Race: Race 5 (367.98 km)

AviRings Derby Race 5, held on September 4, 2024, was an intense and exciting semifinal with impressive performances despite challenging weather conditions. The decision to reduce the race distance from 400 km to 367 km due to the heat forecast (up to 35°C) and the unusual weather patterns in the region for a week shows the careful consideration given to the well-being of the pigeons. Early in the morning, with favorable wind and lower temperatures, the conditions were good enough to proceed.

1379 pigeons were released at 6:35 in the north of Karcag region  - Tiszafüred, 368 km to the lofts. At the beginning there was a tail wind  in the upper air areas, temperature was 21 C.

The winner, pigeon SLO-2024-116-118, bred by Katarina and Ivan Radovan, achieved an impressive speed of 1463 m/min, arriving at the lofts at 10:46 a.m. This is a remarkable achievement, with second-place finisher W. Payk's pigeon just 2 seconds behind. Team Schouten followed closely in third place, finishing 9 seconds after the winner. Big congratulation to the podium winners.

Top 10 Results:

SLO-2024-116-118 – Katarina & Ivan Radovan – 10:46:34.050

DV-2024-08483-5 – W. Payk – 10:46:36.370

NL-2024-8333644 – Team Schouten – 10:46:43.380

AUT-2024-612-417 – Team Pigeon Keeper – 10:47:39.966

SLO-2024-112-6209 – Sister Ria M & S Kobal – 10:48:54.016

NL-2024-8193664 – Jacco Vierhout – 10:48:57.556

SLO-2024-116-129 – Brandy Katarina & Ivan Radovan – 10:49:14.586

NL-2024-8431821 – Paul Van den Berg – 10:49:33.863

RSM-2024-4181 – ZAKSPEED 24-4181 Wings to Fly – 10:49:34.413

DV-2024-0643-193 – Team Richter/Lipski – 10:49:34.580

By the end of the first day, 875 pigeons had returned, and by the next morning, despite some rain, in total  1187 pigeons were clocked by the race's close at noon on September 5.  Very good result for the race > 300 km!

Radovan Ivan & Katarina had 2 pigeons in the top 10,which is amazing. They had the similar results already 2 years ago with  the same family of pigeons (Hurrican).  Also Kobal Mitja had pigeon in top 10, “sister Ria”;  Ria (2022) was probably best his pigeon at AviRings wining the 2nd place at race 2, and many other top prizes.  We are happy for our local  friends,  making good results  in this strong international competition. 

With the semifinal race behind, the pigeons now have valuable experience for the final race of 520 km and possibly the 610 km option in the coming weeks. We are happy to see that so many pigeons maked till the final. It is better result than last year.  Every race was different, but we can say that non of 5 races was easy. We are sure, that pigeons gained experience to tackle the final race of 520 km and also 610km, which will be in few weeks on the program as an option for fanciers.