2003 Windsurfing Era PWA Formula Racing World Cup Preview
The first event of the PWA Formula season is all set to kick off in the popular holiday resort of Leba on the Polish Baltic coastline. The event commences on the 5th of August (Registration day) with the first possible racing on the 6th, running through until the 10th August. The event will be organized in conjunction with Namaxa agency in Poland and the Polish Mobile Phone Network ERA.
Situated on the northern coast of Poland, Leba is a renowned for its summertime crowded beaches and party town atmosphere and is a popular event venue for Formula racing. Last year over 100 racers battled it out in front of huge crowds lining the shores of Leba’s fantastic beaches. The courses were set as close to the beach as possible to give the spectators the best possible show. In the men’s division it was Aussie Racer Steve Allen (Fanatic, Neil Pryde) who took the event victory narrowly ahead of American sailor Micah Buzianis (Mistral, North) with Polish National hero Wojtek Brzozowski (Starboard, Neil Pryde) taking third. In the women’s division Dorata Staszewska (Starboard, Gaastra) won convincingly in front of her home crowds with British sailor Lucy Horwood (Gaastra, AHD) taking the runner up slot.
This years event will feature all the worlds elite Formula racers including all the above sailors plus French all rounder Antoine Albeau (Neil Pryde, AHD), Aussie veteran Phil McGain (Gaastra), Former PWA racing champion and current Formula Class World Champion, Kevin Pritchard (Starboard, Gaastra), Canadian race campaigner Sam Ireland (Starboard, Neil Pryde) and the inform Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Neil Pryde, Starboard) of Argentina.
The discipline of Formula Racing is governed by the fact sailors may only register three production sails and one production board at the beginning of each event. Minimum wind levels required for racing are usually a consistent 7 knots around the course and racers are capable of competing when it blows up over 30 knots.
Winds in Leba last year ranged anywhere from 7-20 knots blowing mostly side onshore from the right. Most starts were held within one hundred meters of the beach making for some spectacular viewing. This year’s event is lining up to be a huge battle with around $40,000 prize money and valuable ranking points at stake.
Stay tuned to the PWA web site pwaworldtour.com and http://www.windsurfingeracup.com for daily reports, pictures and results as the action unfolds.
Event entries will now be accepted at: info@namaxa.com or fwc@fwc.pl or fax +48 602 145 602, +48 22 614 23 68.