SRS Gin Edition: Italy, 17-25 May 2025

The Sports class Racing Series takes to the skies above Poggio Bustone, Italy, 17-25 May.

A new flying site for the SRS, Poggio Bustone is in the Appenines in the heart of Italy. Looking out across the flats, a green patchwork of fields is encircled by hills and mountains, making it the “perfect paragliding playground” say organisers.

Organisers said they hope to set a challenging variety of tasks from race-to-goal via turnpoints, to concentric circles tasks, to possibly trying out their new “Merry-go-round style of racing” – more about that next week, they say.

Teams wise, there’s lots to keep spectators entertained on the SRS’s new Teams live-tracking map on srs.live. Organisers said: “Our partners have put in strong teams: AirTribune, BGD, Naviter, Ozone, Skywalk and Cross Country magazine. Gin are even fielding two teams, one of which is led by Mr Gin himself!”

Also getting ready to show the world their latest EN C two-liner glider, the Mambo, are two of Davinci’s top test pilots, Shun and Moonseob. Can team Davinci, with two pilots, fly away with the top team trophy?

The competition was heavily over subscribed and is full, with 129 pilots – including 15 women – from more than 30 countries taking part. Pilots are coming from as far afield as Thailand, Taiwan, Iceland and Brazil, making it a truly international competition, proving the international support for sports class competitions.

This will be the first competition being tracked using the latest technology from Flymaster, the all new Live One tracker. This new generation of trackers communicate amongst themselves using an enhanced Flarm so that even when they don’t have a mobile phone signal, they can pass their position on via nearby trackers or to a ground station.

Keep up with the live commentary during the race on srs.live.

Follow on Instagram at instagram.com/sportsclassracingseries.