Aussie team invades Uvalde

Usually only a few of the Aussie WGC team elect to go to the pre-worlds – the prohibitive costs of shipping to/hiring in Europe & the less than ideal conditions are not huge attractions … but for Uvalde, with its reputation for Aussie-like conditions & being the site of the only Aussie born world champion’s win in ’91, the 6 member team & 2 “hangars on” made every effort to get here.  John (Butch) Buchanan & Gerrit Kurstjens are sharing a Duo in open class, Bruce Taylor & Brad Edwards (said former world champ) are flying a 29 & JS1 in 18M, Dave Jansen, Peter & Lisa Trotter (husband/wife team) & Tom Claffey (“just here for fun”) are flying 27’s & V2’s in 15M.

During the practice period, the high strong conditions suited the Aussies with day wins by Bruce then Tom.  These conditions continued through the early part of the comp.  In 18M, Bruce has had 4 day wins & Brad 2 2nds, putting Bruce in the lead & Brad 2nd as at day 5.  In 15M, Dave has had a day win, Tom a couple of 4ths &, despite lots of technical issues, Peter is running 3rd, about 200 pts off the lead.  In open class, the “dynamic Duo” is doing an awesome job, running effectively 9th (as a “guest”) against ASW22’s, Nimbus’s, an Arcus & an ASH25.

Just as important, the pilots are having a huge amount of fun, enjoying the conditions,  flying together in a great atmosphere, & catching up with friends from previous international events.  Even the trickier conditions of the last couple of days have not put a dampener on the team.

Today is a well needed rest day for the team to recharge & get back into it tomorrow!