The big question!

Its easier, quicker and less painful to ask who isn't flying an R10 than it is to get battered by the hands shooting up when you ask who is! (btw. talk on the street is that there is only 1 R10, the R10.2. The 3 liner is for jessies, for the 'girls' - 'real men' fly a 2 liner !! :-D )
The legend of the R10.2 seems to have reached almost mythical proportions - its the glider (nearly) everyone 'needs' to fly if they want to have a chance to win. Ozone have really pulled off a coup with this - credit to them for creating a market that no-one knew existed until last September!
The psychobabbble is that you 'need' an R10.2 to win. Obviously, its been fuelled by Charles and Russ's amazing 1-2 result in Superfinal and recently by Pepe Malecki's win in Valadares and today Luc Armant winning the first task in the Montegrappa trophy.
Suddenly the Boom 7's and Niviuk protos seem a non-event; anyone who is anyone (and a few who are not ;-) ) have jumped on the Ozone bandwagon. Some pilots not flying the R10 are already looking at defeat and commiserating with themselves on a 'non result' in the first competition of the 2010 tour - why? Will the R10.2 take them to victory? In this game there is 1 winner and potentially 124 losers, so there are a gaggle or possibly 2, 3 or 4 of R10.2 owners who are going to be disappointed that their magical, mythical flying machine just turns out to be another paraglider ;-) !!
Don't get me wrong, the R10 is a thing of beauty. But when it comes down to it, its the monkey hanging underneath pulling the string who has the potential to win or not. Any one of the top guys and girls here, if they are in the right head-space and have the drive, motivation and need to win, can win, whatever they are flying.
Niviuk, Gin, Axis and Ozone pilots, lets get out there and see who's got what it takes......