Having survived the final party, I can now put a bit of flesh on the bones of what was a splendid effort by Team GB all round here in Uvalde.
In the Open Class, Pete Harvey, flying the new Antares 23, an aircraft he had no experience in and without his team partner, went from strength to strength throughout the World Championship. He was day winner on 3 occasions and was always up with the hunt, coming in 4th on the final day and 5th overall, just 77 points in 12000 off a medal. This is class flying on the World stage.
Similarly impressive were our pair in the 18M who were consistency personified throughout the comp, always finishing with speeds and points near or at the top of the scale. This has led Mike Young to finish 3rd, and Russell Cheetham a close 4th overall, behind a very impressive Polish pair.
In the 15 M, Ed Johnston, who has proved himself again on the International stage, came 3rd on the final day to finish 6th overall in a very strong field, while Matt Cook came in 25th today to finish 23rd overall. He naturally feels he could have done better, but needs to be reminded that he was consistently faster here than the reigning 15M World Champion.
All this bodes well for the Team Cup, where Team GB were lying second last night, and in which the strength in depth displayed by the Team should merit a medal at the prizegiving in the morning.