posted May 2nd, 2024 - The NSL News update on April 30th included NSL Live Talk with Qatar coaches Gary Smith and Luc Verstrepen. The story hinted that there was another conversation with the complete current NMP PCH HayaBusa lineup scheduled for later, which made it a full HayaBusa day, due to the cross-connections between the current Qatar coaches and the Belgian 4-way team.

Luc Verstrepen was the first inside center for NMP PCH HayaBusa when Roy Janssen, David and Andy Grauwels decided to join the Belgian military and become full-time athletes. Original HayaBusa member and inside center Sven Ibens could not make the same step from the amateur to the professional military level, and Luc Verstrepen took his slot.

David Grauwels was still outside center at that time and for the two years with Luc Verstrepen, before new member Waedong So joined the team in the point slot. Andy Grauwels moved from point to outside center, David Grauwels from outside to inside center to replace Luc Verstrepen. Only Roy Janssen continued in his original tail slot until he left the team after 13 years and the first world championship title for Belgium in Prostejov 2014.

Luc Verstrepen was not in the lineup any longer when Gary Smith took over the HayaBusa coaching job and guided the team to the first FAI gold medals, followed by a decade in the top position of the 4-way world. However, Luc Verstrepen has been connected to his HayaBusa roots all the time, and he began to spend more and more time with Gary Smith, first as a HayaBusa fan forever, then by sharing the coaching jobs for the Qatar delegation.

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NSL Live Talk with NMP PCH HayaBusa on 26 October 2023 and on 29 April 2024

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Especially Luc Verstrepen would have enjoyed seeing and meeting the current NMP PCH HayaBusa lineup at the same events where he and Gary Smith are working with the Qatar Lions and Cheetahs. However, the current lineup has good reasons to be careful and cautious with the new lineup, especially with 19-year young Ray Lodens.

The NSL News posted the first video of NSL Live Talk with the new and complete lineup on 27 October 2023. NMP PCH HayaBusa were in the middle of an outdoor training camp at Skydive City, which is within driving range from the NSL headquarters in DeLand. It was the first training camp with the new team member. Four weeks later, the new lineup (Dennis Praet, Jeroen Nollet, Neal Willems, Ray Lodens) attended the ISR Grand Prix.

The conversation in October 2023 and the first indoor competition with the new lineup was followed by more NSL Live Talk with team members who were available once in a while, and team captain Dennis Praet joined his two newest team mates for an online conversation on March 31st. This week's NSL Live Talk with the complete current lineup was the first one since October last year, and NMP PCH HayaBusa were in the middle of an outdoor training camp in Brazil. The current CISM President invited the Belgian military team to share an outdoor training camp with Brazilian military 4-way lineups near Sao Paulo, including the Cometas. This week's conversation with the complete lineup touched once again the growing difference in the approach to indoor and outdoor training and competition. NMP PCH HayaBusa's signature lineup of 2018/2019, including David Grauwels, Dennis Praet and Jeroen Nollet, still own the standing historic record averages in both environments. There is a wealth of experience in the current lineup, and they work together to bring NMP PCH HayaBusa back to the top of the 4-way world.

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NMP PCH HayaBusa - Arizona Airspeed - France at the FAI Outdoor World Championship 2018

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FAI Outdoor World Championship 2018			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		21,L,B,G	22,18,17	19,7,O	J,16,12	10,A,D,15	Q,M,F,C,N	H,20,P,13	6,14,11	E,2,5	4,1,3	Total	Avg
1	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	32	21	27	24	22	62	22	20	27	22	279	27.9
2	Arizona Airspeed	US	26	21	27	24	24	60	26	22	27	20	277	27.7
3	Aerodyne Realfly	FR	29	19	24	23	24	52	20	17	24	19	251	25.1
FAI Indoor World Cup 2018			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		K,17,J,21	4,H,F,11	18,L,16	5,M,O,C	N,8,P,19	6,9,10	D,12,15	Q,B,G,22	20,E,14	7,3,2	Total	Avg
1	Weembi Mix MF	FR	34	35	31	57	33	31	30	39	29	26	345	34.5
2	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	35	35	27	47	33	31	31	38	28	28	333	33.3
3	Amnesya	IT	30	28	24	46	26	27	21	30	24	24	280	28.0

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Weembi High Rollers - NMP PCH HayaBusa - Amnesya at the FAI Indoor World Cup 2018

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NMP PCH HayaBusa confirmed this week that they have continued with their plan to prepare the two different lineups both well enough for the team's two major events this year. They apply the same combination for outdoor training and competition that they tested at the very beginning of the new lineup, when Ray Lodens competed at the ISR Grand Prix in November, David Grauwels at the Belgian Indoor Championship in December.

David Grauwels will be the inside center at the CISM World Championship in July, Ray Lodens takes his point slot at the FAI Outdoor World Championships in October. The training until the CISM World Championship has an interesting format to make sure that all team members are current in their respective slots.

Jeroen Nollet, 3-time world champion of 2016, 2018 and 2021 in the tail slot, has the most challenging slot assignments to accommodate the current situation, and he enjoys it. He is still the HayaBusa tail for the new lineup with point Ray Lodens. He switches to point when David Grauwels gets back into training action, which happens at all outdoor training camps until July with the CISM World Championship. There are days when he experiences all four 4-way slots, as NMP PCH HayaBusa trains with both lineups every day.

The slot-switching sequences require him to perform the outside and inside center positions, as well. His three respective team mates in both lineups also have to know both slots in their front and rear pieces for the same slot-switching reason. They are staying within their respective pieces though, while Jeroen Nollet is switching back and forth between front and rear piece.

Wind Games 2019			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open Class		F,21,6	L,H,22,7	C,8,19	9,D,5	16,N,14	13,20,G	4,N,J,M	11,17,Q	3,O,K,E	A,12,2	Total	Avg
1	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	33	37	31	50	31	26	46	34	39	27	354	35.4
USPA Nationals 2019			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open Class		7,C,H,P	J,21,20	O,3,11	B,2,K,E	8,Q,10	15,D,F,12	N,L,M,14	6,1,9	A,18,13	G,4,5	Total	Avg
1	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	45	24	27	37	21	25	34	25	26	25	289	28.9

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Historic NMP PCH HayaBusa indoor and outdoor record averages

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