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 The Gordon Bennett Cup (trophy pictured) is the world's oldest gas balloon race. Referred to as the "Blue Ribbon" of aeronautics, the first race started from Paris, France on September 30, 1906.  The event was sponsored by James Gordon Bennett, Jr., the millionaire sportsman and owner of the New York Herald. According to the organizers, the aim of the contest is simple: "to fly the furthest distance from the launch site."   The distance record is held by the Belgian duo of Bob Berben and Benoît Siméons who, in 2005, piloted their balloon  from Albuquerque to Canada.  The most recent edition of the Cup, in 2010, started in the United Kingdom, with the balloons departing from Bristol on September 25.  The race was marred by the disappearance of the American team during a storm over the Adriatic Sea on October 1. The balloon was missing until December 6, when a fishing vessel found the cabin containing the pilots' bodies off the coast of Italy.