Racing finally got underway Thursday at the Formula KIte 2023 European Championships at Eastney Beach, Portsmouth.
After two days of extreme conditions, the 111 competitors from 28 nations finally took to the Solent for the first round of qualification racing.
Britain’s Ellie Aldridge leads the women taking four race wins from five races with 4 pts. Poema Newland of Franceis second with 5pts after posting three race wins and a second.
In third place is Lily Young of Britain tied on 8 pts with Annelous Lammerts of Holland. Other top placed Brits are Madeline Anderson in eighth place and Katie Dobson in 11th.
In the men, Riccardo Pianosi of Italy holds a one point lead over Britain’s Connor Bainbridge.
Both Pianosi and Bainbridge won three races from their five races.
Third is Jannis Maus of Germany with 9 pts and fourth Maxime Nocher of France with 11 pts.
As well as a fluctuating breeze, which had riders swapping kite sizes, the competitors faced weed on the race course, which increased when the tide turned. This led to riders sailing carefuly to avoid crashing.
For Friday the fleets are reorganised into Gold and Silver Fleets. With slightly stronger westerly breeze forecast, the aim is to complete four races during the afternoon.
Formula KIte 2023 Europeans Women – Leaders after 5 races (41 entries)
Formula KIte 2023 Europeans Men – Leaders after 5 races (71 entries)
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