Mike Young landed
out after flying 434 km, just 48km short of the finish line. This caused him to drop from a
strong 8th place down to 20th overall. Team mate, Andy Davis, who had been leading the
class, finished yesterday’s race 16th and dropped to 2nd overall. His place at the top of
the leader board was taken by Olivier Darroze, who won his second consecutive day.
There was a win for the UK in the 15m Class. Dave Watt romped home, comfortably
ahead of the field, enough to move him into overall second, behind New Zealand’s John
Coutts, who had another good day.
Defending champion, Steve Jones completed the 18m class course in 8th place and
moves up one position to 3rd overall. Brother Phil landed out 17km short of the line and
drops 5 places to overall 8th.
………………………../Continues
Mixed Fortunes at World Gliding Championships/ P2
There were only 2 finishers in the Open Class. Janusz Centka won the day in the new
ETA glider while class leader Holger Karow was the other finisher and extends his lead.
Britain’s Pete Harvey landed out after 591km and drops one place to third overall.
……………../ ends
RESULTS
28th World Gliding Championships – Day 7
STANDARD CLASS - Day 7
1. Olivier Darroze (FRA, Discus 2a) – 1000 points
2. Laurent Aboulin (FRA, Discus 2a) – 978
3. Steve Crabb (IRE, LS8) - 890
16. Andy Davis (GBR, Discus 2a) - 785
38. Mike Young (GBR, LS8) - 396
- Cumulative
1. Olivier Darroze (FRA, Discus 2a) – 5782 points
2. Andy Davis (GBR, Discus 2a) – 5729
3. Laurent Aboulin (FRA, Discus 2a) - 5630
20. Mike Young (GBR, LS8) - 4996
15m CLASS - Day 7
1. Dave Watt (GBR, Ventus 2a) - 1000 points
2= John Coutts (NZL, ASW27b) – 938
2= Borje Eriksson (SWE, Ventus 2a) - 938
15. Chris Starkey (GBR, ASW27b) – 901
- Cumulative
1. John Coutts (NZL, ASW27b) – 5712 points
2. Dave Watt (GBR, Ventus 2a) - 5556
3. Michael Grund (GER, Ventus 2bxr) – 5485
39. Chris Starkey (GBR, ASW27b) – 3535
18m CLASS - Day 7
1. Ralf Fischer (GER, DG808s) - 1000
2. Gabriel Rossier (SUI, DG800s) - 979
3. Gary Ittner (USA, Ventus 2cx) - 980
8. Steve Jones (GBR, Ventus 2cxt) – 874
18. Phil Jones (GBR, Ventus 2cxt) – 631
- Cumulative
1. Wolfgang Janowitsch (AUT, Ventus 2cx) – 5766 points
2. Gabriel Rossier (SUI, DG800s) - 5502
3. Steve Jones (GBR, Ventus 2cxt) – 5417
8. Phil Jones (GBR, Ventus 2cxt) – 5177
OPEN CLASS - Day 7
1. Janusz Centka (POL, ETA) – 1000 points
2. Holger Karow (GER, Nimbus 4M) – 997
3. Ronald Tabery (USA, Nimbus 4T0 - 924
6. Pete Harvey (GBR, Nimbus 4T) – 892
- Cumulative
1. Holger Karow (GER, Nimbus 4M) – 6467 points
2. Janusz Centka (POL, ETA) – 6112
3. Pete Harvey (GBR, Nimbus 4T) – 6141
EDITOR’S NOTES
Competitive gliding is a sport in which Britain leads the world. In the last 13 world
championships, the British team has produced eight World Champions and been placed
in the top three on sixteen separate occasions. In 25 years, there have been eleven
British World Champions and twelve other medal winners.
Currently, there are two British world champions, namely:
18 Metre Class: Steve Jones
Junior Standard Class: Jez Hood
UK Gliding is administered by the British Gliding Association. There are close to 10,000
active glider pilots and over ½ million glider flights are undertaken each year in the UK.
The 28th World Gliding Championships are being held at Leszno in western Poland.
In total, 134 pilots from 31 nations are competing in the event. Contest flying comprises
daily tasks, each typically of between 250 and 500km, depending upon weather
conditions.
Competition will take place in four classes:
15 Metre
The 15 Metre Class, also known as the ‘Racing Class’ is arguably the most competitive
class in the championships. Comparatively small (with 15 metre wing span), the gliders
are very manoeuvrable, but have the benefit of lift adjusting flaps. This means they
remain remarkably efficient, even at high speeds.
Standard Class
The Standard Class gliders have the same 15 metre wing span of the flapped, 15m
Class, but without the added advantage of the speed adjusting flaps. Traditionally, the
Standard Class is entered by the greatest number of nations, making this class most
representative of the international, sporting nature of the World Gliding Championships
18 Metre
18m gliders share many characteristics of the 15m class, but with the benefits of larger
wings – 18m span instead of 15m. This gives them increased performance and the
ability to fly longer and further, especially in marginal conditions, whilst remaining highly
maneuverable.
Open Class
The Open Class gliders have the largest span, the highest performance and cover the
largest distances. They represent the pinnacle of gliding performance, with glide ratios
of 60:1 – that’s the performance to glide around 10 miles from 1000’ altitude. The Open
Class gliders are the most elegant, with their huge wing-spans approaching 28 metres.
For further information about competitive gliding, please visit
www.gliding.co.uk/press/index.htm or contact:
Keith Auchterlonie
BGA Communications Officer
Tel 01334 828830 / 07736 335578
keith@gliding.co.uk
The BGA web site is at www.gliding.co.uk