Paragliding Pre-Worlds Series – Manilla 2006
Summary Report
By Godfrey Wenness
The Pre-Worlds in Manilla were a break with tradition in that 2 events were organized in series providing the mostly overseas pilots a double chance at WPRS points and of course all important practise for the main event in 2007. The web site registrations reached nearly 200 in each event from 27 nations within a few weeks of opening, and as such team size entry limitations were applied to allow all countries entering to be represented as equally as possible.
Mt Borah greeted pilots with stage 1 of its $220k facility improvement program for 2007 completed after 2 months of non-stop work. New East road widened, re-aligned and to 2WD standard, a fully astro-turfed and re-shaped West Launch (completed only the week before the start of the events), and the partially complete North Launch widening with 3000sqm of astro-turf down temporarily for the event.
After over a month of great XC conditions and a very successful NSW State HG Titles the week prior, the weather gods didn’t want to play anymore. Previous Pre-Worlds events elsewhere have been plagued with bad weather, and unfortunately for the 150 pilots that arrived in Manilla, the first week kept that hoodoo alive as the Kiwi Open finished with only 2 tasks in 7 days. The responsible party was a late monsoon season triggering a deep eastern inland trough which then promoted a text book south eastern Queensland low system that made its presence felt on the 2nd day and hung around for most of the week.
Kiwi Task 1 : Friday 24th Feb : A quick 74kms task to a GPS Goal at Turrawan near Narrabri. Good conditions on course with some larger clouds being used to the maximum prompting complaints of cloud flying (ie : cheating) against some pilots. It was won by the Norwegian Team pilots (top 5 places) who were not the fastest but gained extra points for the risk in taking an early start time compared to the 4 French that were just behind on points but faster. The only Aussie in the top 10 was veteran Brian Webb flying his Avax into 10th.
Kiwi Task 2 : Saturday 25th Feb : 54kms around the local area looked easy but became a shorter technical task to keep pilots away from potential over development. The new 7000sqm astro-turfed Mt Borah West launch got its competition christening as the field launched in record time. A patch of high level cloud and a blue hole added to the challenge. 18 of the top pilots made goal with many slower pilots landing short as the high cloud shut things down. The day was won by Takagi of Japan who raced the 5 strong lead gaggle in to the end of the speed section 1km before goal. It was a foreign invasion again in the top 10 again with the only Aussie being comp organizer Godfrey Wenness in 4th on his serial Omega 7 proto. New National Champ Craig Collings was in 13th followed closely by James “the Seagull” Lawson in 15th as the only other Aussie’s in goal.
Kiwi Task 3 : 26th Feb : A short 41kms Elapsed Time Race was called but cancelled after 20mins due to observed over development north of the course area potentially spreading over launch and beyond.
Kiwi Day’s 4, 5 and 6 were cancelled due to wind & storms though many pilots managed to free fly in short windows each day.
The last day of the Kiwi Open was also cancelled with 74 knot winds at 10,000ft which mixed down to become 20-30 knots on launch. There were 2 un-needed rest days before the next event, though the party goers at the Royal Hotel Kiwi presentation night probably were glad to have them ! The final overall results after only 2 tasks showed the dominance of the French and Norwegian pilots who took all but 2 of the top 10 places. The Aussie’s were represented in the top 10 only by Godfrey (6th), followed by Craig (13th) and Webby (18th). Grant Middendorf was the best Kiwi in 10th overall.
The Pre-Worlds event weather was looking more promising on the forecast as the event started. The FAI Steward arrived from Romania accompanied by HGFA General Manager Chris Fogg and was ready to observe and take notes for his all important official report.
Pre-Worlds Day 1, Task 1 : 60.9kms Individual Elapsed Time Race to Goal - Mt Borah > Baan Baa (GPS goal).
A carefully selected task to avoid possible rain in the north. A saturated atmosphere resulted in over-clouding making for any task to “look” impossible with 90% shadow ! At Mt Borah East the launch window opened with 20-30km/h wind and drifting weak climbs resulted in 100+/- pilots ridge soaring until better phases came through. On course climbs were up to 2-3m/s with cloud base at approx 2200m. 45 pilots in goal - Mike Aston (UK) was fastest in a course blitzing 1hr 18mins on his serial class Airwave Magic 4. Godfrey was again the only Aussie in the top 10 coming in 8th along with what turned out to be 5 others on serial class type wings mixing it up in the top places with the open class gliders.
