Last Sunday we had our first slalom race of the Belgian championships at the Grevelingendam in the Netherlands. After a long day of formula racing in strong winds we ran a single elimination slalom on a figure-8 course.
The wind oscillated between 15 & 20 knots, and was closer to 20 knots in the first round while dropping a little bit in the final round. I rigged a borrowed TR4 7.6 (haven’t received the TR5 version yet) and took out my ’09 SL62 with a C3 Venom 42cm. After a clean start in the first round I lead the race from start to finish, never looking back. Great feeling! After a general recall in the final round I was second to reach the first mark, but it turned out the first guy – reigning Belgian champ Wolfgang Verlaeckt BEL3 – was over early and thus DSQ. I held out to the finish line despite the slightly lighter breeze to take the lead of the ’09 Belgian slalom ranking!
The SL62 is a real slalom racing machine. I won our last slalom event of the ’08 season on the ’08 model. I’m really stoked to find the same early planning and speed in the ’09 model, now with even more control and ease through the jibes!
Looking forward to the Defi Wind in a couple of weeks!
Christophe Waerzeggers BEL29
