PRESIDENTS' TROPHY AIR RACE 2022 – NEW TEMPE BLOEMFONTEIN

The Presidents’ Trophy Air Race has been contested annually since 1937, baring the war years and 2020, which had to be scrapped due to Covid.

- GARTH CALITZ

THIS YEAR THE WEATHER tried its best to cancel the race with South Africa plunged into extreme cold and wet by an unseasonable cutoff low system which fed icy cold wet weather into the interior of the country. The cold however did not dampen the spirits of the thirty-four teams that made their way to Bloemfontein’s Tempe airport.

In the past, fields of 60-70 aircraft were the norm at PTAR but the tough economic conditions kept many of the competitors at home. Further, the fuel price had almost doubled since last year's event, pushing the cost out of reach of many hopefuls.

The poor weather that was forecast made its presence felt on Friday morning with the rain falling from 7:00 am non-stop until the early hours of Saturday morning. This cancelled all flying on what should have been the first day of the competition, raising fears that for the first time in the illustrious history of the PTAR it may have to be called off entirely due to the weather.

Saturday, being Race Day 2 arrived and with it came improved, but far from perfect, flying weather. The morning briefing was held at 8:30 and a decision was made for an 11:00 start, as a window of flyable weather was predicted until approximately 14:00. The customary starting grid was not possible as the airfield was waterlogged and a decision was made to let the teams taxi to the start from their parking positions once they collected their papers from the officials. As it sometimes happens, this method seemed to work better and will probably be used in future races.