Ozone’s World of Wind – June 23

July 20, 2023 / Kite Race Snow Wing

Launching a new monthly newsletter, here’s our update for June. Starting with kite news, please scroll down for more on wingfoiling, racing and snowkiting – happy riding everyone, wherever you are!

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MADE FOR THIS!

In case you missed it, we released Made For This: Inside the Ozone Factory right at the end of May… we’d love you to see it!

KITESURF

In early June, our Dutch teen high flyer, Jamie O, took his second Vice World Championship title in as many years at the GKA Big Air World Championships in Tarifa. He was also one of only four riders to compete in two disciplines at that event, but was unfortunately ousted from the twin-tip competition in round three. However, what an eight months it has been at the cutting edge of big air for this young man! We celebrate his achievements in this feature.

Read Jamie’s feature here

RACING

NICO NAILS TWO NEW
WORLD SPEED RECORDS!

Nautical Mile Records at the Prince of Speed event 1st – 30th June
Plage du Rouet, France

CLAIMED KITEFOIL RECORD: 40.36 knots using Ozone R1V2 6m kite
WSSRC OFFICIAL WINGFOIL RECORD: 30.18 knots using Ozone Fly V1 3m wing

Nico Parlier: “I claimed* both records at the Prince of Speed event, in beautiful Tramontana conditions, averaging 30 knots, gusting over 40.”

KITE:
“Using my old baby, the R1V2 6m (with my Chubanga v3 race foil), the run was amazing. I love the power delivery of this kite, it’s very smooth and gives me the confidence to go fast!”

(Nico was the first to claim* a new record over 40 knots on a kitefoil, though Sylvain Hosseini eventually managed 41.59. Nico’s 40.36 was historic though, as the first French record for foiling in the Sailboard category ever!)

WING:
“I used exactly the same board and foil as I did for the kite record, with the Fly V1 3m wing – the same one that Axel used to win all those races at the Defi Wing!

“It was such a great experience, and to be the first wingfoiler to go over 30 knots feels really good.”

Photos: Prince of Speed

*Kitefoiling records are yet to ratified by the WSSRC (World Speed Sailing Record Council), particularly in becoming a separate speed discipline to kiteboarding. Either way… Nico’s officially the fastest winger so far and if you’ve ever been fast on a foil, you’ll know how nail biting it can be to hold speed almost a metre above the surface!

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WINGFOIL

Ozone design team member and test rider, Simon Burner, drops in at Manawa, Mauritius during the Flux V1 video shoot
Photo: Louis Arnaud

Simon Burner:
“It feels so good when everything we’ve been working on falls into place. Having the final Flux production samples and the conditions lining up so nicely made for an insanely fun evening session, which increased satisfaction levels by that much more!”

FLUX DESIGN INSIGHTS

The Ozone Flux V1 wing launched in early June. The heart of its high performance and superb handling is largely down to the careful implementation of new materials. Lead designer Rob Whittall shares some thoughts below, but you can see and hear much more in the Flux video.

ROB WHITTALL, FLUX LEAD DESIGNER

“The inspiration of any new wing is more performance and better handling and more rider satisfaction. That goes for us, too; we also want to go out there and have more fun.

“What inspired us to develop a wing like the Flux is that Ozone has always been synonymous with going fast. Having guys like Johnny Heineken, Ken Adgate and Axel Mazella on the team, who are all performance driven riders, developing a wing that allowed for much more riding speed potential was natural.

“This time I focused more on the actual parameters of the wing, while Dom [Zimmermann] concentrated much more on the materials. Along with Torrin Bright, Simon Burner and Axel we all worked together, discussing what was possible and how these new materials might work on the new wing and in production.

“It’s not always a case of just, ‘Oh, that’s a nice material, we’ll use it’. We are a long way from where we were at the start of this project two years ago.”

SNOWKITE

HOW HIGH WOULD YOU GO?

This is a screenshot from a clip that was included in our ‘Made For This: Inside the Ozone Factory’ video, submitted by our ever intrepid Snowkite team rider and media magician, Wareck Arnaud. This clip of Johann Civel in the French Alps captures the pure magic and otherworldly escapism of snowkiting that has always captivated us at Ozone.

We received so many mind blowing clips once again from Wareck that during the edit of our factory video, we promised ourselves that we’d follow up soon with a deeper look into sharing the emotional rollercoaster that is snowkiting. It’s been such a huge part of our history… look out for more coming ahead of the next snow season!

MORE FUN & LEARNING

FOIL KITING, IN THE STYLE OF JAMIE OVERBEEK

If you want hangtime and float, you’ve come to the right place!

RUBEN LENTEN VIDEO TECHNIQUE SERIES LAUNCHES
PART ONE: EDGING AND JUMPING TECHNIQUE

Check your set-up, tighten your straps and hold on tight! Ruben’s here to take you up!

LET IT FLY THIS JULY
SEE YOU FOR MORE NEXT MONTH!

Remember to take the time to relax amongst the summer madness…
Paulino Pereira style send off…

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