Club Class champion Alexandre Fierain from France with Alessandro Bassalti Italn and Roelof Corporaal Netherlands
The 24th FAI European Gliding Championships wrapped up at Ostrów Wielkopolski Michałków in Poland yesterday, bringing to a close a fortnight of competition across the Standard, 15 Metre and Club classes.
In the Standard class, Robin Smit took the title flying an LS8 Neo of GLC Illustrious, finishing with 4,537 points after seven tasks. Jeroen Jennen of KonAck-LSV Viersen, also in an LS8, was runner-up on 4,511, with Jakub Barszcz of Aeroklub Orląt w Dęblinie completing the podium in third on 4,395 in his LS8 neo.
The 15 Metre class went to Łukasz Grabowski of Aeroklub Włocławski, who piloted an AS 33 Es to victory with 4,240 points. Timothy Scott of Booker Gliding Club, flying a JS3 Jet, took second on 4,206, narrowly ahead of Jacek Flis of Aeroklub Ziemi Zamojskiej / KKGT, also in a JS3 Jet, on 4,173.
Alexandre Fierain claimed the Club class title flying an LS3 for Abbeville, finishing on 5,001 points. Alessandro Bassalti of KonAck took second in a DG-300, on 4,992, with Roelof Corporaal of Gelderse Zweefvliegclub third in an LS7 neo on 4,968. Fierain also closed out the championship in style, winning the final day's task with a speed of 98.77 kph.
The Team Cup, which combines results across all three classes, was won by the Netherlands, edging out Poland and Finland, who took second and third respectively after a consistent run of scores through the seven completed tasks.
Seven tasks were flown over the two-week programme, following three practice days at the start of the event, with rest days interspersed to allow for weather. The championships were organised at Ostrów Wielkopolski Michałków from 12 to 25 July.
Standard Class champion Robin Smit Netherlands, Jeroen Jennen Belgium and Jakub Barszcz Poland
Racing began on 13 July after three days of practice flying, and the fortnight settled into a pattern familiar to any gliding pilot: task days interspersed with days lost to weather, and long area tasks alternating with shorter, sharper contests.
The opening task, a ninety-minute assigned area task, gave a first hint of form across the three classes. In the Standard class Lukáš Kříž set the pace at 99.98 kph, just ahead of Norbert Alin Scarlat. The 15 Metre class went to Marius Pluščauskas at 105.93 kph in his Diana 2, while in the Club class Alexandre Fierain opened with a win at 102.57 kph, a result that would prove significant by the end of the championship.
Two rest days followed before task two on 16 July, a longer area task of two and a half hours that rewarded pilots who read the day well. Jeroen Jennen took the Standard class win at 112.12 kph, the first of two victories he would collect during the week. Jacek Flis was quickest in the 15 Metre class at 116.88 kph, edging out Łukasz Grabowski by a narrow margin. In the Club class, Mikołaj Zdun and Tomasz Rubaj flew almost identical speeds, with Zdun taking the win at 109.94 kph.
Task three, flown the following day over a racing task of more than three hundred kilometres, produced some of the fastest speeds of the championship. Sebastiano Brigliadori won the Standard class at 122.68 kph, with his twin brother Riccardo close behind, while Jakub Barszcz completed the podium. Grabowski went one better in the 15 Metre class this time, winning at 109.68 kph ahead of Timothy Scott. Alessandro Bassalti took the Club class win at 101.58 kph over a course of more than 320 kilometres, one of the strongest performances of the week in that class.
Task four on 18 July was shorter again, a two-hour area task. Jennen collected his second win in the Standard class at 112.39 kph, with Robin Smit second. Rasmus Ørskov was fastest in the 15 Metre class at 116.34 kph. In the Club class, Filip Bojanowski took the win at 100.36 kph.
A rest day on 19 July was followed by a task called on 20 July that was subsequently cancelled across all three classes, with every pilot recorded as did-not-fly. Two further rest days meant the fleet did not race again until 22 July.
15m champion Łukasz Grabowski
That day produced the longest task of the championship, a racing task of more than four hundred kilometres for the Standard and 15 Metre classes. Łukasz Błaszczyk won the Standard class at 109.51 kph over the full 419.69 kilometres, a result that put him firmly into title contention. Timothy Scott took the 15 Metre class at 118.57 kph after a close battle with Grabowski. The Club class task, over a similar distance, was abandoned partway through, with the entire field returning a did-not-fly result for the day.
The championship closed on 24 July with a further weather day on 23 July having intervened. Błaszczyk backed up his earlier win with another in the Standard class, taking the final task at 107.60 kph to secure the overall title. Karel Novák won the closing 15 Metre task at 106.63 kph, though it was Grabowski's consistency over the preceding six days that carried him to the overall championship rather than a win on the final day. In the Club class, Fierain closed out the week exactly as he had begun it, winning the last task at 98.77 kph to add to his opening-day victory and take the overall title.
Across the week, five of the seven scheduled tasks were flown to completion, one was cancelled outright, and the Club class lost a sixth day partway through.
