Luka Žnidaršič winner SGP Italy
SGP Series 13 Italy: Racing, Loss, and Resolve at Varese
FAI Sailplane Grand Prix — Varese, Italy, 22–30 May 2026
The 13th Series of the FAI Sailplane Grand Prix opened at Calcinate del Pesce, home of the Aero Club Adele Orsi (ACAO), with five races over seven days in the skies above Lombardy. What unfolded tested pilots not only as aviators but as people.
Race 1 — 24 May: Gatfield Wins the Opener
The competition began on Sunday 24 May with a 16-pilot grid and conditions that were weaker than forecast. A more stable airmass than forecast forced a tactical revision: the original task was set aside in favour of a compact 205 km "Task B" — Varese to San Pellegrino, then across to M Ceneri in Switzerland, back to Lasnigo, and home.
Slovenia's Jernej Lokovsek set a fast opening pace, crossing the start at 155 kph, but the weak conditions extracted a heavy price — he rounded the first turnpoint at just 397 m and eventually recorded a DNF, as did compatriot Luka Žnidaršič. The cross-border leg to M Ceneri became the day's decisive test, and the field thinned considerably.
Britain's Jon Gatfield, flying an AS 33 Es, navigated the Pre-Alps terrain with good judgement and connected with a useful energy line before the final glide, allowing him to separate cleanly from the struggling pack. He crossed the finish line in 2 hours 10 minutes and 38 seconds, averaging 94.2 kph with no penalty points. Germany's David Bauder finished second, 7 minutes and 46 seconds behind, with Italian local Stefano Ghiringhelli third, nearly 13 minutes off the pace.
Jon Gatfield on th e podium after winning Race 1 SGP Italy. Requiescat in pace
A Tragic Loss — 25 May
On 25 May, during the second race of the competition, Jon Gatfield was involved in a fatal accident. Fellow pilots in the vicinity alerted organisers immediately, and a helicopter and emergency responders reached the site within minutes. Race 2 was cancelled and all remaining gliders directed back to the field. The following day, 26 May, was declared an official day of mourning.
Jon was a respected veteran of multiple SGP events and a highly accomplished pilot. He was widely regarded as generous, warm, and genuinely committed to the sport and its community. His loss cast a long shadow over the rest of the week.
Race 3 — 27 May: A Return to the Sky
After two days of silence, the pilots made a collective decision to return to the grid on 27 May. The atmosphere was quiet and subdued. Eight pilots chose to fly, seven of them electing to complete the designated task — a 227 km route across the ridges of the Lombardy region. Luka Žnidaršič, Michael Reiner, and Steffen Schwarzer completed the race and took the top three positions. The day was understood by all as a tribute rather than a competition, though the points counted.
Race 4 — 29 May: Žnidaršič Takes Control
Racing resumed in earnest on 29 May with a 219 km task threading through the Swiss-Italian lakes — Montevaltra, M Ceneri, Teglio, and Gurone before the return to Varese. It proved to be a highly selective day: only four pilots completed the task.
Luka Žnidaršič (LZ) won with an average speed of 96 kph, his advantage built primarily on the Ceneri-to-Teglio leg. While most of the field managed that section at between 47 and 48 kph, Žnidaršič found lines that allowed him to progress at 65.5 kph, then maintained 142 kph on the following leg to establish a lead the others could not close. Steffen Schwarzer (L7) and Michael Reiner (MR) crossed the line in the same second, exactly 34 minutes and 9 seconds behind, with David Bauder (DC) fourth, just 18 seconds later. Jernej Lokovsek fought hard to become the fifth finisher but fell short of task completion, having circled in 80 thermals at an average speed of 39.9 kph in difficult valley conditions. Ulrich Messmer (LR) and Maciej Walasek (M1) were unable to reach the Teglio turnpoint and did not complete the task.
Race 5 — 30 May: Reiner Closes Out the Week
The final racing day brought a compact 133 km foothill circuit through Lecco, Varese Arcisate, Brunate, and Gurone. A stable morning airmass required patience; the Race Director delayed the planned 13:00 launch and waited for conditions to develop.
Michael Reiner (MR) delivered the cleanest flight of the day, averaging 92.6 kph to take the race win. Žnidaršič was close behind, finishing 1 minute and 47 seconds later at 90.7 kph for second place. Steffen Schwarzer (L7) completed the podium at 87.6 kph.
Competition Result
Through the five races, Luka Žnidaršič accumulated 19 points to win the Varese Grand Prix overall. Michael Reiner's consistent performances, capped by his final-race victory, placed him second with 17 points. Both pilots earned qualification for the SGP World Final, to be held at the Club de Planeadores de Chile in Vitacura.