Pre-Worlds Day 2, Task 2 : 45.2kms Elapsed Time Race to Watsons Creek - Cancelled before Window Open
The deep low pressure system 400kms to the NE (near Brisbane) was slowly weakening as a front and high pressure system try to move into the eastern 1/2 of the country – it was a good sign for the rest of the week... BUT... this produced moderate winds and higher instability for the day. A short fast task was set but put on hold due to too strong winds on launch (25-30 km/h avg with 40-45km/h gusts) and potential over development on course. The OD became more isolated as the day progressed but the strong winds remained. The day was cancelled which allowed some pilots to free fly in the stronger conditions.
Pre-Worlds Day 3, Task 3 - 86kms to Uralla - suspended then cancelled at 4pm
The high pressure system was moving in from the west promising a great XC day with less wind ...BUT... just as the sky showed perfect cumulus development at 3000m early then rising to over 4400m later, the wind actually increased with averages 30+ and gusts from 40-60 km/h. The task was on hold until the end when the obvious became ... obvious - it wasn't going to drop off. A great potential task day gone with the wind...
Pre-Worlds Day 4, Task 2 - 121kms - Mt Borah > Warialda.
The weather patterns were looking normal and good XC conditions were forecast for the remainder of the event. A more technical blue day with climbs around 2-4m/s up to 2400m, and some even to 3000m ...but not much wind. Pilots flew for 4-6hrs and via 2 main routes – left and right side of the Bingara Valley. 70 pilots managed to fly over 100kms by the time the day shut down at around 6.30pm with 14 getting to Goal. The French, flying in team formation, came in 1 & 2 followed 8 minutes later by Aussie Champ Craig Collings (Avax) taking 3rd. Andrew Horchner steered his Boomerang 4 to 9th was the only other Aussie in Goal.
Pre-Worlds Day 5, 9th March, Task 3 - 56kms - Mt Borah > Bendemeer.
Bands of high cloud shadowed the region but Cu's were still forming in the unstable atmosphere. Light and variable winds with a tendency for NW up high were evident - wind dummies started on the north launch, then west then east and then back to the west - the classic Borah shuffle ! A shorter 56kms elapsed time task to Bendemeer was called. Pilots launched from Borah east and later west, and struggled in slow climbs until cu's formed overhead. The task turned out to be a battle of patience in the mid section when the climbs almost stopped under 100% layer cloud cover. The lead gaggle flyers made the best of the conditions and those that stayed together were rewarded with a sunny Bendemeer valley. 28 pilots made goal with most of the rest of the 150 pilot field landing around ½ way including some of the overall leading French pilots who “blew their comp” with that task. Best Aussie was Andrew in 2nd place with Peter Bowyer coming out of comp retirement to be in a commendable 3rd on the new serial class Nova Tycoon.
Pre-Worlds Day 6, Task 4 - Friday 10th March - 90kms - Mt Borah > Bingara.
A text book perfect sky greeted pilots for the “milk run” Bingara 4th Task. The start gate was set at 80kms out and had consistent clouds available allowing the 150 pilots to wait easily until it opened. Fast climbs and fast flying was the order of the day in what turned out to be a classic race. The beginning of the 25km long Bingara valley was the point where the lead gaggle split up as pilots took various lines to race the last section in a leap frogging affair. Some took more risks than others on the final glide calculation and landed short or needed a desperate low climb just a few kms before goal. The winner Jean-Marc Caron (FRA) took just over 2hrs ! Craig was best Aussie again racing into 3rd place with Andrew hot on his heels just 2 seconds later in 4th. On a sad note a Korean pilot suffered critical injuries when he spun his glider from <50m into a domestic fence whilst desperately trying to catch a small climb just before the goal - he is in a stable condition after being Aero-medivac'd to a specialist hospital in Sydney.
Pre-Worlds Day 7, Task 5 - Saturday 11th March - 124kms - Mt Borah > Gravesend :
Another great Manilla XC day to finish the Pre-Worlds. A long task was set to Gravesend to the north west and a route that has not been flown so far. Cloud base was around 2500m but climbs were tricky due to inversions and big clouds that had little lift under them or decayed quickly. Many of the slower pilots landed just short of goal as the day shut down around 6.30pm. 90 pilots flew over 100kms and 34 made it to the GPS Goal - for many it was a personal best distance too making the end of the event even more memorable. The Chinese pilot Zhou also flew the Chinese national distance record with his goal making effort. After a disappointing season former Australian Champ Enda Murphy piloting his Omega Comp Proto was the best Aussie coming in 5th with Andrew again next just 23 seconds later in 6th after over 4hrs of racing !
Pre-Worlds 2006 Presentation Night - the Winners !
After a long day flying the 124kms last task pilots arrived back to HQ Check-In quite late. Final task scores were not ready until 10.30pm. A buffet dinner for pilots and guests including free beer & wine at the Manilla RSL Club had the pilots eager to see who the winners of the event were.
