2026 Formula Wing World Championships - Day 4
by IWSA Media 14 Aug 12:55 PDT
10-15 August 2026
2026 Formula Wing World Championships - Day 4 © IWSA media / Robert Hajduk
The top nine places in the World Championship Medal Series have been decided after another testing day of shifty, gusty conditions on the Bosphorus.
Italian riders are in pole position to take the title with Francesco Cappuzzo and Alessandro Tomasi securing direct qualification to the men's grand final. The women's final will also feature an Italian rider - Maddalena Spanu - and France's Vaina Picot.
With only the top nine progressing to the medal series, the return of the unpredictable breeze gave the chasing pack an opportunity to close the gap.
Julien Rattotti seized his chance in the opening race, taking victory and moving into the top five overall.
The battle for the other direct place in the men's grand final was particularly intense, with Poland's Kamil Manowiecki chasing Tomasi throughout the day. Manowiecki claimed a race win as he applied pressure on the Italian, but Tomasi's consistency ultimately proved decisive.
Championship leader Cappuzzo endured a difficult start to the day but recovered impressively. The Italian finished strongly and now needs just one victory in the medal series to claim the world title.
Gregorio Pugliese claimed the final qualifying place, squeezing into ninth overall. It means Italy will have three representatives in the men's medal series, alongside three French riders, two New Zealanders and Poland's Manowiecki.
The women's fleet were also pushed to their limits by the tricky Bosphorus conditions. Spanu and Picot had already secured their places in the women's final, but their rivalry continued right through the final qualifying races. The last race saw the pair side by side on the final reach but Picot just squeezed ahead to claim the psychological advantage going into Saturday's grand final.
Greek rider Aimilia Kosti confirmed third place overall and her qualification for tomorrow's semi-final.
China's Yana Li, the 2025 Youth World champion, endured a more dramatic route to the medal series. A crash followed by a disqualification for an early start threatened to derail her challenge, but she had done enough earlier in the competition to secure her place in the semi-final.
Meijuan Xiao, also of China, claimed the final qualifying place with an impressive display of consistency, including a second-place finish.
Seven countries will be represented in the women's medal series, with the world titles now just one day away.
There is one last chance for those who failed to qualify. The male and female winners of a single 'Golden Ticket race' on Saturday will go into the quarter-finals, completing the ten-strong fleets.
The medal series will be broadcast live on the Wingfoil Racing YouTube channel from 13:00 CET (11:00 GMT), as the remaining riders battle for the Formula Wing world titles.