Pilots Announced for NZ Gliding Grand Prix

ELITE PILOTS ANNOUNCED FOR NEW ZEALAND GLIDING GRAND
PRIX

In a world first, the New Zealand Gliding Grand Prix
has brought together
the sport’s top pilots from around the world to compete
head-to-head in
one of the fastest and most exciting gliding events
ever.

From New Zealand, current overall world champion, John
Coutts joins
world distance record holder Terry Delore of Christchurch
and Ben
Flewett of Auckland, who is currently ranked number
two in New
Zealand. They will take on the best of the rest of
the world. Nominated
by their National Federations, the international pilots
include three
former world champions and a multitude of national
champions.

Poland’s Sebastian Kawa is currently ranked number
one in the world on
the IGC pilot rankings, just ahead of John Coutts who
sits at second.
Kawa was World Champion (Club Class) in 2004 and Junior
World
Champion in 2003 and also won the 1st World Sailplane
Grand Prix in
September 2005.

Other world champions attending are Olivier Darroze
of France who won
the title (World Class) in 2001 and Italy’s current
national champion,
Giorgio Galetto who held the world title in 1999.

Peter Harvey from the UK is current British Champion,
European
Champion (Open Class) and British Overseas Champion
while David
Mockler is the current US National Champion and the
USA’s highest rated
pilot based on the combined performance rankings over
the last three
years.

Uli Schwenk of Germany recently won the Viking Glide
in Sweden, a pre-
cursor to the 2006 World Championships, and Graham
Parker will cross
the Tasman as one of Australia’s top pilots.

“This is the first time these pilots have competed
together as they
usually race in different classes,” said Grand Prix
director, Peter
Newport. “The Grand Prix will see them all flying Standard
Class. These
planes are the ‘Ferraris’ of gliding and are highly
maneuverable with a
wingspan of just 15m and carry three very sophisticated
computer
systems on board. The general public will be astounded
as they watch
these elite pilots push themselves and their aircraft
to their limits, racing
head-to-head at speeds of up to 300kph, at times just
metres above the
ground.”

The New Zealand Gliding Grand Prix takes place from
21-29 January in
Omarama with the final three days of the event open
to the public. A
giant outdoor screen, fed by the most advanced TV graphics
and live
helicopter filming ever seen, together with live commentary,
will keep
crowds in the thick of the of the action, creating
a brand new adrenalin-
charged spectator event set to change the face of competitive
gliding.

For further information and tickets, visit www.gp06.com.