Champagne flowed as Arnaud Secher (FRA) and Michele Baptist (BEL) sprayed the crowd in true victory style ! The Aussie pilots Enda Murphy and Andrew Horchner managed to climb up the rankings with consistent results using local knowledge to advantage and take 3rd and 4th place as 4 French pilots badly lucked out on a task each preventing them from taking a clean sweep of the top 6 places. There was A$5800 value in prizes and trophies handed out which included major sponsored prizes like an Advance iMPRESS harness, Flytec 5020, Adidas Elevation sunglasses and accessories from Skyline Flight Gear. The best team was not surprisingly the French A team (called Gin and Tonic) who pocketed A$1000 cash. The band played until 2am and then the hard core vodka-Red Bull charged party goers moved to the Royal Hotel which didn't finish until 6am !
Over the 7 tasks flown, pilots covered a total distance of over 57,000kms which is almost an average of 60kms per pilot per task. More than ½ the pilots are also reported to have flown personal bests during the event. There were however 2 other accidents aside from the Korean one - a Chinese pilot landed tail wind and bruised his back and a UK pilot stepped on a rock and fractured her ankle after executing a perfect landing.
The FAI stewards report was also 100% positive so its all systems go for the 2007 World Championships.
The Pre-Worlds Series was organized by Godfrey Wenness. The highly motivated multi-tasking support team did an excellent job over 2 weeks and included Suzi Smith, Bob Smith, Mark Graham, Daniel Keech, Simon Bleechmore, Glenn Hawkins, Tasje Van Renens, Ant Scurrah, James Ryrie, Gil Navalho and “Isso” the Basher driver.
Thanks to the sponsors and local support : Tamworth Regional Council, Manilla Guardian Pharmacy, Vic and Toms Royal Hotel, Manilla RSL Club and Chinese Restaurant, P&J’s Takeaway, Manilla Bakery, Advance, Flytec, Garmin-GME, Icom Aust, Skyline-Wind Works and Red Bull Australia who kept the pilots energized. Special appreciation goes to the Manilla SES (transport) and VRA (emergency) volunteer crews and the Imperial Hotels Mt Borah Cloud Base café who all attended daily.
The Manilla 2007 Event Committee is busy preparing for next year and has major plans underway to create a 2 week long party atmosphere. This will include the huge Opening Ceremony with an air display (RAAF, Warbirds, UL’s, HG’s, PPG’s etc) bands and fireworks, mid event International Food Festival and closing street party. There will also be permanent street closures allowing for an open air town square with giant video screen, a-la-carte food stalls and nightly entertainment. Mt Borah is still to undergo Stage 2 of the major works which should be completed by spring.
All pilots are welcome to fly during the 2007 Worlds (before/after the window open) and become airborne spectators to “see the sky come alive”. It promises to be a once in a lifetime opportunity to be part of a Paragliding World Champs in Australia.
For full Pre-Worlds results, photo’s and top 10 track logs, and information about next years World Championships see the website : www.manilla2007.com
SUMMARY RESULTS :
Kiwi Open :
Overall – Open Class
1 JEANPIERRE, Max, (Boomerang 4) FRA 1843
2 ERWAN, Didriche, (AirCross Ultima 3) FRA 1836
3 CAZAUX, Charles, (Boomerang 4) FRA 1829
Female
1 (39th) BRILL, Caroline, (Advance Omega) FRA 1325
2 (45th) WILLIAMS, Viv, (Nova Tycoon) AUS 1248
3 (58th) BAPTIST, Michele, (AirCross Trialp) AUS 1031
Best Serial Class
Thomas Regensberger (AUT) 16th overall - Gin Zoom Race
Best Veteran
Grey Hamilton (NZL) 17th overall - Gin Boomerang 3
Teams
1st: France 1 – 5550 pts
2nd: Norway White – 5333 pts
3rd: Australia GT – 5173 pts
Pre-Worlds
Overall – Open Class
1 SECHER, Arnaud, (Boomerang 4) FRA 4426
2 CHAUMET, David, (Airwave Magic FR) FRA 4245
3 MURPHY, Enda, (Advance Omega Proto) AUS 4213
Female :
1 (41st) BAPTIST, Michele, (AirCross TriAlp) BEL 2953
2 (42nd) CASTLE, Kari, (UP Trango) USA 2946
3 (44th) WILLIAMS, Viv, (Nova Tycoon) AUS 2900
Best Serial Class :
Steve Ham (UK) 15th overall – Airwave Magic 4
Best Veteran :
Hans Bausenwein (GER) 20th overall – Gin Boomerang Sport
Teams :
1st: France (Gin and Tonic) 12653
2nd : France (Green Frogs) 12058
3rd : Australia 11960