SAIPR Lofts Winter Season 2026: Hotspot 1 Gets Off to a Flying Start
The 2026 SAIPR Lofts Winter Season is underway with the Bultfontein Hotspot. This report covers the race overview, including, top performers, and the latest Velocity News rankings. We also announce the Fancier of the Race and our Pigeon of the Week winners.
Hotspot 1 Bultfontein
The 2026 SAIPR Lofts Winter Season began with Hotspot 1, a 288km race from Bultfontein in the Free State to the Krugersdorp loft, featuring 517 basketed pigeons from 139 fanciers.
The pigeons encountered excellent winter weather throughout. Upon liberation, clear skies prevailed at 4–6°C with a mild 5–8 km/h north-northwesterly breeze. Halfway, conditions remained clear at 11–13°C with a gentle 8–10 km/h westerly wind. The birds finished in sunny 18–20°C conditions, where an 11–14 km/h southwesterly tailwind helped them home.
Top 10
Jerry Right took the win, leading the group into Krugersdorp. PAINTER & ULLRICH followed in 2nd, with Wespoel close behind in 3rd. VELOCITY RACERS and DINOKENG OLR rounded out the top five in 4th and 5th, arriving just seconds apart. IAN D claimed 6th, ahead of Gys Louw 1 in 7th. Master Power(Loerie Kinderhuis) came home in 8th, with JPH & S Posthumus in 9th and Greg Anderson 2 completing the top 10.
Velocity News Fancier of the Race
In the SAIPR Bultfontein Hotspot 1, 122 out of 139 competing fanciers qualified for this ranking by meeting the minimum requirement of basketing at least 3 pigeons.
Rankings are based on the percentage of a fancier's basketed pigeons placing within the top 5% of the race (the top 25 out of 517 total entries), with ties broken by the highest average velocity of those top finishers.
Six fanciers tied at 25.00%, each landing a single pigeon inside the cutoff. Average velocity resolved their final order: PAINTER & ULLRICH, Wespoel, VELOCITY RACERS, DINOKENG OLR, Gys Louw 1, and Master Power(Loerie Kinderhuis).
Jerry Right was named Velocity News Fancier of the Race by placing 50% of his participating pigeons in the Top 5% arrivals, the only fancier to land two pigeons inside the Top 25
*Please Note: This log scrolls from left to right.
Follow Up Ranking Hotspot 1
The Top 10% Follow Up Ranking measures fanciers on the percentage of their basketed birds finishing in the top 10% of the race, which means the leading 51 out of 517 pigeons. In SAIPR Bultfontein Hotspot 1, 122 of 139 participating fanciers qualified by basketing at least three pigeons. Ties are resolved using highest average velocity across their arrivals.
3 R'S 2 led the Top 10% Follow Up ranking with 66.67% of their pigeons placing inside the top 10% arrivals.
*Please Note: This log scrolls from left to right.
Pigeon of the Week
Velocity News introduced Pigeon of the Week to identify which pigeons are in form week by week. It is awarded to the pigeon with the smallest average margin behind the winner across two consecutive races.
Comparing Bultfontein Hotspot 1 against the Wesselsbron training toss the week before, Jerry Right's 'ZA MOUN 184 2025' — the same pigeon that won Bultfontein outright — takes Pigeon of the Week with an average margin of just 2.870 seconds behind the winner across both races. Gys Louw 1's 'TPA 7178 2025' is close behind at 3.085 seconds, having won the Wesselsbron toss before finishing 7th at Bultfontein. IGNIS FIRE 1's 'ZA KPUD 1128 2025' completes the podium at 21.345 seconds, with top-15 finishes in both races.
*Please Note: This log scrolls from left to right.
Looking Ahead
Jerry Right's loft carries a massive target into the next event after a clean sweep this week, winning race winner, Velocity News Fancier of the Race, and Pigeon of the Week to dominate every ranking on offer.
Other competitors also showed quality. Gys Louw 1 secured a victory at Wesselsbron and a top-10 finish at Bultfontein, while 3 R'S 2 topped the Follow Up Ranking with just three pigeons. PAINTER & ULLRICH and Wespoel completed the Bultfontein podium behind Right. The ultimate question is whether anyone can halt his momentum.
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