“A rollercoaster day” was how Kamil Manowiecki described day four of the Formula Wing World Championships in Cagliari. After six chaotic races, few of the 93 competitors would disagree with the Polish rider.
In the early session before the wind shut down, Manowiecki continued his fight-back as he took the race win in the men’s gold fleet and moving up to equal second overall. After a long wait for reliable wind to return, the riders went back out for five more races that barely concluded before the Sardinian sunset.
© IWSA media/Robert Hajduk: Manowiecki forced to crash to avoid a collision, missing out on a race win
WACKY RACES
“These races were the craziest races,” said Manowiecki. “The best races to be part of - like winning, losing, winning, losing everything, total rollercoaster. I think everyone was feeling tense, trying to do their best, and that brought out the biggest extremes. I never saw such battles.” Somehow Mathis Ghio rose above the confusion to record some solid results and claim the yellow jersey for the final day.
The Frenchman is joined in the men’s final by Francesco Cappuzzo who battled his way into the blue jersey ahead of Alessandro Tomasi. The two Italians finished the day tied for points, but the tie-break went in Cappuzzo’s favour. It’s a critical edge, because Cappuzzo knows he’ll be fighting for the medals whereas Tomasi will now have to battle his way out of his semi-final.
© IWSA media/Robert Hajduk: Francesco Cappuzzo upgrades his green jersey to blue for Sunday
PHOTO FINISH
Ghio was buzzing as he came ashore in the orange glow of sunset. In race nine Ghio faltered at the start and was struggling to get back into the top 10. “I made a very bad start but in these very strong conditions, I feel extremely comfortable with my gear and I'm able to push very much compared to the others,” he said. “So I managed to climb up through the fleet and just take the bullet ahead of Kamil.” An incredible photo-finish, with the outcome tipping in favour of Ghio ahead of his arch-rival Manowiecki. Vaina Picot sailed brilliantly in the late afternoon session, the French rider doing just enough to guarantee her place in the women’s final alongside Spanu.
As with Cappuzzo v Tomasi, Picot finished the session tied for points with Aimilia Kosti from Greece. Kosti sailed fantastically in the latter part of the day, taking two wins and two seconds from the final four races. Meanwhile Karolina Kluszczynska dropped to fourth having been second at the start of the day, although the Pole was only a point behind the French and Greek riders. It’s been tight all week between these three.
© IWSA media/Robert Hajduk: Vaina Picot won a three-way fight for the second spot in the women's final
DON’T THINK TOO HARD
Spanu has re-established her pre-eminence over the women’s fleet although she’s taking nothing for granted. “I do my best not to get nervous. I like to think about other things,” said the 18 year old from Oristano, just up the Sardinian coast from Cagliari. “Today I messaged with my boyfriend and my friends, they helped me to stay focused when it matters, because you can’t be thinking about racing all the time.”
Now only the final day of racing remains. But thanks to the ground-breaking format of the Golden Ticket long distance race and the knockout rounds of the Medal Series, anyone can still win in Sardinia.
© IWSA media/Robert Hajduk: Blistering speed out of the start line
Racing takes place out of Poetto Beach in Cagliari from 24 to 28 September. Results are updated as they happen, racing is being tracked, and the final two days will be live streamed on FaceBook and YouTube. Sunday's livestream is scheduled to start at 2pm local time. For all the updates, and exclusive content, follow @wingfoilracing on social media.
