(Friday 24th May, Mahón) – From a long day that finally yielded just one race, Quantum Racing emerged with an increased lead at the top of the leaderboard of the Menorca 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week.
The 2018 defending circuit champions, who won the 2016 TP52 World Championship title on these same Balearic waters, profited on the second upwind to pass early leaders, Harm Müller-Spreer’s Platoon, and so scored their second race win in a row.
While the new line up on Quantum Racing are gelling nicely and have sailed a strong 2,1,1 from the last three races of the regatta, their perennial rivals Azzurra – who lead after the first day – had another disappointing day. They fouled Alegre and had to take a penalty, which dropped them to 11th. A recovery to seventh only partially helps morale, but the Azzurra – who won here last time the circuit visited in 2017 – need to get back to regular top results.
The winds took a long time to fill out on to the race arena. Race officer Maria Torrijo chose to hold the fleet ashore until mid afternoon. But it was only on the fourth attempt – after two general recalls and an AP’d start – that the race finally got away in eight to 10kts of breeze and flat water.
Platoon started off the pin end of the line and had Quantum Racing in their pockets off the line. The German team, training and race partners to Quantum – with whom they share data, briefings and debriefs – led around the course until the second beat. They moved left and let Quantum and Provezza profit.
Through the finish, Quantum scored the victory with Platoon second and Ergin Imre’s Provezza third. The Turkish-flagged team now lie second going into the final day, three points behind Doug DeVos’s crew, which has Ed Baird on the helm through this season. Azzurra dropped to fourth overall.
“That was a tough race. Everybody was fighting so hard on the line. It was good that we had the two hour delay, there was no waiting around half an hour at a time, and then everyone is right into it. We had a little bit of good fortune getting through Platoon, that is how the game works sometimes. But we should get three races tomorrow, nice breeze and big waves. It should be a great finale,” said Ed Baird, skipper-helm on Quantum Racing.
“Our start after the delay was a little bit of a mess and we ended up behind Quantum Racing on the the first cross, but then we were guilty of fouling Alegre. We made a decent recovery saving ourselves four points, but we need to sail better,” commented Azzurra’s navigator Bruno Zirilli.
Menorca 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week
Regatta standings after Day 4
1. Quantum Racing (USA) (Doug DeVos) (8,5,4,2,1,1) 21 punti.
2. Provezza (TUR) (Ergin Imre) (6,3,3,1,8,3) 24 p.
3. Platoon (GER) (Harm Müller-Spreer) (5,2,6,3,7,2) 25 p.
4. Azzurra (ARG/ITA) (Alberto/Pablo Roemmers) (2,1,1,7,10,7) 28 p.
5. Alegre (USA/GBR) (Andrés Soriano) (4,11,2,5,6,8) 36 p.
6. Bronenosec (RUS) (Vladimir Liubomirov) (1,7,8,10,2,10) 38 p.
7. Phoenix 12 (RSA) (Tina Plattner) (7,4,7,8,9,4) 39 p.
8. Sled (USA) (Takashi Okura) (9,8,5,9,4,5) 40 p
9. Phoenix 11 (RSA) (Hasso Plattner) (3,10,11,6,5,6) 41 p.
10. Team Vision Future (FRA) (Jean Jacques Chaubard) (10,6,9,4,11,11) 51 p.
11. Gladiator (GBR) (Tony Langley) (11,9,10,11,3,9) 53 p.
For full results, visit: http://bit.ly/2wkggTj
Racing at the Menorca 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week starts on Tuesday 21st May and finishes on Saturday 25th May. The boats can be tracked online or via the 52 SUPER SERIES app with live commentary and expert analysis throughout each race. Shows start 15 minutes before racing is due to begin.
