Thunder and lightning might have generated a topsy-turvy race programme on the opening day of the season's third world cup but the GB women's pair and men's four stayed on track with shining heat wins to qualify direct for Sunday's finals.
Glover and Stanning were first in action in Poznan, Poland. The World, Olympic and European Champions built a long lead early and crossed the line with plenty to spare in race where GB's second-ranked pair of Louisa Reeve and Vicky Meyer-Laker were third.
Great Britain's men's four of Alex Gregory, Moe Sbihi and George Nash – here reunited with Constantine Louloudis who sat out the Swiss leg of the world cup because of illness – came through an early re- match of that Lucerne final with rivals Australia in today's heats.
In Lucerne the Australians had led but then caught a crab close to the line. Here, the GB four were second in the early part of the race but hit the front with 500m to go to win by a length.
Louloudis, asked about the early Australian lead, said: "I was conscious that they were ahead and in the stroke seat you can often think the margin is bigger than it actually is but when I looked across at 1500m and saw we were level, I thought that was good and we rowed away from there".
The lightweight men's pair of Joel Cassells and Sam Scrimgeour maintained their unbeaten season to date and will now race tomorrow's final of this international class.
Jonny Walton and John Collins are safely through to tomorrow's semi-finals in the men's double scull and they will be joined at that stage by the two GB men's pairs who have an added incentive to do well here as the pressure builds towards Olympic selection in this boat category.
Repechages await several other crews with many heats only allowing for one qualifier into Sunday's finals. That list includes the men's quadruple scull, light four and double as well as Vicky Thornley and Katherine Grainger who were third in today's women's double scull heat which favourites Poland won. This was a first run-out for them since the European Championships.
Alan Campbell and Jack Beaumont are both safely through to the semis here having won their heats and then taken first and second in their respective quarter-finals in the open men's single scull.
Tom Aggar's scheduled repechage of the arms-shoulders ASM1x was cancelled late in the day with his second placing in yesterday's heats enough to move him though to the final tomorrow.
The intensity of the early morning storm in Poznan was dramatic and because of the shortened window for racing, preliminary races for all those events with a field of less than six crews were cancelled. For GB that included the men's and women's eights and the men's coxed pair.
Tomorrow's racing programme includes semi-finals and repechaages leading to finals for the Olympic classes as well as semi-finals and finals of the international class events and finals for the para-rowers. Racing starts at 09.45 BST.
Race Report
After a storm-delayed start to world cup III in Poznan, Poland this morning, the two GB Rowing Team women's pairs unexpectedly featured in the opening heat of the revised racing programme.
Helen Glover and Heather Stanning eased out to an early and comfortable lead whilst Louisa Reeve and Vicky Meyer-Laker were in fifth and challenging Belarus closely for fourth. Germany were second and New Zealand's second-ranked pair third.
By the three-quarter timing point nothing much had changed except, to the delight of British supporters, Meyer-Laker and Reeve had moved up in to third place. Glover and Stanning duly booked their place in Sunday's final whilst Meyer Laker and Reeve finished strongly in third. Germans Kerstin Hartmann and Kathrin Marchand were second.
Poland, with world best time holder Magdalena Fularcyzk on board, bagged the only place available today for Sunday's final of the women's double scull from the heat featuring Vicky Thornley and Katherine Grainger who held second until the final 150m when the French came through. They will now race in the tomorrow's repechage.
Coach Paul Thompson said after the race that he felt it was a "good start" for the re-formed crew and that every day they would look at being quicker than the day before. He said: "They are good enough to rebuild and improve in the time we now have available before Rio".
Whilst Australia led to halfway of the men's four heat featuring Alex Gregory, Mohamed Sbihi, George Nash and Constantine Louloudis, it was the GB crew who took the result at the end by a length in 5:52.36. The result means that the GB quartet go through to Sunday's final direct as the only qualifying crew. The remainder of the field will race a repechage tomorrow.
The men's pair heats saw Alan Sinclair and Stewart Innes, European silver medalists, get the better of their team-mates Nathaniel Reilly O'Donnell and Mat Tarrant in a one-two finish. Both crews go through to the semi-finals. Reilly O'Donnell and Tarrant were quick off the start and built an early lead but faded towards the 1500m mark. Italy were third.
Jonny Walton and John Collins took second billing to Kjetil Borch and Olaf Tufte of Norway in the men's double scull heats after leading them in the early part of the race. The Norwegians came through to the front just before halfway with both crews and Italy going through to tomorrow's semi-finals.
Peter Lambert, Sam Townsend, Angus Groom and Graeme Thomas came through Italy and chased down Germany, the 2015 world cup winners, before having to settle for second place in their opening heat of the men's quadruple scull. They now get another opportunity to reach Sunday's final via the repechage.
Jack Beaumont and Alan Campbell both won their respective men's single scull heats comfortably to qualify for the quarter-finals taking place later today.
Chris Bartley, Mark Aldred, Jono Clegg and Peter Chambers were beaten into second place by New Zealand in the lightweight men's four heats and will now race a repechage. Italy were the fastest to 500m but then dropped off towards the concluding part of the race in which GB picked up the pace but did not have enough to dent the Kiwi lead.
Will Fletcher and Richard Chambers were fourth going through 500m in their lightweight men's double heat. The World silver medallists knew that the going would be tough with the leading French duo of Pierre Houin and World Champion Jeremie Azou drawn alongside them.
With 500m to go the French were clearly going to win whilst Chambers and Fletcher were involved in what proved to be an academic tussle for second with the Italians which the latter won. Both GB and Italy will now race a repechage tomorrow whilst the French have moved into the final.
Joel Cassells and Sam Scrimgeour took a huge early lead and were never challenged in their lightweight men's pair heat to qualify direct for tomorrow's finals of this International Class event.