Officials have cancelled the 20th America's Challenge gas balloon race, marking only the second time in race history that weather has grounded the competition.
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta organizers made the announcement Wednesday. The decision was made in the interest of safety since wet and unstable weather continued to hang over New Mexico.
Seven teams from the U.S., Germany, France, Poland and Spain had been set to participate. They were initially scheduled to launch Saturday but unfavorable weather forced a series of delays.
Organizers simply ran out of time since race rules called for the launch window to close Wednesday before midnight.
Event Director Johnny Petrehn expressed his regret that the race had to be cancelled and said he hopes the pilots will return for the next challenge in 2016.
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