Gold medal in Microlight Pylon racing

The first World Air Games event came to a close today in the blink of an eye with the Microlight Pylon event final. The winners were the British team of Rob Grimwood and Chris Saysell who flew the three circuits of the 1200m course in a time of 3 minutes 30.6 seconds.

The second British team had to settle for second place but were only one tenth of a second behind. The semifinal was held shortly before the final round with the Italian team of Rossi Soavi/Vanzini gaining the bronze medal in a time of 3:53.3 min and Carra/Rossa coming fourth in 4:47.2 min.

So what was the story behind this event, the first time inflatable pylons have been used for a microlight race? Of course the high performance of the trikes played a role. The P&M QuikR microlights flown by the British teams benefitted from a design which did not require a kingpost, making the wing aerodynamically superior in relation to the other competitors wings.

But this is only half of the story; the very tight turns in the course required pinpoint accuracy and a great deal of concentration. Both the British teams showed controlled flying, maintaining an even height around the whole course, It was the combination of pilot skill and also high performance design which proved decisive in the race for medals.