Open European Blokart championships 2023
On October 4-8, at the former Royal Air Force Base in Llanbedr, North Wales, United Kingdom, the Open European Blokart championship took place, where Lithuania was represented by 9 sailors, of which even 4 won prizes.
More than 90 pilots from 13 countries of the world, including even New Zealand and the USA, came to harness the frequent stormy winds of North Wales to their sails.
9 sailors defended the honor of the Lithuanian team. Asphalt is the most common base for landsailing for Lithuanians, but upon arriving at the championship venue, the size of the airfield was surprising almost 2 km long and 50 m. wide runways - the territory allowed the organizers of the competition to create technical and interesting distances in relation to the wind.
With rain and strong winds N. Wales did not disappoint the sailors - on the first two days of the competition, there was a 8-12 m/s south-west wind, which the sailors caught at speeds of 60-70 km/h. When flying at such a pace, it was important not only to control the sail, which is the athlete's only "engine", but also to drive accurately, especially during turns.
However, the result of the race depended significantly on the precise start - while turning the wheels and keeping track of the time, the athletes wait for the start signal, which allows them to start the distance. If you rush in too early, you'll have to go back and chase everyone, and if you're a couple of seconds late, your opponents will already be several tens of meters ahead.
At the start, the sailors competed in a distance of 8-12 minutes, during which, depending on the strength of the wind and the configuration of the marks, they covered 2-3 laps (4-9 km) and finished the race by crossing the finish line.
The most emotions for the spectators were the turns at the bottom mark without controlling of the sail and the scenes at the turn signs, when the athletes flew off the asphalt onto the grass due to excessive speed.
If on the first day of the championship - Thursday - the athletes were drenched in rain and fought against unexpected gusts of wind, then on Friday the wind steadily weakened and the rain ended. Moderate to light wind conditions tested the patience and skill of the sailors on Saturday. Although Sunday was forecast to be sunny and almost windless, the wind picked up and allowed all sailors to put themselves in the championship round after 10 races.
Greta Kalinauskaitė, who was leading in the lightweight standard class from the beginning, lost her leading position on the last day of the competition. Because during the drive, turning the sign, she flew far into the meadow and after collecting many penalty points, she fell to the German athlete Alex Bruhn, who won the first place. The third place was won by another Lithuanian athlete, Austėja Mizgirytė.
Gustas Stankevičius, who competed in the heavyweight standard class, did not do very well on the first day of the championship, but the athlete adapted to the harsh sailing conditions and consistently improved his results, and after a great start on the last day, he finished first and became the runner-up, losing only to the local athlete Stephen Cooke.
The most titled blokarters competed in the heavyweight performance class, among which were European and World champions and vice-champions. Even 3 Lithuanian representatives started in this group - Gediminas Petrauskas, Antanas Golubovskis and Matas Mizgiris. Matas led from day one, but John Nicholson, hot on his heels, took the lead after the 9th run on the penultimate day. On Sunday, the final day of the championship, the wind forecast indicated that there would be no wind. However, the wind started blowing and the organizers started the 10th race, which Matas Mizgiris won and became the European champion.
In the middle weight performance class, Vykintas Mizgiris was just one point short of the bronze medal, he took 4th place among 17 athletes in the championship.
After returning home, the Lithuanians will rest and then start preparing for the championship of Lithuania and the Baltic countries, the starts of which are scheduled for November 10-12 at the Nida airfield.
