Grand Prix World Final - Centre National de Vol à Voile

CNVV hosts the Sailplane Grand Prix World Final

This world-class competition, under the aegis of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, will take place over the course of a week. The world’s top 20 pilots will compete at the controls of their gliders in the skies over the Alpes de Hautes-Provence. At the end of the competition, a new world champion will be chosen. For the Centre National and the Fédération Française de Vol en Planeur, this is an honor and a strong commitment on the part of our entire staff. This international sporting event is a formidable vector for the image of our region in the 4 corners of the globe, bringing with it economic spin-offs, in which we wish to involve you. Beyond the sporting dimension of the competition, it’s an opportunity to communicate and discover the Val de Durance and the SUD region to the whole world. A region that will offer its most beautiful landscapes seen from the sky, and demonstrate its ability to organize great and beautiful things. An open region, eager to develop its economic and tourism potential.

What is the Sailplane Grand Prix?

The Sailplane Grand Prix is a speed race between gliders on a circuit between 200 and 400 kilometers long. Each morning, the race director studies the day’s weather conditions and determines a circuit adapted to these conditions. The gliders take off, then wait for the race director’s signal to cross the starting line in a regatta. The pilots then make their way to the circuit’s turning points, some 100 km apart. Once the circuit has been completed, the drivers return to the field and cross the finish line. Each driver is free to choose his or her own trajectory to reach the turning points. This allows everyone to achieve the highest possible average speed, depending on the aerological conditions. As in most speed-related competitions, the final stretch of the flight is spectacular: right up to the last moment, pilots are neck-and-neck at nearly 300 km/h, vying for victory! The races are broadcast on the ground and on the Internet, thanks to the data transmitted by the flight recorders installed in each glider. At the end of all the days of competition, the pilot who has accumulated the most points will win the SGP Saint-Auban final and the world title.