http://flytecraceandrally.wordpress.com/2013/03/10/race-of-champions/

It was a team competition, with two pilot teams. The "senior" member needded to
help get the "junior" member to goal fast. Only the slowest pilot on the team
scored.

The weather forecast was for similar conditions to what we saw on Saturday. A
slightly better chance for cumulus development. We'd get about 500' higher (to
6,200') and there would be even less wind. The lift would continue to be
moderately good (600 fpm, which really means 300 to 400 climb rates).

The task committee called a 117 km triangle to the southwest and southeast with
two km turnpoint radii and the second turnpoint in the middle of the lake.

I was the first to launch after trading occurred in the randomly chosen launch
spots. I was concerned about this spot but I wanted Richard Lovelace to have the
corresponding number twelve launch spot instead of eighteen, which is the one I
drew and traded away.

I didn't find any lift on launch except just as I took off and I released when I
got near the height limit under a cu that wasn't producing. After circling in a
little less than zero I made my way back to the launch area to get another tow.
At 440' just in front of launch I found 50 fpm and started turning.

The lift was weak but I would rather stay up than land and launch again. I kept
on circling and the thermal kept on working and not drifting. Soon other pilots
were dragged over to me, high above me as I struggled below. It wasn't long
before the lift improved and I climbed at 6,000' at 240 fpm. It took half an
hour to get there.

We moved to the edge of the cylinder to the south where there were indeed a few
thin cu's, The lift was weak and the other pilots who started out over my head
in my last thermal were still a couple of hundred feet over my head. So I headed
back to a better cu, two kilometers closer to launch to get higher.

That worked but I still didn't get up as high as the rest of the pilots and with
the start window opened I went out five hundred feet below most of the pilots. I
figured with the long task around two turnpoints, I could make it up.

There were a very few scattered thin cu's to the south west to our turnpoint at
Hayes. The lift averaged from over 250 fpm to over 350 fpm. I caught up with a
bunch of pilots and came in with Christian to the first turnpoint. I was flying
with Richard Lovelace, who was still above me getting higher at the start and he
was providing plenty of clues as to where to find the lift.

The first leg was only 34 km from the edge of the start cylinder, but the next
leg was 53 kilometers. We had a little bit of a tail wind but didn't find nearly
as nice of lift on this leg. The first thermal was strong at 450 fpm average to
6,200' AGL and there were a few good other thermals but as we got within fifteen
kilometers of the turnpoint it got very weak and we had to go searching.

Larry had gone off to our left but we were hanging with Dustin and I had
actually been able to get over Richard and Dustin for a few minutes. Searching
around four kilometers from the edge of the turnpoint's cylinder edge we worked
one weak thermal after another for twenty minutes as I finally found 200 fpm to
3,800' AGL.

This was enough to let me get to the turnpoint and I raced back to the area of
weak lift to see if there was some better around. Tullio came in under me 
while I was at 1,600' AGL and we were climbing in very slowly. He left to go
back toward the turnpoint. Richard said he had found lift a little further on at
the tree line. I went to him and just got tossed around with no net lift.

I jumped over the trees to find 18 fpm and then it turned into zero. I moved on
to spot some birds down low and found 80 fpm to 1,900'. Meanwhile Richard was
high to my south having found 500 fpm at the tree line.

The 80 fpm quit and although it was nuts to go on expecting to find anything I
headed down the course line trying to get near to where Richard was climbing.
Down to 400' AGL I found 50 fpm and hung with it and a lot of zero as I spent
ten minutes under 600' AGL. I couldn't find a way out of the hole and landed
twelve kilometers short of goal.

Christian made it to goal and then went back to help out Davide. Mike Bilyk and
Florian Gostner won the day. Florian came in extremely low (half meter vertical)
just making it to the edge of the 400 meter goal cylinder landing outside the
airport fence next to the FBO, next to were all our trucks were parked.

Christian and Davide won the overall team competition winning $2,400. Jonny and
Andrew were second for $1,400. Larry and Matt were third for $800.

The flight
here.
USA scoring
here.

Live Track here.

Spot
here.

Results
here.
They weren't available when I wrote this article.