Varese 
02 - 12 Sep 2015
Glider
Glider The countdown to one of the most exciting and competitive sporting events this fall has started. On the 5th of September, 20 of the best pilots in the world will be coming to Varese, Italy, where they will compete for the title of FAI World Sailplane Grand Prix Champion.
The pilots for the 6th FAI Sailplane Grand Prix World Final have qualified for their place by competing in one of the series 6th FAI/SGP series qualifying events. There is also a wild card entry from the host country.
Among the favourites to win the title, Sebastian Kawa (Poland) has been crowned World SGP Champion three times already, but he will need to fly with his usual perfection to head off the challenge from the entire field of competitors who will be determined to take the top place. Giorgio Galletto (Italy), the wild card entry, will be taking advantage of his local knowledge of the competition area to try to win the title for the second time, this time in his home country.
The current Champion Didier Hausse (France) will certainly not be phased by the competition but he does not have much experience in this region and may find the mountains of Lombardia province a test in themselves. Peter Hartmann (Austria) has shown great skill in SGP racing and knows the region well which may give him a chance of achieving one of the top places.
Five of the pilots are in the top 20 of the World Ranking including both Cristof Ruch (France) and Roman Mracek (Chech Republic), pilots with particular expertise in the type of flying expected in the Varese area. There are also some new faces in the field which may provide a few surprises from the more established pilots. Among them, Rasmus Orskov (Denmark) performed extremely well in the Polish qualifying SGP, coming second to Sebastian Kawa.
All of the pilots competing in this final are capable of a podium finish and they will all be fighting to get to the top step. This is especially true of competitors like Tilo Holinghaus (Germany) and Uli Schwenk (Germany) who will be looking to set the record straight after having come close to grasping the title in previous events only to leave empty handed.
There are nine countries represented by the 20 pilots from the qualifying events which took place in eight different countries. You can find the full entry list at http://www.sgp.aero/final2015 Follow the links to find profiles of all the pilots.
Using the latest 3D presentation and video technology, the organising team at Varese will bring you all the drama, tension and excitement live, with race coverage every afternoon from 5th to 12th of September. Follow all the action, including race highlights and news available each evening, at http://www.sgp.aero/final2015
Coverage of the event will start with a warm up race on the 5th of September. Don’t miss out on any of the action, follow FAI/SGP on Twitter or Facebook.
Welcome to this 6th FAI Sailplane -Varese, ITA !