Ozone Pilots Win at 2012 World Championships
Published on:
03 Sep 2012
After a three year hiatus, (the last World Paramotor Championships were in the Czech Republic in 2009) the 7th World Paramotor Championships took place in a small airfield in Marugan, Spain (close to Madrid).
118 pilots and co-pilots from 17 countries competed in 4 categories: PF1 foot launch solo, PF2 foot launch tandem, PL1 single trike and PL2 double trike. It was the first time in the history of the sport that a female PF1 class was valid.
Good weather conditions allowed pilots to fly 10 tasks over 7 days: 2 slaloms, precision landing, navigation with limited fuel, navigation for speed, precision navigation with speed declaration or photo finding, eco-distance and pure eco in nice thermal conditions.
Ozone team pilot, Alex Mateos, suffered an ankle injury just 1 week before the competition started. Miraculously, he was able to enter the PF1 class flying his Viper. Alex won all slalom tasks by a comfortable margin but was not competitive enough in the economy tasks flying his Polini 200 engine. It was only after the last economy task that he lost his lead, finishing 2nd overall for a Vice World Champion title. Well done Alex! And we wish you the best for the European Championship in Estonia, 2013.
Ozone Speedsters dominated the PF2 podium, in 1st and 2nd place. French pilot Yann Leudiere with his co-pilot Aundrey were unbeatable from the beginning of the competition, followed by polish couple Ryszard Zygadlo and Patrycja Lejk. Both teams were flying the Speedster 33. The wing showed amazing performance, allowing fast take off and the best speed and agility in all tasks even with the airfield altitude being 940m above sea level.
In the PF1 Female class, Ozone PPG manager, Emilia Plak, flew her Speedster 19m to an overall World Champion Title. Coralie Mateos took 2nd overall, also flying her Speedster 19m.
Emilia Plak: “The Speedster pilots in this competition were all very happy with its performance. Marugan airfield gave us difficult conditions with higher altitude launches in nil-wind conditions. The Speedster was very easy to launch, has amazing top speed and proved very stable in turbulence. In thermals, it felt more like a free-flight wing.”
Alex Mateos: ”I started flying with Ozone and it’s still my choice. I love the Viper series and think it is the best compromise for all types of tasks in classic competition: speed, agility, and economy. This competition was a bit difficult for me because of my twisted ankle. It was hard decision I had to make, just before the beginning of competition it was still very painful but I am very happy I participated!"
Full results: http://marugan2012.es/paramotor/scores