The forecast was for another blue day with a later start but better thermal heights than the day before. On track the prediction was accurate until the final two legs where the three classes met up for the home run to Narromine.
Club class was at the back of the grid today. This did not help them as on the penultimate leg, where crossing the Macquarie Marshes north of Warren relatively late in the day many glider became stuck. Followers of the live tracking watched live as the height of the gliders descended, struggling to climb in weak conditions, then landed out.
There was a scramble on Narromine Airfield as ground crews faced the prospect of hitching trailers and heading off into the wet paddocks to the north to retrieve their gliders in the fading evening light.
Hangar 7, the contest Outlanding Coordination Centre, was besieged by anxious crews wanting to get the exact location of their pilots and gliders. Calmly and professionally, Jack Hart and the team logged and processed landout information - well, sometimes he had to raise his voice to be heard over telephones with weak reception in far away paddocks. The Oprations team including Jenny Thompson and Jacom Bloom diligently helped retreival crews with information and rereival options including aerotow retreives.
While the fortunate ones headed for the clubhouse for dinner and refreshments, crews picked up their trailers and headed off into the dusk. As the giant ball of the sun slipped into the vast Australian horizon, trailers streamed out of Narromine following their GPS and Google Maps.
GREAT RACE DAY
Thankfully for most of the fleet of 79 gliders, although difficult, the day was strong enough for them to make it home to Narromine.
STANDARD CLASS
In Standard Class, Australian Bruce Taylor took 1st place coming home well ahead of the rest of the Standard Class gliders. Perhaps this meant he started early, which may have been a wise decision. But we will have to wait until his Day Winner interview to find out the secrect of his succes. His team mate and Day 1 Winner Greg Beecroft was not far behind, finishing in 3rd place. Dutch pilot Sjaak Selen finished in 2nd place.
After three races and despite finishing 5th today Makato Ichikawa, Japan, retains his leading position with Sjaak Selen and Greg Beecroft not far behind. Not to be overlooked is consistent performer Tom Arscott, Great Britain who is just behind in 4th place overall.
15M CLASS
In 15m Class the Belgian team Andre Litt and Francois Delfosse had a great day taking 1st and 2nd places. Steffen Goettler, Germany, came home in 3rd place. The Belgians finished the 421km course at 112 kph. This is similar to the achieved speed yesterday despite the weaker conditions.
Overall Christophe Abadie, France is in the lead staving off the hungry Polish duo Sebastian Kawa and Lukasz Grabowski by just 4 points.
CLUB CLASS
In Club Class, 12 of the fleet of 30 gliders landed without completing the 356 km task. The top five place getters:
1. Tim Milner Great Britain
2. Thies Bruins Netherlands
3. Adrien Henry France
4. Hugo Corbille France
5. James Nugent Australia
All are in the running for medals after three races. But how many more races will there be? The weather conditions are forecast to be strong for the next several days. By then the contestants may well be ready for a break. A forced rest may well be on the way with a deepening trough developing in inland Australia and a tropical cyclone developing in the Coral Sea off the coast of Northeast Australia.
However, tomorrow promises excellent soaring conditions. For the pilots who landed out today, part of the test of their championship credentials will be how well they can recuperate and recover from this test of strength and stamina.
Standard Class After Race 3
1 PB Makoto Ichikawa Japan LS8-t 2,792
2 2S Sjaak Selen Netherlands Discus 2a 2,778
3 HCB Gregory Beecroft Australia LS8 2,742
4 CC Tom Arscott Great Britain LS8 2,724
5 WB Bruce Taylor Australia LS8a 2,671
15m Class After Race 3
1 KW Christophe Abadie France JS3 15m 2,875
2 RP Lukasz Grabowski Poland Diana 2 2,871
2 ZJ Sebastian Kawa Poland Diana 2 2,871
4 G2 Steffen Goettler Germany Ventus 2ax 2,865
5 F2 Derren Francis Great Britain Ventus 3TS 15 2,851
Club Class After Race 3
1 Q1 James Nugent Australia LS3 2,912
1 SL Stefan Langer Germany LS3 2,912
3 LS5 Tim Milner Great Britain LS3 2,908
4 SL Uwe Wahlig Germany LS3 2,912
5 HG Hugo Corbille France LS 7 2,884
Full results at soaringspot.com/en_gb/37th-fai-world-gliding-championships-narromine-2023/