A Field of 20 Balloons Is Set for the 57th Coupe Aeronautique Gordon Bennett

The launch of the 57th edition of the world's most prestigious balloon race is scheduled for August 24, 2013 and with the close of registration on February 15th, the field of competitive teams is now set. Twenty balloon teams from ten nations will launch from Nancy, France. Several of the countries will be represented by multiple teams. Each balloon team is comprised of two pilots.

The Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett is the most prestigious and oldest balloon competition in the world, with the first edition dating back to 1906. The goal is simple: to fly the furthest distance from the launch site aboard a gas balloon. The winner of each year's event has the honour to organise the competition in two year's time. Frenchmen Sébastien Rolland and Vincent Leys’s victory in 2011 gave France the opportunity to host this year’s edition.

The lineup of competitors includes:

• Austria: 2
• Finland: 1
• France: 3
• Germany: 3
• Great Britain: 2
• Italy: 1
• Russia: 1
• Spain: 1
• Switzerland: 3
• USA: 3

"We are delighted to welcome 20 teams to the next edition of the Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett in Nancy," said Benoît Pelard, the organizer of the competition. "We are all the more happy to see that 3 French teams have registered, which was not the case in the last few years, and that an Italian balloon will come and compete in France."

(Gordon Bennett race image from file)

FMI: www.gordonbennett2013.org/