Our 2025 Inaugural Pylon Racing Championship Series has wrapped up. Steve Cross expertly managed as Contest Director and was helped with officiating by a host of volunteers, including Jon Brines and Dave Brown as cut judges, Ed Morrison, Wayne Salzwedel, Steve Pokorney and Mike Lindsay kept track of the laps. Thank you all for sharing in the racing excitement!
The day was highlighted by some of the tightest racing to date, complete with ties in TWO classes – one a three-way! The contestants faced off in a stiff ESE breeze with an occasional ‘dirt bath’ from the adjacent field being combined – UGH! The final races pressed on with 3 full rounds of competition for all but the Uproar class being completed before sprinkles set in shortly after the event’s conclusion.
The Uproar was contested by Dan Morrison, but Paul Geders wound up edging the win in both heats. Paul Geders had a sizeable points lead heading into the final round and maintained that for the Uproar Series Championship – CONGRADULATIONS PAUL!!
The Four-Star 40 class has been tightly contested every race with a host of talented pilots vying for the top. Round 6 was fought to the end, with four pilots entering the round with a mathematical shot at top honors. When the results were tallied after the last heat, Dan Morrison had secured top honors for the day and season.
Stock Warbirds is the most populated class every week. The talent and equipment squaring off in this class has been a real pleasure to watch and compete in. When the dust settled after the final heat, Ralph Doyle had top honors followed tightly by Paul Geders and Dan Morrison – CONGRADULATIONS RALPH!!
Unlimited Warbirds has been sparsely contested all year. These planes are really moving fast and can be quite the show occasionally. This Saturday was the best group yet and the three contestants wound up in a three-way tie after three heats with the final heat’s winner stuck in a tree! The final tally for the Series Championship wound up in a tie for top honors, CONRADULATIONS to both PAUL GEDERS and STEVE RAMONCZUK!!
We have had solid competition in each round of competition this year and our volunteer scorers and CDs were instrumental in making this series of events such a success. We have so much fun doing this. If you have been passing on involvement, pay close attention over the next few months as we finalize the details and dates for the 2026 season. Come be part of these events. Pylon racing has been a hallmark of the Spirits of St Louis RC Flying Club since at least the early 70’s. This Championship Series framework seems to have reenergized this part of our events. The Uproar, Four-Star 40 and Electric Warbird classes are planned for next year and we expect to add an alternate electric class, maybe EDF’s? If interested in more details, just send a short message to president@spiritsofstl.com and we’ll make sure you are included in the discussion and finalization of next year’s competition classes, schedule and rules.
Thank you to everyone for a very successful inaugural season for the Championship Series Pylon Racing!
