Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett

08/09/2026

🏆 THE WINNERS! 🎈

What an amazing race it was! After flying across Germany, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia all the way to Finland, here are our top 3 teams of the 69th Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett 2026:

🥇 SUI-2 – Balthasar Wicki & René Erni – 1’555.18 km
🥈 AUT-2 – Christian Wagner & Stefanie Liller – 1’434.61 km
🥉 FRA-1 – Christophe Houver & Guillaume Jouaville – 1’427.51 km

Congratulations to all the winners and to every single team who took part in this unforgettable championship! ✈️

07/09/2026

Up, up and away in style 🎈🕶️

GB ’26 shades on, trophies in hand. Now brace yourselves, the more serious shots are coming up next… are you ready?

Photos: Stefan Büschken

06/09/2026

🎈 Watch the whole race unfold in seconds!

This animation traces every team’s flight path from take-off in Gladbeck all the way to their final landing spots across Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Finland.

An incredible display of distance, strategy and skill from all teams. 🌍

05/09/2026

31/08/2026

The Final Show - 69th Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett 2026

31/08/2026

🏆 OFFICIAL RESULT

69th Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett 2026 🎈

The results are in! After an incredible race across Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and all the way to Finland, our provisional winners are:

🥇 SUI-2 – Balthasar Wicki & René Erni (1’555.18 km, Misinmäki, Finland)
🥈 AUT-2 – Christian Wagner & Stefanie Liller (1’434.61 km, Rēzekne, Latvia)
🥉 FRA-1 – Christophe Houver & Guillaume Jouaville (1’427.51 km, Ozolmuiża, Latvia)

Huge congratulations to all 24 teams for an outstanding championship!

Please note: these results are provisional until 22:00 today, pending the official protest period.

30/08/2026

The Race Is Over 🎈

All teams are on the ground and the distances are in. Please note that these figures are provisional, the Event Director still has to evaluate all landing reports and tracker data before any result becomes official.

Provisional top three:

SUI-2, Balthasar Wicki / René Erni, 1555.18 km
AUT-2, Christian Wagner / Stefanie Liller, 1434.61 km
FRA-1, Christophe Houver / Guillaume Jouaville, 1427.51 km

Congratulations to all 23 teams. Every crew flew a demanding route in difficult conditions, and every balloon is safely back on the ground. That is the result that counts most.

FAIBallooning

30/08/2026

After The Landing 🎈

We asked our pilots and crews what they get up to once they touch down, and the answers were as varied as the routes they flew.

From celebratory drinks in the car and a well earned pizza dinner, to sightseeing at a beautiful cathedral, a „quiet“ nap in the car, and taking in a peaceful sunset by the lake. And of course the not so glamorous part, packing up the balloon and basket for the journey home. Thank you to everyone who shared a piece of their post landing routine with us!

FAIBallooning

30/08/2026

Landing Update 🎈

SUI-1 🇨🇭
Kurt Frieden & Pascal Witprächtiger have landed near Vīpe, Latvia after 1356.76 km.

*Distance preliminary.