Task 1 of the 14th FAI Junior World Gliding Championships got underway on 3 August at Aalen-Heidenheim/Elchingen in Germany, the first day of racing to count after a run of days on the ground.
Both classes flew, with the Standard Class asked to cover a distance of 129.12 km against a task time of 1:30:00, and the Club Class set 137.83 km within a 2:00:00 window. Conditions were strong enough to push speeds well above 100 kph in both classes.
In the Standard Class, Elias Severholt Fourati took the day with a speed of 115.17 kph, with Barna Hadi second on 114.89 kph and Niels Van Nieuwland third on 114.51 kph. The top three were separated by less than a kph, a sign of how tightly matched the fleet was on this first task.
The Club Class produced an even closer finish. Valentin Pastoria posted the fastest speed of the day at 110.52 kph, just ahead of Jan Stastny on 110.49 kph, with Michaela Křížová third on 110.30 kph. With barely two-tenths of a kph between first and third, the result shows just how evenly the Club Class gliders were flying the course.
With one task now on the board in each class, the championship has its first look at how the fleets stack up. Full results and task details are available at soaringspot.com/en_gb/jwgc2026 and further tasks are expected as the contest continues through to 14 August.
