Sadly the Red Bull Storm Chase failed to take off this year as a good enough storm did not blow through, but the good news if the competition will continue next year, so fingers crossed we get an epic competition soon!
The Red Bull Storm Chase will continue into 2013 after the calm last storm season made it impossible to run any action. Starting on January 10th the most-challenging windsurfing contest of all time will return to finish what it started in last August: Hunting down three massive storms to find one storm windsurfing champion after fierce duels of man vs. man vs. nature.
The ten participants Marcilio Browne (BRA), Daniel Bruch (GER), Ricardo Campello (VEN), Victor Fernandez Lopez (ESP), Boujmaa Guilloul (MAR), Philip Köster (GER), Kai Lenny (USA), Robby Swift (GBR), Julien Taboulet (FRA), and Thomas Traversa (FRA) now benefit from time off over the holiday period to prepare for the restart. From January 10th the sailors will be on standby for the first of two contest periods.
The contest format remains the same: Ten riders compete in the first mission. Six of them advance to mission number two. In the final mission the top four riders will battle for the crown. But this time the spectacle will be split into two parts in accordance with the main world storm seasons. Between January 10 and March 22, 2013, the sailors will be on standby to hunt down two massive storms at the seven previously nominated destinations: Brittany (FRA), Cape Hatteras/US East Coast (USA), Galicia (ESP), the south west coast of Iceland, the north west coast of Ireland, Omaezaki at the south east coast of Japan, and the north west coast of Tasmania (AUS). “Statistically we have two main global storm seasons: January until March and July until September. That’s why we decided to split the waiting period into two parts”, Red Bull Storm Chase Sports Director Klaas Voget on the new twist to the concept. “After a four-month break in spring we’ll continue the chase in mid-July to hunt down the final storm for the ultimate showdown.”
From July 22, 2013, the top four sailors will decide the champion in the final mission at one of the Red Bull Storm Chase destinations. To catch raging conditions the participants have to once more be flexible to the max during the two holding periods with just 48-hours to mobilise on-site before the next storm strikes.
Contest Period I: January 10 – March 22, 2013 (2 missions)
Contest Period II: July 22 – September 10, 2013 (1 final mission)
Follow more news and features about the Red Bull Storm Chase here on Boards.