World Gliding Championships in New Zealand, 1995

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From: john@roake.gen.nz (JOHN H ROAKE)
Newsgroups: rec.aviation.soaring
Subject: WORLD GLIDE 95,  JANUARY 15
Followup-To: rec.aviation.soaring
Date: Sun, 15 Jan 1995 21:57:06 +1200
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Press Release World Gliding Championships         			15 January

New Zealand national open class gliding champion, Ray Lynskey, was clapped
to the stage this morning as a mark of admiration from all pilots at the
World Gliding Championships in Omarama.

LynskeyUs piloting skills and his knowledge of the rugged terrain of the
South Island led the open class leaders through the only clear gap across
the cloud-covered Two Thumbs Range and into the Mackenzie Basin last
Friday.

Despite showing the open class home safely, Lynskey was still beaten across
the finish line by them all, to place fifth for the day behind Independent
German Bruno Gantenbrink, German team mates Uli Schwenk and Robert
Schroeder and PolandUs Janusz Centka.

Accepting his winnerUs prize for the day, Gantenbrink insisted that Lynskey
 be given equal credit for the dayUs win as, without him, none of the open
class would have made the distance. Only 20 of the 89 competitors completed
FridayUs distance.
Great Britain took first place for the day in both the 15-metre class
(Justin Wills) and the standard class, (Andrew Davis). 

World Cup placings are changing daily and currently Italy leads with 4387,
40 points ahead of France (4347). Finland is third (4333) and Germany is
fourth (4306).
New Zealand holds ninth place ahead of Australia in tenth.

Today is the sixth contest in the championships which finish next Saturday,
January 21. Pilots will be flying distances of up to 426 kilometres today
in weather which is forecasting westerly winds with higher level winds
backing west to south-west .
Soaring conditions will bring weak to moderate wave, becoming weaker and
broken during the day and thermal conditions developing by early afternoon.
Further information contact Ruth Douglas Press officer Omarama phone
(03)438-9482 ext 833

Press release World Gliding Championships                        15 January

New Zealanders won the day in both the open and 15 metre classes in the
sixth day of contest in the World Gliding Championships yesterday (Sunday).

Aucklander Nigel McPhee, flying in his first world championship, crossed
the finished line first in the 15-metre class, ahead of Graham Anderson
South Africa and Gary Ittner of USA.

Modest about his performance, McPhee says he just had good luck and was in
the right place at the right time. A good climb behind Benmore enabled him
to climb to 9000 feet which set him up for the hardest and last turnpoint,
says McPhee.

Grae Harrison of Wellington and his co-pilot Errol Shirtliff, flying an
Ash25, came home first in the open class, ahead of German team mates Uli
Schwenk and Robert Schroeder, second and third and Ray Lynskey of New
Zealand fourth for the day. 

It was a day of mixed fortunes for the New Zealanders. A forced landout has
pushed 15-metre competitor Terry Delore further back into16th overall place
after yesterday, and  Tony van Dyk in the standard class has fallen one
place to ninth overall.

Lynskey said the day had its good and bad moments with mostly thermal
conditions and some hard-to-find wave. Most of the leaders in the open
class found their ways separating yesterday but Lynskey, Schroeder and
Shwenk ended up winthin seconds of each other at the finish.

For Schroeder and Schwenk, who have become known as the `German twinsU,
yesterday was the first time they had flown apart since the championships
started.
Schroeder says it was a very challenging day with weather conditions
difficult to read. At one stage the pair was separated by 40 kilometres,
but by the end of the task they had caught up and reached the finish line
together.


WORLD CUP

Finland currently leads in the World Sorirng Cup by a margin of 60 points,
followed by Italy, France and Germany.