By : Debbie Spaeth

1999 Motegi Hot Air Balloon International Championship The literature for Twin Ring Motegi invites the reader to "Join the Action". In mid- October, one leg of the FAI World Grand Prix of Aviation was held at Twin Ring Motegi. This was an international aerobatics competition. Then from 29 October thru 4 November, the 1999 Motegi Hot Air Balloon International Championship was held at the Twin Ring. Twin Ring, outside Motegi, Japan and 100km north of Tokyo, is quickly becoming a name familiar to aviation.

Twin Ring Motegi is a beautiful facility with a hotel, restaurants, and plenty of space for the balloons, along with the vehicle racing and training which is the normal activity at Twin Ring. The twin rings are a banked oval and a road course. The fact that you are able to buy a ride with a professional racecar driver, or pay a small amount to take your personal vehicle onto the road course makes the place an instant success with all participants.

The 1999 Motegi Hot Air Balloon International Championship included the Final Round of the 1999 HAB World HONDA Grand Prix and the 4th round of the 1999 Japan HAB HONDA Grand Prix. The pilots in the World Grand Prix arrived with a very small point difference separating the teams following the Round 1 competition in Monroe, Wisconsin USA and Round 2 in Bourscheid, Luxembourg.

Competition began on Saturday morning with Event Director, Masashi Kakuda, calling a three part task for the first flight for the 33 competitors including 15 foreign entrants- Judge Declared Goal (JDG), Pilot Declared Goal (PDG) and Fly-On Task (FON). Tesuya Ura (Japan) was closest to the JDG with a result of 4.65m. Takao Mizukami (Japan) was 10.95m from his PDG and Harold Cliver (USA) was 10.37m from his Fly-on Goal to win Task 2 and Task 3, respectively.

Officials Check Wind Conditions at Target

The afternoon winds did not drop and the PM flight was cancelled. But Saturday evening was the Welcome Party for all participants. The Motegi Town and Twin Ring Motegi hosted this reception. Japanese drummers entertained participants. Pilots were introduced and a group photo was taken. Motegi happi coats were given to pilots. And everyone enjoyed a tremendous amount of food ranging from local delicacies of buckwheat noodles to ice cream and donuts.

Sunday morning was flight #2 - Task #4, a Hesitation Waltz (HWZ) with a choice of two goals followed by Task #5, a FON. Yasutoshi Sakamoto (Japan) won the HWZ with a drop of 1.32m and earning 1000 points. He edged out Hiroki Miyata (Japan) who also had a great morning with a drop of 1.47m for the HWZ. David Bareford (UK) found his goal and dropped 0.92m for 1000 points in the FON.

Saturday afternoon was flight #3 - Task #6, PDG, and Task #7, a Fly-in to a target in the countryside. Steve Wilkinson (USA) had the best result at a PDG, 2.88m. However, at the Fly-in target, Sandor Vegh (Hungary) maneuvered into the target and gently placed his marker in the exact center of the 'X'. It was a moment of great excitement for the pilot and those spectators watching at the target. Unfortunately, 9 pilots violated the sunset rule and landed after sunset, garnering penalty points at the rate of 100/minute.

On Monday, the weather forecast came true - RAIN ALL DAY. But Event Director Kakuda made this a day off for all participants. A sightseeing trip was organized to the local pottery town of Mashiko followed by lunch and visiting a hot bath. This was our last break as the rest of the event would see us flying each available slot.

Tuesday morning Flight #4 included three tasks, #8 PDG, #9 PDG and #10 a FON. Tomoyuki Asano (Japan) dropped 0.75m from his #8PDG. Koji Shimamura (Japan) found his #9PDG and dropped his marker 5.47m from the intersection. Uwe Schneider (Germany) took 1000 points for his #10 FON with a drop of 1.20m. It was a beautiful sunny day. Perfect day to get a ride in the Coca-Cola NASCAR around the Motegi banked oval at 250km/hour. Which I did, but that's another story for another time!

Tuesday evening's task#11 was a single part - a Gordon Bennett Memorial (GBM) into the launch field at Twin Ring. Light winds and light rain off/on added to the flight considerations for competitors. Mr. Asano scored first place and received 1000 points for the second time in the event.

Wednesday was Culture Day, a Japanese National Holiday. Our Japanese hosts had declared that this day was ALWAYS good weather. This year was no different. The weather was beautiful for this last day of competition.

The morning was the last flight for the 1999 Motegi Championship. Event Director Kakuda chose to end the competition with the number of tasks at 14, so those foreigners who were superstitious about the number 13 were not bothered.

Balloon Launch Field at Twin Ring Motegi

Competition Flight #6 consisted of Task #12 HZW, Task #13 FON and Task #14 FON. Morning winds did not cooperate to get pilots as close as earlier flights. But Hiroki Miyata (Japan) did not mind a drop of 631m as it earned him 1000 points. Mon'ya Kajiyama (Japan) dropped 2.72m from his #13 FON and received his 1000 points. Mr. Mizukami received 1000 points for his drop of 1.68 on task #14. He had also scored 1000 points on task #2.

The competitive flights were over. Now came the final debriefing and scoring duties. Scores were tabulated for the 1999 Motegi Hot Air Balloon International Championship, the 1999 Hot Air Balloon HONDA World Grand Prix-Final Round and the Japan Hot Air Balloon Grand Prix-Round 4. The 1999 Motegi Championship and the 1999 World Grand Prix had the same roster of winners for 1-2-3. Namely,

1) Uwe Schneider (Germany) Team :Magic Racer (Uwe & Joe Heartsill)

2) David Bareford (UK) Team: Red Dog (David B & David Levin)

3) Crispin Williams (UK) Team: Atlantic (Crispin & Steve Jones)

The Team of Kotobuki Balloon Club held onto its lead in the Japan Grand Prix. They now lead with 179 points going into Round 5.

Wednesday afternoon was still a busy time for pilots and crews. Three poles with keys were erected inside the banked oval track. Pilots could launch from anywhere on the Twin Ring property, but outside the oval and try to retrieve any or all of the keys. The keys were worth 100,000-yen each. Harold Cliver had a super afternoon.

He managed to get two keys on one flight across the field! Other pilots tried for the last key, but it was still on the pole at the close of the flight window.

The Balloon Illusion, with 24 balloons glowing on the infield, was a great success with the 2000+ area residents who came to see the event. Everyone was also treated to a SPECTACULAR Fireworks! The sky was sparkling and twinkling for 30 minutes.

The day closed with the Sayonara Party for all participants. Like all events, it is bittersweet to know you will not see your friends until another event, but you are tired and ready for a rest! But the Sayonara Party was no time for sadness. Event Director Kakuda had pilots come to the stage and draw names from the box. Crew, observers and officials names were in the box and they were eligible for gifts. This was followed by a rousing game of "Rock, Paper, Scissors" with more prizes for those who stayed in the game the longest.

Thursday morning was the Awards Ceremony at 10am. Gifts, cash prizes and certificates were distributed to winning pilots for the 1999 Motegi Hot Air Balloon International Championship and the Final Standings of the 1999 Hot Air Balloon World Honda Grand Prix. Uwe Schneider gave an acceptance speech and told us that he and Joe Heartsill had decided they must win the 1999 event, as they had won the 1998 event. They needed another first place trophy as they didn't have a good plan for how to share the 1998 first place trophy!

Participants departed Motegi but are already looking forward to returning to Japan and Twin Ring Motegi for the events in 2000!