A PROFESSIONAL wingsuit base jumper from Dorchester will fly the flag for his country later this year after qualifying for the World Wingsuit League China Grand Prix.

Sam Hardy, 26, will feature in the popular event this October representing the UK after taking part in a qualifying race last month in Voss, Norway.

The former Thomas Hardye School pupil competed alongside more than 30 other top wingsuit BASE pilots at an event held during Ekstremsportveko.

Ekstremsportveko is an extreme sports week involving base jumping, skydiving, paragliding and much, much more.

Speaking to the Echo, Sam said he was overwhelmed by his achievement.

He said: “I went with the intention of not doing very well and I actually got sixth position out of 36 pilots.

“I was shocked and very surprised considering the guys I was racing had more racing experience than I did.”

Sam started skydiving when he was just 17-years-old in Madrid. He continued with his climbing and kayaking guide jobs in France, Africa and Nepal and learned to base jump in Portugal whilst in his 20s.

Sam has gone on to do more than 2,000 skydives and more than 700 base jumps. He said wingsuit flying was a ‘natural step’ from what he had been doing previously.

Wingsuit parachuting has been in existence since the early part of the 20th century but had often been viewed as a very dangerous lifestyle.

A safe-to-fly wingsuit was developed in the mid-1990s, however, and the sport has continued to soar higher and higher ever since.

The China based World Wingsuit League (WWL) has grown to be the world’s biggest wingsuit racing organisation.

The WWL Grand Prix will be held between October 17 and October 18 at Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie, China.

Up for grabs is the opportunity to win up to $30,000 and the honour of being declared the world’s fastest wingsuit pilot.

Sam said: “It’s huge in China. It’s their fourth year they’ve done it.”

The pilot said he planned to train throughout September for the event, tailoring his schedule so he can improve on the racing aspect.

Prior to the qualifying event in Norway, Sam had only practiced three jumps in the racing windsuit he used for the competition.

He said: “I’m going to actually take it a bit more seriously this time.”