posted Mar 1st, 2005 - The third Aerokart Indoor Challange was held on February 26 - 27 in Paris, France. The NSL News had covered the 2004 event where the Belgian team Hayabusa took the first place medals. Spa Hayabusa 2005 attended the tunnel competition once again in February and repeated last year's success.

The Aerokart Indoor Challenge includes a 3-way class for lower experienced flyers and the open 4-way class. The competition consists of eight rounds. Each round's sequence is made of a mixture of random formations and blocks, up to a total of five points per sequence. The teams have to complete three sequences (15 points) per round, as fast as they can. The team with the lowest total time after eight rounds wins the competition.

Each team had a total of two minutes of tunnel time available per round. The first minute could be used to train the sequence in the tunnel. The second minute was for presentation to the judges. The starting line was a Star. The working time began when the team dropped the grips of the Star. The time was taken after the completition of the three pages and 15 points. The maximum score was 60 seconds. Participants and audience could watch the whole competition on a big TV screen.

The competitors came from several European countries, such as Italy, England, Belgium and France. A total of 14 teams competed in the 4-way event and 16 teams in the 3-way competition. France naturally had the highest number of participating teams, including Véloce Aerokart and Aerokart Lapalisse.

The Veloce Aerokart line-up included the former 4-way world champion Martial Ferre, Thierry Botieux and Manu Ars. Aerokart Lapallisse included staff members of the Aerokart wind tunnel in Paris. Belgium's national team Spa Hayabusa consists of Sven Ibens, Dave Grauwels, Andy Grauwels and Roy Janssen.

Despite the world class competition by the French competitors, the Belgium team scored the fastest times in seven out of eight rounds. Veloce Aerokart team was faster only in round five. The difference between Spa Hayabusa and Veloce Aerokart accumulated to a total of 21.8 seconds after eight rounds. In the course of the competition, Spa Hayabusa also set a new Aerokart record in round seven with a winning time of 13.2 seconds for the 15 points of this round.

Spa Hayabusa received 20 minutes of free wind tunnel time and a 50% discount on Parachutes de France canopies for the first place. Hayabusa member Roy Janssen reports that the event was fun and successful: "The whole whole organisation was very well prepared, and all the competitors were enthusiastic about the competition. The organisers provided lunch and dinner. On Saterday evening, all the competitors could participate on a karting competition in the same building."

The Belgian team now prepares for an upcoming training camp at Skydive DeLand, which will be concluded with the attendance at the FSL Shamrock Showdown 2005.