Across the lake at 130 km/h: European hovercraft championship attracts athletes to Halbendorfer See

At 130 kilometers per hour across the lake: the European Hovercraft Championships attracted athletes from all over Europe to Halbendorfer See near Weißwasser at the weekend. "The colleagues who came from all over Europe were very happy to be here this weekend," said the organizer, Eric Schweizer, to the German Press Agency on Sunday. Everyone was delighted with the "top race course".

Around 40 hovercraft from eight nations competed for the European championship title in various racing classes in the district of Görlitz. On both race days, each racing class took to the course for two training and warm-up runs, followed by two racing heats. The spring training for the motor racing boats and classic boats also took place.

The hovercrafts have the special feature of hovering around 15 centimetres above the ground, which is why they can be driven on land as well as on water. The racing projectiles are moved and steered using the driver's body weight and the thrust of the rear engine.