The Varese event was the first qualifying round of Series 13. Further qualifying events are scheduled across 2025–2027, with the World Final in Chile as the series conclusion.
The SGP Series 13 Italian Grand Prix will be remembered as much for the collective decision to continue as for the racing itself. The pilots, organisers, tow pilots, and support crews chose to complete the competition in the face of genuine grief — a decision that reflected the character of the soaring community. The full series calendar and championship standings are available at sgp.aero
- Details
A new chapter in competitive soaring opens with a global calendar, and a World Final in Chile.
The first FAI Sailplane Grand Prix World Final was in Saint-Auban, France, in 2005. Now entering its 13th series, the competition continues to attract elite pilots from across the gliding world. The format remains up to 20 gliders race a closed course of 200 to 300 km and the first pilot to cross the finish line wins the race. Points are awarded to the top nine finishers each day, and the pilot who accumulates the most points across the contest week takes the overall win.
The SGP was designed to be understandable to a general audience while remaining technically demanding for the pilots flying it. Courses take roughly two hours to complete under typical conditions, though weather will always have the final say. The decisions a pilot makes — which thermal to commit to, when to push on glide, how to position relative to competitors — unfold in real time against changing conditions, and that is what makes the racing compelling.
How the Series Works
Series 13 consists of 11 qualifying events held across multiple countries, with the top-placed pilots at each event earning spots at the World Final. The qualifying threshold has been raised from the previous series. An event now needs at least 16 entries for two pilots to automatically qualify, and at least 10 entries for the winner to earn a place.
A pilot must start at least 50 percent of the races in a contest and complete at least half of those started. Additionally, the glider flown must meet minimum handicap requirements — a DAeC Index of 113 or above for the 18-metre class, and 107 or above for the 15-metre and Standard classes. These changes are intended to ensure that qualifying places reflect genuine competition rather than token participation.
Wing Loading and the Finish Line
The wing loading limits have been updated to accommodate the newest generation of sailplanes, including those fitted with electric sustainers or self-launch systems. The 18-metre class is now permitted a maximum wing loading of 51 kg per square metre, up from the 48 kg per square metre limit that applied in Series 12. The 15-metre and Standard class limit remains at 48 kg per square metre. This change acknowledges the reality of current glider design without abandoning the principle that all competing aircraft should be broadly comparable in performance.
The finish line rules have been refined. Series 13 formally defines a Finish Altitude Band, normally 30 metres deep. Flying below the upper boundary of this band incurs a time penalty. Flying below the lower boundary invalidates the finish entirely. In Series 12, a pilot who crossed below the minimum altitude still received a valid finish with a five-minute penalty. That is no longer the case. Pilots arriving at the finish low will need to judge their approach carefully.
Start Speed
The standard maximum start speed remains 170 kph. However, the new rules give the SGP Director the flexibility to modify this limit at the daily briefing in exceptional circumstances, such as a strong tailwind on the start line. This is a small but practical change. The fixed 170 kph limit in Series 12 made no allowance for conditions that could make a standard mass start genuinely unsafe or unworkable.
The Series 13 Calendar
The qualifying calendar spans two full years and reaches across multiple continents. European events run through 2026 and into 2027, covering venues in Italy, the United Kingdom, Norway, Germany, France, Poland, Sweden, and Spain. The southern hemisphere provides three further qualifying events, at Bona Bona in South Africa in November 2026, Vitacura in Chile in January 2027, and Beverley in Western Australia in February 2027.
The European legs begin at Varese in Italy from 24 to 30 May 2026, followed by Lasham in the UK from 7 to 13 June 2026. Starmoen in Norway runs from 28 June to 4 July 2026, and Farrenberg in Germany follows from 9 to 15 August 2026. The French venue at Vinon takes place from 30 August to 5 September 2026. After the three southern hemisphere events, the European calendar resumes in 2027 with Zar in Poland from 9 to 15 May, Boras in Sweden from 23 to 29 May, and Santa Cilia in Spain from 6 to 12 June.
Santa Cilia serves as the final qualifying event, meaning it carries extra weight for pilots on the edge of a World Final berth. The terrain in the Pyrenees demands a different skill set from the flatter venues in Scandinavia and the UK, and conditions there can be demanding. For pilots who have competed at Vinon or in the Alps, the mountain environment will be familiar; for others, it represents a significant tactical challenge.
The World Final itself takes place at Vitacura in Chile from 9 to 15 January 2028. Vitacura also appears as a qualifying event one year earlier, giving pilots who attend both the opportunity to build familiarity with the site and the local conditions before the title is decided there.
Full details of the sporting rules for Series 13 are available for download through the SGP website at sgp.aero, and pilot registration for all events are open now. sgp.aero
- Details
