Back to
"World Cup Aksaray, Turkey 2021, Season 2022"
Summary written by Ruth Jessop
Today started off with very ominous grey skies and the volcano enveloped in cloud. As we got to launch the sun came out and an 80km task was set.
The task took the pilots south out into the flats, then east to end of speed, goal and World Cup podium fame.
There were cumulus clouds at 2300m and good thermals. After the second turn point there was lots of wind and the thermals were not so good.
High winds out in the plains made for difficult going as the pilots got blown down the course line.
15km before goal the thermals started again.
Yassen Savov was on a mission to win. He was low at times. Everyone expected him to land, but whilst others landed, Yassen carried on and won the day.
Martin Jovanoski flew an excellent race, keeping with the leaders, not taking risks, unlike some of the others in the top four this morning.
It looked like plain sailing as Martin crossed the line in second place giving him a convincing overall win. However, the suspense continued right to the goal line. The entire flying community in Macedonia held their breath as Martin appeared unable to find the goal line. A mere 5m from the ground, he finally crossed the line and claimed victory!
With 79 pilots in goal, today’s task brought to an end a wonderful week here in Aksaray. We’ve had one of the best racing weeks ever. Five fantastic tasks, a great variety of conditions, stunning views, 40,000km flown. Big pieces of baklava and at times, some very big thermals, but best of all, epic days of safe and friendly flying.
Well done to Martin Jovanoski, winner of two tasks and in the top 3 every day.
‘Martin showed everyone how it’s done, not just playing safe, flying perfectly, it was a proper lesson in racing,’ said Yassen Savov.
Last, but not least, thank you to the task committee for some very innovative task-setting here in Aksaray: Martin Jovanoski, Pepe Malecki and Huseyin Tanriverdi.
‘Flying high over the volcano has got to be on every pilot’s bucket list. Thank you Aksaray for making that possible, can’t wait to come back,’ said Gavin McClurg.
For those of you who can’t wait until the next World Cup to come back to Aksaray, have a look at our local organiser’s website. A big thank you to everyone at Fly Turkey in Aksaray, Abdullah Kahraman and all his wonderful, helpful and friendly team, who have made us so welcome: https://www.fly-turkey.com/.
The top 3 pilots in task 5:
1st Yassen SAVOV
2nd Martin JOVANOSKI
3rd Michal TALAVAšEK flying at an average speed of 41.7 km/h
Top 3 ladies
1st Daria KRASNOVA
2nd Liudmila IURTCEVA
3rd Galen KIRKPATRICK
Top 3 teams
1st Gin Gliders
2nd Nearbirds
3rd Davinci Gliders, Ozone, Parastick
Best newcomers: Michal Talavašek, Robert Brockie, Konstantin Kalinin
Top 3 overall in the World Cup in Aksaray:
1st Martin JOVANOSKI
2nd Gleb SUKHOTSKIY
3rd Stephane DROUIN
Top 3 ladies
1st Galen KIRKPATRICK
2nd Violeta JIMENEZ
3rd Daria KRASNOVA
Top 3 teams
1st Gin Gliders
2nd Parastick
3rd Nearbirds
Best newcomers: Christopher Cote, Konstantin Kalinin, Bernd Hohlmeier
All the results are available here: https://live.pwca.org/scores.php?comp=29
