Adam Woolley, Australia, landing after winning Race 6 in 15m Class.
Crossing the finish line at a blistering 151.54 kph, flying 546.93km, Adam Woolley won the day in 15m Class gaining 1,000 championship points. He was closely followed across the finish line by his team mate Tobi Geiger, who finished the task at 151.38 kph.
Behind the Australian duo were the two Netherlands pilots, Erik Borgmann and Jeroen Verkuij, who flew so well in the first days of the contest.
Although the soaring forecast at daily briefing was for a good soaring day, pilots and their teams were worried by the strong morning winds and uneasy about the overall weather situation. However, in the end, it was an excellent Narromine day with high cloudbases and strong thermanl conditions over the entire task task area.
The 15m and Standard Classes ended up with the strongest cumulus conditions with southern orientated tasks of over 550km. But even to the bluer north where the Club Class was sent on a 470.46km 'B Task', the conditions were strong with climbs above 10,000ft (3,000m). Some pilots complained that it was a 'bit boring' as they pushed their sticks forward, increasing speed.
The day was not all plain sailing and featured some early landouts. Though some pilots are still getting to grips with the Australian conditions, such as the large distance between thermals on these high, convective days, for the top place getters, today was a good demonstration of the strong thermal conditions and fast speeds that the Eastern Australian wheat belt can produce.
Tobi Geiger, Australia, finishing in 2nd place 15m Class in Race 6.
After 6 races with the prospect of at least 3 more racing days, the contest is finely poised in all classes. In top place in the 15m Class is Steffen Goettler, Germany, just 6 points ahead of the current World Champion, Sebastian Kawa. South African Uys Jonker, two times day winner, is just 24 points behind the leader. They are followed by German Henrik Bieler Germany, Ricci Brigliadore Italy and today's winner Adam Woolley.
STANDARD CLASS
Standard Class also had a very fast day, won by Lukasz Blaszczyk, Poland who completed the 545.63km task at 151.71 kph. Day 5 winner Tom Arscott, Great Britain flew the course at a speed of 150.67 kph. Joris Vainius, Lithuania took 3rd place with a speed of 149.61 kph.
Tom Arscott keeps his 1st place position at the top of the table. He is followed by Sjaak Steen, Netherlands who came 4th today. Sjaak has been very consistent and is a real top position contender without winning a day - so far. Simon Schröder Day 5 winner is in 3rd place overall. But the point spread between the places is increasing now.
Schröder is now 246 points behind Arscott. There are still a potential 6 more race days, so that deficit can still be made up. However, as the days count down, it will now become more difficult for the competitors to make up the deficit. At this stage, the prospect of an outlanding, or very low placing in any of the remaining races, could result in a reversal of fortunes for the pilots. For the pilots hovering below in the total scores, this is exactly what they will be hoping for now.
CLUB CLASS
Today the Club Class were set what was probably the most difficult task. The tasks for 15m and Standard Classes were mostly to the south, towards the inland trough with cumulus over a wide area. In contrast, Club Class were tasked to fly north into the predominantly blue area.
Nevertheless, the soaring conditions were strong with convection to well over 10,000ft (3,000m). However some pilots flew from cloud base near Narromine at 10,000 ft and more, straight towards the next turnpoint on the western edge of the Warumbungles (a volcanic caldera on the edge of the Great Dividing range) nearly down to circuit height before finding a low, weak thermal to climb away in.
Even when there are clouds to mark the path through the sky, the most important thing in a cruise is to pick the better energy lines. It is not a good idea to fly long distances in sinking air. But when the conditions are blue, how do you find the good energy? That is what any competition, especially a World Gliding Championship, is all about - finding the best path through the sky to the next strong climb.
James Nugent, Australia won his second day in Club Class, cementing his lead at the top of the table flying the 470.46km task at 114.37 kph. He was followed in 2nd place by Race 5 winner Jacek Flis. Jan Ratz, Czech Republic came home in 3rd position at 113.02 kph.
As always, consistency is the key to victory and Nugent is firmly in the lead after a sterling performance with a 110 point lead over reigning world champion Uwe Wahlig, Germany. Uwe came home in 14th place today so, going forward, he must regain his top 5 places to keep in contention. Tim Milner, Great Britain is in 3rd place overall after placing 7th today.
With more race days to come and mixed weather, the results are far from certain in this exciting World Gliding Championships.
Sean Young