posted Apr 8th, 2018 - It's all said and done in 4-way at the World Challenge 2018, and the 8-way teams have taken over the flying chamber on Sunday.

Saturday ended with the award ceremony and the closing party at Twinwoods Adventure in Bedford, after the four rounds that were completed on the second day of the meet.

The second day started with the second fastest sequence of the 10-round meet, which followed two rounds after the world record sequence.

Three sequences (4 - 5 - 7) offered the opportunities to boost the meet averages, and most of the teams took advantage of a competition draw on the faster side.

NMP PCH HayaBusa and Weembi Mix both went even a step further and posted the highest meet averages in the history of 4-way competition.

HayaBusa's 33.2 average at the Wind Games 2018 had been the new benchmark, and both teams left this number far behind and went straight to the 34+ average level. In fact, HayaBusa missed the 35+ level only by a single point.

World Challenge 2018			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class		10,H,F,13	20,6,22	12,1,11	4,M,G,J	9,B,P,A	N,C,8,3	K,7,L,D	18,19,14	5,Q,21	15,16,O	Total	Avg
1	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	31	25	25	38	62	32(-1)	47(-1)	26	31(-2)	32(-1)	349(-5)	34.9
2	Weembi Mix MF	FR	29	25	24(-1)	40	59(-2)	33	45(-1)	27	32(-2)	31	345(-6)	34.5
3	Arizona Airspeed	US	29	24	23(-1)	35(-1)	59	26(-3)	43	24	33(-1)	28	324(-6)	32.4

The new Weembi Mix at the World Challenge 2018 was just as close to the Belgian indoor and outdoor world champions as the previous Weembi High Rollers lineup with Mathieu and Guillaume Bernier was in 2017.

Former Hayabusa member Roy Janssen and French 4-way world champion Julien Degen had recruited Aerodyne Weembi Girls Sophie Pecout and Christine Malnis to challenge HayaBusa this year in Bedford. The Weembi High Rollers had finished one single point (331 - 330) behind the Belgians at the World Challenge 2017. The Weembi Mix lifted the average to 34.5 and still finished four points behind.

Arizona Airspeed posted a new team record average, as well. In fact, the 32.4 average is the highest indoor average that any Airspeed lineup has ever posted in a regular 10-round meet. It was still not enough to get anywhere close to HayaBusa and Weembi.

It was not a good competition draw to reduce the distance to the top team in the world. Airspeed was 22 points behind in Montreal last year and down to a 16-point difference at the Wind Games. Niklas Hemlin had confirmed in an earlier NSL Live Talk in Bedford that his team had the 10-point difference in mind for the World Challenge 2018.

A faster competition draw favored the two teams who are known for their top speed when faster sequences are coming up. This time, there were three sequences where HayaBusa and Weembi both could take advantage of their strength, and so they did.

The Belgians collected a total of 147 points in these three rounds (4 - 5 - 7) and Weembi Mix was not too far behind with a total of 144 points. Airspeed totaled 137 points for the same three rounds. The other seven rounds combined added 15 points to the difference.

Airspeed was still not disappointed at all, as the NSL Live Talk after the completion of the meet is showing. They are fully aware of the fact that this lineup is still "work in progress", as team captain Niklas Hemlin called it. Airspeed has consistently improved indoor and outdoor performance and scoring levels, and the work continues: "We will just be chugging on..."

NMP PCH HayaBusa had taken some time for a live World Challege TV interview in the middle of the competition on Saturday. The three fast sequences were still ahead at that time.

The Belgians defended their top position in the world once again successfully. However, they keep setting themselves new and challenging goals to avoid complacency. They know that they still have to work for the next set of gold medals...