Pál Takáts Delivers a Racing Masterclass at SRS Naviter Edition in Slovenia
Hungarian pilot Pál Takáts put on a dominant display at the SRS Naviter Edition, winning the overall classification after four challenging tasks in the breathtaking Soča Valley of Slovenia. The UK’s Luke Nicol claimed second place, with Matthijs Derks from the Netherlands rounding out the podium in third.
Denmark’s Mette Krum held third overall going into the final task, but a tough last day saw her slip from the overall standings — the SRS format has no task-dropping provision. Nevertheless, she clinched the women’s title ahead of China’s Ni Mo and Hungary’s Adel Honti. In the team contest, Team Ozone took top honors, finishing ahead of Gin 2 and Airtribune.
From Soča Ridges to Adriatic Views
The competition kicked off with classic Slovenian ridge-racing over the Soča Valley for the opening two tasks. When unfavorable mountain weather rolled in, organizers shifted operations to Lijak, a coastal site with sweeping views over the Adriatic Sea. A thick cloud layer at the start made conditions look daunting, but as sunlight broke through, 101 pilots made it to goal.
Heading into task four, Pál revealed his game plan was simply to protect his lead — yet he went on to win the task outright. He later shared on social media: “Still can’t believe it but I managed to win another task today. My strategy was only to defend the first position, but staying high for the most part and attacking hard in the right moments paid off! Conditions were a bit more demanding today but thermals were the best so far and I even caught a 5-7m/s up to the last cloudbase. I had a lot of fun!”
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Final Task Seals the Deal
The last task came with a forecast of weak thermals and low cloudbase. After a patient wait on the ground, skies cleared and strong thermals filled in for the final race to goal. The 46.6km task saw 93 elated pilots cross the line. Mette Krum, who had been flying so well all week, came in last of the goal finishers — her weakest task, which unfortunately dropped her from the overall podium. Pál, meanwhile, scored a flawless 1,000-point task win to seal his overall victory.
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The competition wrapped up with a prizegiving ceremony where Piotr Karolak and Bartlomiej Grudziński were the fortunate winners of Oudies from event sponsor Naviter.
The SRS organizers summed it up: “The SRS in Tolmin, Slovenia was a truly amazing competition: Stunning scenery with views of the Julian Alps right down to Venice and the Adriatic sea.”
Final Results
Overall
- Pál Takáts (HUN) — Ozone Photon / Ozone Submarine
- Luke Nicol (GBR) — Gin GTO3 / Gin Genie Race 5
- Matthijs Derks (NLD) — Ozone Photon / Ozone Submarine
Women
- Mette Krum (DNK) — Gin GTO3 / Gin Genie Race 5
- Ni Mo (CHN) — Ozone Photon / Ozone Submarine
- Adel Honti (HUN) — Ozone Photon / Woody Valley X-Rated 7
Teams
- Ozone — Arnold Castro, Rafael Rosa, Pál Takáts, Ulric Jessop (all Photon/Submarine)
- Gin 2 — Thomas Frances, Simon Steiner, Mark Hayman, Gerry McNicol (GTO 3)
- Airtribune — Marius Tanasoiu, Oleg Burlaca, Kuba Sto, Tudor Dorobantu
Full results at srs.live
Source: XCMAG