Gordon Bennett 2012 – 22 teams from 11 countries

For balloonists everywhere, the Gordon Bennett-Cup counts as the most prestigious ballooning event in the world. On 1 September the top gas balloon pilots of the world will once again compete in this historic race and take off from Toggenburg and ride the winds in their bids to fly as far as possible. With a total of 22 teams from 11 countries, the number of pilots that have stepped up to the challenge is well above the average.

In Switzerland there are about 350 hot-air balloon pilots. Of these, just 25 fly gas balloons. To describe Switzerland as a stronghold of ballooning would therefore probably be an exaggeration, even though Swiss pilots regularly win places on the leaders podium. One of those pilots is Kurt Frieden from the Swiss town of Hohentannen in the district of Thurgau. Two years ago Kurt and his co-pilot Pascal Witprächtiger from Schlatt, Thurgau achieved a fantastic coup by winning the 2010 Gordon Bennett race. Thanks to their victory, the biggest and toughest gas balloon race in the world will start this year from Switzerland. The winners of this race will in turn have the privilege of organising the cup in their own country in two years time.

Picture: Kurt Frieden (left) and Pascal Witprächtiger (right) after landing in 2010

Second-largest entry field in the history of the cup

The Swiss committee tasked with organising the Gordon Bennett 2012 race was formed in the spring of last year. Since then, preparations for this major event have continued at full speed. The race commences on 1 September. The launch field is in Stegrüti-Wiese (meadow) in the small town of Ebnat-Kappel. Now that the time period for registration has closed, it’s become clear that there’s a very high number of entries. 22 teams from 11 countries (Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Spain, Austria, Finland, France, Canada, the USA and Russia) have confirmed their entries. This represents the second-largest entry field in the 106 year history of the Gordon Bennett-Cup. Three teams from Switzerland have entered; the Thurgau team of Kurt Frieden Frieden und Pascal Witprächtiger are joined by Walter Gschwendtner und Felix Gerber from Hinwil, Zürich, and Max Krebs und Walter Mattenberger from Solothurn. The next important date is 31 March, by which all teams must have provided all their details and other important race-relevant data to the race organisers.

The Patrouille Suisse Aerobatic Team over Toggenburg

The Gordon Bennett-Cup 2012 in Ebnat-Kappel will be a major event, not only for the Toggenburg valley but also for our guests from all over Switzerland and our many guests from overseas. The committee is working hard to ensure that every day between 31 August through 8 September will be filled with flying, musical and culinary highlights. In just the last few days we have received confirmation from the Swiss Air Force that the renowned Patrouille Suisse Aerobatic Team will put on one of their spectacular displays over Toggenburg on the afternoon of 1 September. This will place very special mark on the opening day of the Gordon Bennett-Cup.