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07 October 2003

After 36 hrs - Three Balloons Still Flying

Only three competitors remain aloft this morning as the Eighth America's Challenge Gas Balloon Race passes the 36-hour mark. Eleven balloons landed safely in New Mexico and west Texas.

The German/American team of Willie Eimers and Greg Winker (Team #2), continues to lead. At 4:30 AM, they were near Abilene TX. Richard Abruzzo and Carol Rymer-Davis (Team #4) are WNW of Liberal, KS, and Barbara Fricke and Peter Cuneo (Team #6) are south of Liberal. As the sun rises in the central United States, the strategies afoot will start to play out.

Here is a list of the balloons and their approximate, unofficial positions as of 4:30 AM MDT (1030Z):

#2 Eimers/Winker, 35 mi. W of Abilene, TX, 407 mi/620 km
#4 Abruzzo/Rymer-Davis, 35 mi. WNW of Liberal, KS, 300 mi/482 km
#6 Fricke/Cuneo, 73 mi. SW of Liberal, KS, 285 mi/458 km
#13 Sullivan/White, LANDED 24 mi. E of Clovis, NM, 243 mi/391 km
#14 MacNutt/Critelli, LANDED 5 mi. SE of Clovis, NM, 215 mi/347 km
#9 Parks/Cayton, LANDED 12 mi. NW of Clovis, NM, 209 mi/336 km
#7 Hale/Devaney, LANDED 18 mi. N of Clovis, NM, 208 mi/334 km
#12 Boylan/McCluskey, LANDED 5 mi. NW of Portales, NM, 204 mi/328 km
#8 Levin/Levin, LANDED 30 mi. N of Clovis, NM, 200 mi/322 km
#5 Kugler/Sheeshe, LANDED 30 mi. SW of Clovis, NM, 184 mi/296 km #1 Petrhen/Sabin, LANDED 5 mi. SW of Logan, NM, 175 mi/282 km
#10 Gerhardt/Muller, LANDED 15 mi. NE of Roswell, NM, 169 mi/272 km
#11 Robinson/Martin, LANDED 50 miles N of Roswell, NM, 143 mi/230 km
#3 Donnelly/Forse, LANDED 4 mi. S of Santa Rosa, NM, 133 mi/214 km

As the sun rises in the central United States, the strategies afoot will start to play out. You can watch the action unfold via live tracking at http://tracker.balloonfiesta.com/index.php. The tracker updates the balloons' positions every half-hour, and displays weather conditions in the area.

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