Puerto Portals today hosted the official presentation of the Puerto Portals 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week which will be the third event for the 2022 season on the world’s leading monohull circuit. Nine teams racing TP52s under six national flags will compete on the Bay of Palma as the world’s leading grand prix monohull circuit makes a seventh consecutive visit to the popular Mallorcan venue.
The 52 SUPER SERIES racing fleet is already moored at the race dock in the heart of the Puerto Portals marina, some putting in time on the water to prepare for the key regatta which starts with the official practice race Thursday before points racing starts Friday.
The official presentation was hosted by Corinna Graf, CEO of Puerto Portals, and Agustín Zulueta, CEO of the 52 SUPER SERIES. The event musters more than 120 crew members from 17 nationalities.
“I would like to highlight that this week in Puerto Portals some of the best sailors in the world will be here. In total we have more than 500 people travelling, based here for ten days and this means in round numbers a direct impact of at least three million euros. We should also highlight the efforts of the sponsors and the port to make this a great event, which is repeated year after year, and we hope it lasts as long as we live.”
Explained Agustín Zulueta who drew attention to the significant local spend by the circuit and its protagonists.
“We have been working with the 52 SUPER SERIES since 2015 and so it is a very special class for us, and we are honoured and proud to have the circuit here again. It is a major event. It is a real privilege to have so many professionals in in this small space.”
Acknowledged Corinna Graf.
Watch out for the heat
The competition will take place in the Bay of Palma which is well known to all the participants, but there may be differences from the usual conditions because of the heatwave which has prevailed for more than two weeks on the island. Agustín Zulueta explained at the presentation:
“We have been here seven times and I would say that the conditions have never been the same one year to the next. But a particularly hot week awaits us; in principle, thermal winds will predominate from the SSW, but they will depend on the gradient wind that will make them stronger or weaker. This makes the competition very open and we will have typical sailing conditions in the bay of Palma”.
The races are scheduled every day from 13:00h.
Sustainability, a shared principle
Puerto Portals and the 52 SUPER SERIES share the same approach to sustainability. The circuit promotes awareness-raising initiatives and environmentally-friendly actions at the venues it visits and is a key player in the Kick Out Plastic movement, which involves athletes from different sports disciplines. Corinna Graf explained during the presentation that Puerto Portals is totally aligned with this philosophy:
“In Puerto Portals we like to promote sport, promote sustainability, and we understand that this event brings both together. We are working very hard on a project we call Blue Marina, so that we and our community learn to take better care of the environment, and we see that the circuit is all very sustainable, they have sponsors who adhere to and prescribe sustainability, values we identify with.. We love the values they represent.”
52 SUPER SERIES Leaderboard (after two events)
1 QUANTUM RACING (USA), Doug DeVos, 19+33 = 52pts
2 PLATOON (GER), Harm Müller Spreer, 26+40 = 66pts
3 PHOENIX (RSA), Hasso & Tina Plattner, 27+42 = 69pts
4 ALEGRE (GBR), Andy Soriano, 43+41 = 84pts
5 SLED (USA), Takashi Okura, 43,5+44 = 87,5 pts
6 VAYU (THAI), Familia Whitcraft, 45+54 = 99 pts
7 INTERLODGE (USA), Austin & Gwen Fragomen, 39+71 = 110 pts
8 PROVEZZA (TUR), Ergin Imre, 61+54 = 115 pts
9 GLADIATOR (GBR), Tony Langley, 60+73 = 133 pts
