Thursday 2000-7-6
     "It'll clear up in the afternoon and there will be cloudless thermics", say the optimists in the morning. "After lunch it'll cloud over even more and it'll be screwed", opposed the pessimists. In either case it was Thursday morning that was the first day that showed up with a cloudy sky. Fortunately not for long and because the forecast of Slovenian meteorologists siad, regarding the weather,"A cold front has closed in ariound us", and indicated the possibility of the clud cover breaking up - it fianlly began to look like another flying day.




    So after breakfast all was again packed, loaded and tens of cars headed to the lower cable car station called "Zavetisce na Gozdu" at an elevation of 92 m above sea level.




    Without hesitation a record long 83 km discipline with two turning points and a marker was announced at the briefing. Mat'o Skvarka then kindly showed Bulgarian racers where they were certainly not to fly.




    The Start window was opened at 12:45 and the marker opened already an hour later, that is at 13:45. The wind was favorable and there reallly was nothing to wait for. Within 20 minutes of the the opening of the Start window, most of the competitors were in the air.




    The Marker, that is, the starting sign, was today cleverly formed by four different signs, which suceeded each other every 15 minutes, the first at 13:45. Every pilot could thus tactically choose which marker he would photograph. His time was then measured from the marker he showed on his negative. Most pilots chose the third marker at 14:15, when avove the lower station of the cable car about 30 parachutes could be seen weaving about.

    The most difficult point on the entire route became the area around the last turning point after whose photographing it was very difficult to rise back up to the necessary height. And for those who made it, an unpleasant counterwind awaited them in the segment where fast easterly streaming created very strong turbulence over the cliffed crests.

    "So many things happened at once and I was on the ground" said Frantisek Pavlousek of his involuntary landing on the leeward of a sharp crest high in the mountains, who with a mere 8 point loss as of yesterday still had more or less reached the highest position. today signified a fall to 5th position for him. Other racers who also to reach the goal had to use the old two-foot vehicle, at least followed the nearing favorites with binoculars and a slight envy.




    "I pushed towards the goal line even with my eyes", Milan Kamenicek, who literally flew in several meters above the goal line, described his final glide in to the goal, and landed not quite 15 meters behind it. Bliding into the goal in the strong easterly wind was truly problematic and even when at other times a glide in with a reserve of 1600 meters height above the top of Dobrca was sufficient, today 2000 meters was not enough. Jarda Grulich, Tomas Lednik, Tonda Pallas and even Mirek "Radar" Stehula paid for this by landing several hundred meters from the goal. The experienced, up to now leading, racer, "Radar", actually thanks to two unexpected frontstalls which cost him several tens of decisive meters of today so necessary an altitude, especially.



    In the end today besides Milan Kamenicek and two Slovenian Pilots, Milan Michna and Mirek Varvarovsky were the fastest, celebrated the successful attainment of the goal. The point gain for MIlan Michna meant an immediate bump up to 4th place in the overall placing, while Mirek Varvarovsky moved to second place, 171 points behind the leading "Radar".



    The forecast for tomorrow so far looks good, and thaks to the small point differences, there's certain to be a re-dealing of the cards at the forefront of the racing field before Sunday.