Bartosz Nowicki and Hayan Al-Hebabi have won the FAI Paramotor Slalom World Championships 2024. Poland’s Nowicki won in the foot launch (PF1) category and Qatar’s Al-Hebabi won in the trikes (PL1) category.
Morgane Planton of France becomes the first ever Women’s World Champion (PF1), after the female category was validated for the first time. In all, fifty-five pilots took part in the sixth FAI Paramotor Slalom World Championships in Lusail, Qatar, from 2-13 February, 2024.
Emilia Plak reports:
The organiser, Qatar Airsports Committee, definitely pulled off the best paramotor slalom event that we have ever seen. Great organisation from start to finish with very well-organised logistics, accommodation, flying location, stadium for slalom, and technical background.
The opening and closing ceremonies were spectacular and accompanied by flight shows, definitely trying to make it attractive not only for pilots but also for the audience or public. Many activities were organised for pilots during free time, such as visits to the museum and Doha old town, as well as exciting 4-x-4 rides in the desert. The event would have been perfect if not for unfortunate bad weather with strong wind and even rain.
A total of 55 pilots flew in the competition from 14 countries. The biggest teams were from Qatar, France, Poland, and the Czech Republic. Pilots flew only one task during the practice day and enjoyed only one day of flying before playoffs and finals, which happened on the last day.
Class PF1 (foot-launched solos) flew only three valid tasks, while class PL1 (solo trikes) flew five. In addition, there was a competition between Racing Teams. Each nation was allowed one racing team, which contained two PF and one PL pilot. Racing teams flew three tasks in relay format where the pilots had to perfectly match their timing at the opening and closing gate. Very exciting to watch! The best team was from Qatar.
Even with the minimum number of tasks, the Championships were very good with no major incidents. From the start of the competition, it was clear that the fight for the podium was between the top 10 pilots in PF1 class with definitely the favorite being Alex Mateos – the Champion from past years.
Alex was leading as he flew the three tasks perfectly; in second was the new talent and French pilot Cyril Planton, but they both made a mistake in the big finals while the Polish star Bartosz Nowicki, who showed excellent performance during all competition, finished first in the big finals and became the Slalom World Champion 2024.
In the trike class, Boris Tysebaert from the French team was a leader until the big finals when two Qatari pilots showed the best performance taking first and second place on the podium, and Boris finished third.
For the first time in the history of the sport, the female class was valid as four women from the USA, Belgium, Finland and France took part in these Championships. Morgane Palanton was the winner, showing excellent skills during all competition, and Leah Catullo was in second place. Helina from Finland unfortunately fell in the water during one of the tasks and was unable to continue, so Neomi from Belgium took third place.
It’s important to mention that during this competition, for the first time, the organiser made sure that pilots fly within the permitted take-off weight for each wing model and size, which definitely helped improve safety in slalom flying. A big applause goes to Kamil Mankowski and his entire team for such great work organising and running such a fantastic event.
RESULTS
OVERALL PF1 (foot-launch solo)
- Bartosz Nowicki, PO
- Jérémy Penone, FR
- Alex Mateos, FR
WOMEN PF1
- Morgane Planton, FR
- Leah Catullo, US
- Naomi Deppe, BE
TEAMS PF1
- France
- Qatar
- Czech Republic
OVERALL PL1 (trike solo)
- Hayan Al-Hebabi, QA
- Ibrahim Hussain, QA
- Boris Tysebaert, FR
TEAMS PL1
- France
- Qatar
- Czech Republic
