FMX Racing had a strong year in 2023 culminating in a women’s PWA Vice-World Champion Slalom title, 3rd in the men's overall slalom ranking, PWA vice-Constructors Champion, world cup race and event wins, and numerous other national wins and podium finishes.
For the 2024 PWA World Tour, the Slalom discipline will be divided into Foil Slalom and Slalom X.
Splitting Fin and Foil on the World Tour:
“Foil Slalom will continue to offer the purest form of racing, driving innovation and technological advancement at the cutting edge of competition, ensuring action across the widest wind range. Foil Slalom embodies the most intense battles, biggest risks and biggest rewards for the highest performing athletes in windsurf racing and will take place at all PWA slalom events.
Slalom X will liberate the discipline from its hi tech partnership with foil, and see the rebirth of fin slalom. Like the World Rally Championship, to Formula 1 in motor sport, Slalom X will bring a different dimension to racing, testing athletes to the max. Slalom X is only reserved for high wind destinations.
For Foil Slalom, competitors can register a single foil board suitable for all conditions (from 5 knots upwards). In Slalom X, participants are allowed to register up to two windsurf fin boards, each with a maximum width of 85 centimeters, exclusively for sailing in windy conditions.”, source PWA
Foil Slalom
For 2024 FMX Racing has introduced the all-new 168 (85cm) and 178 (88cm) Hyperion windfoil boards, specifically designed to meet the one-board Foil Slalom Rule in place for this upcoming season. These boards are crafted for competitiveness in winds starting from 5-knots while ensuring excellent control in high winds.
Some words from Finian Maynard about the new designs:
“The new PWA one slalom foil board rule for 2024 is a technical challenge to solve because the foil racing wind limit on the low end is 5-knots meaning any ‘one board for all’ out there on the start line needs to have enough drive and power for very marginal wind racing whilst still having the stability and range to race in 25+ knots, that’s a difficult mandate to follow. In that regard the new Hyperion designs are designed to perform in all conditions. I’ve been keenly watching the America’s Cup boats for many years and what aero design planforms they like to run especially when they changed to monohull configurations in 2020. In my opinion a lot of similarities exist between the current AC boats and windsurfing slalom foil hulls, so this has been a true source of inspiration and the last few seasons I’ve been putting in a ton of ‘research & development’ hours before designing the files and shaping/finishing any new protos. Very pleased with the outcome and look forward to watching the races later this year.”
The latest design mandate not only results in competitive PWA foil boards but also offers the perfect option for recreational sailors seeking a wide-ranging board that covers all conditions. Because there is a slight compromise in the perfect wind range for a one-board solution, FMX Racing maintains its’ full range of slalom foiling boards. This includes the Hyperion 138 for strong winds, the highly successful 158 stays in the collection (with a bit less volume and power compared to the 168) as also a one-board option for lighter sailors or for exclusive use in medium/strong winds, and the FW Foil 214 is for the best light wind performance in upwind/downwind races.
Slalom X
The high-octane racing in this discipline will predominantly feature the FMX Racing Invictus 98 for strong winds and the FMX Racing 118 for medium winds, it’s good to mention that the entire Invictus slalom board range has been improved, you can check the full design upgrades here.
Another noteworthy change made to the 2024 88 and 98 Invictus slalom boards is the addition of a third strap position to the front for very overpowered conditions. This ultra forward position is primarily designed for competitions like Pozo, where sailors can face extreme wind and sea conditions.
The new Invictus windsurfing collection for 2024 not only benefits our international team competing on the PWA, but also recreational sailors who enjoy windsurfing on fin boards in a variety of conditions, ensuring world cup level optimal performance combined with a superb construction & build across the full range of conditions.
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