August 11 Report
After the storms of two days ago and a pleasant rest day yesterday, we are back to racing.
The forecast was for good soaring conditions (but only to 1500 meters) and a long day, ending around 1900 local time. The Task was a 6-leg Racing Task that sent the gliders south across the border with Poland, then north to a point just west of the Kaunas airspace, then back toward home. Once again, the steering Turn Point had a very small effect on the total distance, which was 341 km. Interestingly the 13.5m Task was longer than today’s Club Class Task, by a little bit.
The launch was quick, as usual, and the Start Line opened at 1255. Anticipating a long day, the pilots delayed their departures until after 1400. This turned out to be a mistake for most of them! After 4h17 on course, Stefano Ghiorzo (Italy) arrived home, the only finisher in the Class. Weakening lift and a headwind prevented the rest of them from finishing.
Morgan Sandercock (Australia) was second with a landing only 25 km from the finish line, and Antoine Havet (France) was third, just 7 km behind Morgan.
In the overall standings, Stefano Ghiorzo has increased his lead over Vladas Motuza (Lithuania), and Morgan Sandercock is holding on to third.
As the sun sets behind the clubhouse, Italy celebrates the day.
[Photo credit: Organizers]