Wellesbourne: The Finale

Royal Aero Club RRRA
3 days ago
5 min read

September Update – Steward’s Cup & King's Cup

The final race weekend of the year brought together pilots and navigators from across Europe—each vying for glory in the prestigious King’s Cup. A special shoutout to Gabriel, who made the epic 16-hour journey from Mallorca to join the action in his trusty Jodel DR1050!

The King’s Cup Air Race is one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious air racing events, first established in 1922 by King George V to inspire innovation in British aviation. Created as a long-distance, handicapped competition, the King’s Cup has driven advancements in light aircraft and engine design, attracting legendary pilots and a remarkable variety of aircraft to vie for its prestigious trophy.

Weekend's Entrants

Entrants	Pilots	Navigator	Plane
Race 7	Catherine Ruddick	Neil Flemming	G-BUAO
Race 9	Bob Johnson	James Fulton	G-CISZ
Race 13	Gabriel Gomila Frau	Ian Scarborough	ECAUQ
Race 14	David West	Bill Leary	G-RKID
Race 21	John Scott	William Hicks	G-DOTY
Race 22	David Moorman		G-DAVM
Race 23	Jonathan Willis		G-TNGO
Race 25	Martin Gosling		G-GOSL
Race 42	Gavin Johns		G-GBVX
Race 82	Gordon Bellerby	David Lee	G-GORD
Race 200	Cliff Hawkins	Gavin Connolly	G-OTRV
Race 777	Ben Polwin	Sophie Polwin	G-RVBP

Course Information

Laps: 4

Turns per lap: 6

Lap Distance: 18.6NM

Race distance: ~75NM

Stewards’ Cup

Saturday morning came into full swing with a season best of 12 racers taking part in the race weekend. Most notably the return of Gabriel from Mallorca, John Scott making a triumphant return and the ever-beautiful Luscombe.

Practice in the morning went smoothly with all racers managing to put a couple of laps under their belt, while newcomer David West joined the lineup this week, taking off early with Bill Leary (an experienced head for racing) to complete the octagon before returning to the pattern to get a couple of sighting laps in before the race.

Race time: The stewards determined to reduce the overall number of laps from the initially published 5 laps down to 4 in order for a full lineup this weekend. Race 7 kicking things off once again at the top of the hour, with a full lap under her belt before the second racer took off. It was great to see a trio of Robins followed by a gaggle (6) of Vans thundering down the runway. Utilising Runway 18 today, as TP1 was almost directly on Runway heading, there was no need for scatter points and instead racers headed directly for TP1.

The first lap while there were a few overtakes, when it came to the line there was no changes in position. Moving into the second lap we only saw one major change with Race 777 overtaking Race 200.

Lap 3 showed no changes in position over the line, however, a costly mistake by Race 82 who dived for the line at the end of Lap 3, meaning busting the minimum height over the airfield and disqualifying them from the race. While quickly acknowledging the mistake, the damage was already done – they were in a good spot too for the win up to that point.

The final lap is where all the action came, on the lead up to the finish line, all you could see were all 12 aircraft swarmed together buzzing around each other. From afar there was no way to tell who was in the lead.

As the racers got closer to the line we saw a regular podium taker Race 22 David taking the first spot over the line – with a sizeable time difference. Next over the line was 82* & 9 close together… (but while 82 may have been second the costly dive in the lap prior meant the eyes on ground knew the DQ was coming). Leaving 3^rd place for Race 42. Just outside the podium was Race 777, who just pipped 25. Finally, 23, 14, 200, 7, 21 & a little behind 13 all crossing the line, jostling for position up to the very end.

BUT - While those who crossed the line first, penalties came into full force.... Race 82 DQ to last, and Race 9 hit with a sizable speed penalty pushing him down to 6th place. Leaving.... guess who... Ben & Sophie Polwin into 2nd Position!

A huge congratulations to David winning, now LEADING the Championship race to just a few points! Meaning winner takes all on Sunday for either Ben or David.

What an incredible race for the spectators, who enjoyed an amazing event with an even more thrilling finish! Can't wait for the King's Cup!

King's Cup

A hazy day to kick things off, not least because of the black-tie dinner the night before!

Sunday of the prestigious King's Cup initially dawned with rain and low cloud, but conditions steadily improved as the race start time approached. With all 12 racers raring to go, the morning wait between the brief and the race felt like an eternity for the pilots who could feel the nerves in the air for the final battle to determine the championship!

Similar to yesterday the lineup remains unchanged with only a couple of adjustments to handicap speeds.

Catherine in Race 7 once again took the lead, with Gabriel and Gavin starting just before she completed her first lap. Meanwhile, Gordon began his race directly beneath the passing Luscombe.

Welcoming back John in Race 21 to the season, he blasted his way off a few minutes later, the final gap before unleashing the rest of the field in quick succession minute after minute. Ben Race 777 thundering off a full 27 minutes after the start of the race – such is the craziness of handicap racing.

Similar to the first race, there are plenty of overtakes in the sky on every lap – however when it comes to race order over the line each lap we see a similar pattern 7 > 13 > 42 > all the way through to 777. No position changes after Lap 1.

Lap 2 found an issue in the Mallorca originated Race 13 – Gabriel needing to return to base with an issue in his plane taking him out of the race. This lap saw the same positions once again. Lots of overtaking, all crossing the line equally.

Lap 3, missing our favourite Gabriel saw one position change – that being Ben & Sophie in the 777 overtaking Cliff & Gavin C.

The final Lap, “in all my 15+ years of racing or officiating – I’ve never seen a finish like that before” ! The racers pulling around the final TP5, with the sun fighting its way through the clouds and reflecting off the wings of each racer to announce they are on the final leg. ALL 11 racers huddled together creating a swarm of activity diving to the line. This year with a shorter distance to dive down to 300ft AGL, meant for a dramatic and exhilarating watch for those on the ground. Pilots in the air jockeying for position and eek out ahead.

Racers 777 & 22 !! Ben JUST pipping Dave to the line with 1 SECOND difference!! Would that take the championship?

Right behind the leading duo flashed 200, 23 & 9. Then 25, 82 & 42… a few seconds later saw the final 7 and 21. What an amazing race, take a look at the finish below.