Race: Race 2 (166.17 km)

On  9.8.2023, the second race in AviRings Derby was held. Despite the challenges posed by the recent natural catastrophe caused by heavy rain in Slovenia, the race was finally organized. 

Race Details
The race covered a distance of 170 km. A total of 1646 pigeons were sent to the releasing location near the East-Northern part of Lake Balaton in Hungary.

Weather Condition
On the morning of the release, the weather conditions were favorable, with a fresh temperature of around 13°C and minimal wind. While there were some high clouds in the lake area, overall, it was considered ideal for a pigeon race.

Race Start
Pigeons were released at 7:45 AM from a sunflower field, creating a picturesque scene.

Race Progress
The first group of pigeons arrived at 9:48 AM, achieving a speed of 1344 m/min. This speed was surprising given that such fast races are uncommon in the AviRings Derby.

Arrivals
After the initial group, there were no large groups of pigeons arriving, which caused some concern. However, instead of a single large group, numerous smaller groups arrived, resulting in 1400 pigeons out of 1646 arriving within 1 hour after the first pigeon was clocked.

Completion
By the evening of the first day, 1552 pigeons had returned to the loft. An additional 21 pigeons arrived the following morning, bringing the total number of returned pigeons to 1573 (at the moment the report was created)

We congratulate the winners:

🥇 Robert Robnik SLO-109-5206  
🥈 Stefan Ullrich DV-6357-469
🥉 Helmut Schele DV-8155-1248
4th   Roman Vehovec SLO-108-8545
5th  Henri Diks  NL-9179529
6th  Hok Dingen MPDM  BE-6084447
7th  Team Richter/Lipski  DV-0643-2443
8th  Slavko Kutlesa   AUT-319-481
9th  Team Richter/Lipski DV-0643-2537
10th Tone Čebašek  SLO-108-9318

And so on… you can find the results on the homepage https://derby.avirings.com/en/

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Big congratulation and applause especially to the top 3! 

Notably, the winning pigeon bred by Robert Robnik came from parents that were both contestants in the AviRings Derby 2022. The parents were acquired at the AviRings Derby Auction the previous year. A similar success story was observed with the 4th-placed pigeon, bred by Roman Vehovec. It should be mentioned that almost 75% of the auctioned pigeons in AviRings Derby auctions in 2022 were purchased by Slovenian buyers. This highlights the quality and growing prominence of pigeon sport in Slovenia.

AviRings Derby 2023 goes on. Next week, 3rd race, new opportunities, new chances.