Words by Ian Mason. Photos by Mike Shellim.
The 2026 Nationals took place on the famous Bwlch. Conditions turned out to be ballistic with round 1 in winds of 22 m/s. We were all pouring ballast into our models.
Greg sneaking in some extra ballast during the briefing by Les
Stefan Bertschi showed the way. After an 800 km drive from Switzerland he was in no mood to take things easy, showing a controlled and accurate EM style throughout the weekend.
Stefan was on a mission all weekend, with a consistent and rapid style
Like all of us, his times got progressively faster. He started off with a 38 before flight of 29 seconds in round 4!
Usually, 40 seconds is the benchmark for a fast flight, but it took until round 4 before Pete Gunning became the first pilot in the top 4 not to go sub-40. You know it’s been something special when that happens.
Keep an eye on things, Pete!
The gusting winds led to Mike Evans and Jon Edison deciding on discretion rather than racing. The day was then brought to a close and we headed for a well-deserved drink.
Day 2 (Sunday)
Sunday started unpromisingly, but soon the sun was beating down and the wind settling to a balmy summer breeze of 16 – 20 m/s.
The sunshine led to increasing thermal variation, with most pilots experiencing at least some glorious air. William’s Pitbull accelerated so fast out of turn 5 that turn 6 came up very, very quickly – well flown for a new PB, Will!
Les and Andy kept an eye on things all weekend – even when their shelter blew away.
Mark Treble took full advantage of the conditions and launched into a trademark day-two podium charge. Stefan managed to hold on to his win while Mark’s second place pushed Pete down to third and Greg off the podium.
A worthy top 3 bask in the Welsh sunshine
Acknowedgements
Many thanks to Andy Burgoyne, Les Wood, Mark Treble and helpers. A special mention to Les, who despite not being able to fly, stayed on to organise and grace us with his company.
Results
After 10 rounds
1 S Bertschi 8792.36 1000.00
2 M Treble 8492.28 965.87
3 P Gunning 8383.10 953.45
4 G Dakin 8246.67 937.93
5 A Burgoyne 8160.86 928.17
6 W Fourie 8001.21 910.01
7 M Shellim 7846.70 892.44
8 I Mason 7115.52 809.28
9 P Stubley 7058.93 802.84
10 M Evans 5473.99 622.58
11 J Edison 5080.31 577.80
Fastest time: 29.59 by Stefan Bertschi in round 4
Round winners: Greg Dakin, Peter Gunning (2), Stefan Bertschi (5), Mark Treble (2)
Espen Torp
The Nationals was the first race since the F3F world lost Espen Torp, a multiple Viking Race winning great of the sport. Over the decades several of us had the pleasure of getting to know Espen as a friend, either in Norway or one of his many international travels.
A friend and simply good bloke – you’ll be missed Espen.