posted Feb 28th, 2012 - The situation for an international lineup like Thunder is not easy if the team is eager to compete at the high-profile competitions in the world. Only national teams are eligible to compete at FAI/IPC events, and guest teams are usually not accepted. However, fortunately there are more and more other high-profile events where international lineups have the opportunity to compete directly with the best national teams in the world.

Thunder has attended a total of seven competitions ever since the team was formed in 2010, and the latest 27.9 average at the Aerokart Indoor Championship 2012 went by almost unnoticed. Only winner NMP-PCH Hayabusa, the reigning 4way world champions of Aerodyne Aerokart and the second half of the French national 8way team, Aerokart Maubeuge, outscored the Belgian/Dutch Thunder lineup in Paris.

The 27.9 average is the highest indoor average for Thunder, and there was only a 3-point difference to the French team in 3rd place.

Aerokart Indoor 2012		Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Rd. 3	Rd. 4	Rd. 5	Rd. 6	Rd. 7	Rd. 8	Rd. 9	Rd. 10	Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class	10,9,3	4,Q,F,22	B,E,11,19	8,15,A	16,H,20	D,K,L,C,18	P,21,J,14	O,17,N,5	12,M,G,6	13,2,7	Total	Avg
1	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	31	33	33	30	30	39	32	45	32	26	331	33.1
2	Aerodyne Aerokart	31	34	35	27	30	38	32	45	29	27	328	32.8
3	Aerokart Maubeuge	27	28	31	24	25	35	29	35	26	22	282	28.2
4	Thunder	25	29	28	24	24	35	28	38	25	23	279	27.9

The indoor meets offer an easier opportunity for an international team or other pickup teams to meet the best national teams in the world, and Thunder has taken advantage of this situation between 2010 and 2012. It is much more difficult to find outdoor opportunities. Valentine's Meet 2010, Tomscat Trophy 2011 and ESL Championship 2011 were the only outdoor events where Thunder could compete so far.

Thunder won both 2011 events without much competition, and only Arizona Airspeed was another serious AAA Class opponent at the Valentine's Meet 2010. This year, Thunder will experience the first outdoor competition with the best teams in the world at the same place and the same time after signing up for the Paraclete XP Outdoor Championship 2012 in March in DeLand.

Thunder is well prepared to challenge the other top teams, such as Satori and SDC Rhythm XP, as the 27.9 indoor average shows. The best "amateur team" in the field, the DeLand Norgies, may also have a hard time to fend off the Thunder charge for the unofficial title of the best amateur team in the world. This challenge will continue when Thunder meets the German national team Paratec-Saar at the World Challenge 2012 a few weeks later.

Thunder at the Valentine's Meet 2010 - Thunder at the World Challenge 2011

The Thunder project began in 2010 when former Hayabusa member Sven Ibens and former Dynamic Fource member Paul Hofstee recruited Sven Ibens' Belgian 8way team mate of 2008, Wesley Claessens, and former Dutch Pulse member Jacco van Eerden for the international team. Goal was to get to the 20-point average level with the "weekend amateur team". Wesley Claessens and Jacco van Eerden both had not even been close to such a performance level with their previous teams.

The 17.4 average at Thunder's first competition at the Valentine's Meet 2010 was far away from the goal, and the 26.4 indoor average in Roosendaal in November came after a 7-round meet with an easy and limited dive pool.

The 2011 season brought the 22.4 average at the World Challenge 2011 after ten rounds and with the complete dive pool, but the draw also included a Super Sequence. Thunder posted a much higher average (25.6) again at the Roosendaal indoor competition in November, but only after nine rounds and still with a limited dive pool.

Thunder actually beat the 20-point average level (20.1) at the Tomscat Trophy in June 2011. It was still not the real deal, as it was only an 8-round meet. Thunder finally completed ten outdoor rounds at the ESL Championship 2011 but missed the 20-point average by two points. The original goal is still to be accomplished.

The next opportunity comes up in little over two weeks when the best teams in the world meet in DeLand for the annual Shamrock Showdown Skins Game at the Paraclete XP Outdoor Championship 2012. There is not much of a doubt that Thunder will not even look at the 20-point average level. The 27.9 average at the Aerokart Indoor Championship 2012 indicates that Thunder is well past the original goal for an outdoor competition.

However, fact is that the real numbers still need to be posted first before they really count. The pressure is on...