The penultimate day of the 2021 season proved a painful one for the Plattner family’s Phoenix team and so it is was again today as the five regatta 2022 52 Super Series season tapers down to the final races tomorrow. Last year a broken spinnaker when leading robbed them of their chance to win the championship, today it was a premature start.

After yesterday having sailed themselves to within three points of circuit leaders Quantum Racing, jumping the start gun today proved very costly for Phoenix. As the USA flagged benchmark crew of Quantum started well and led all the way round a painfully slow light winds track, the evaporating breeze left Phoenix with no chance of any kind of comeback and they had no choice to but to accept 10th, their single worst score of the season.

Quantum Racing’s victory in the sole race today gives them a 12 points lead going into the last day of the 2022 championship. With yet another day of light winds expected off Barcelona Saturday for the final showdow, the odds are very much stacked in favour of Doug DeVos’ team that are bidding for a record breaking fifth 52 Super Series championship title.

And so while it was a visibly relieved Quantum Racing who returned to a windless, but beautifully sun drenched dock at the Real Club Náutico de Barcelona it was a slightly deflated Phoenix crew who are now at least hoping for two good races Saturday to try and overturn that deficit.

“We’ll go out there and do our best tomorrow. Obviously the overall season is a very long shot after having a last place today and Quantum winning but we’re going to go out there and try to put in some good races – hopefully we get three races in and who knows what might happen. We just made a little error in the start – a communication error and unfortunately we were just over the line. It is an unforced error for sure, we had a nice gap there. So it is unfortunate, it’s a little thing we need to clean up. It sucks for that to happen. And then in dying breeze we were always coming downwind in less wind than the front guys, the gap just kept getting longer and longer. I think first boat beat us by about 15 minutes in the end!”
Said Tom Slingsby.

Quantum Racing made a solid start and took the advantage on the middle right of the first upwind racing in just 6 to 7kts of ENE’ly wind leading Austin and Gwen Fragomen’s Interlodge across the finish line with Ergin Imré’s Provezza taking third.

Relieved owner-driver DeVos smiled,

“You’re always nervous in this fleet and especially when it’s light air like that. Coming out of the last mark you’re like ‘oh boy I just hope it stays together and we can get the race finished’……So it feels good to have a good race behind us and having it back together after yesterday. And now, yes, we are feeling nervous about tomorrow, like always, because all the points are on the board, at least two race tomorrow – that’s what we’re going to shoot for and do the best we can.”

With their race win today Quantum Racing now lead the 52 Super Series Barcelona Sailing Week regatta by two points ahead of Platoon and three ahead Provezza and Alegre.

Standings 52 Super Series Barcelona Sailing Week:

QUANTUM RACING (USA), Doug DeVos, 1+4+4+6+1 = 16 pts.   
PLATOON (GER), Harm Müller-Spreer, 4+2+5+1+6 = 18 pts. 
PROVEZZA (TUR), Ergin Imre, 3+1+7+5+3 = 19 pts.   
ALEGRE (GBR), Andy Soriano, 2+5+2+3+7 = 19 pts
PHOENIX (RSA), Hasso & Tina Plattner, 7+3+1+2+10 = 23 pts.
SLED (USA), Takashi Okura, 5+6+6+4+5 = 26 pts.  
INTERLODGE (USA), Austin & Gwen Fragomen, 6+7+8+9+2 = 32 pts.
VAYU (THA), Whitcraft Family, 8+10+3+8+9 = 38 pts. 
GLADIATOR (GBR), Tony Langley, 9+9+9+7+4 = 38 pts.
PAPREC (FRA), Jean-Luc Petithuguenin, 10+8+10+10+8 = 46 pts.
52 SUPER SERIES 2022 Provisional Standings:

QUANTUM RACING (USA), Doug DeVos, 19+33+44+34+16 = 146 pts. 
PHOENIX (RSA), Hasso & Tina Plattner, 27+42+25+41+23 = 158 pts.
PLATOON (GER), Harm Müller-Spreer, 26+40+51+41+18 = 176 pts.
SLED (USA), Takashi Okura, 43,5+44+36+39+26 = 188,5 pts.
ALEGRE (GBR), Andy Soriano, 43+41+52+46+19 = 201 pts.
PROVEZZA (TUR), Ergin Imre, 61+54+42+46+19 = 222 pts. 
INTERLODGE (USA), Austin & Gwen Fragomen, 39+71+50+75+32 = 267 pts.
VAYU (THA), Whitcraft Family, 45+54+79+54+29 = 270 pts. 
GLADIATOR (GBR), Tony Langley, 60+73+71+77,5+34 = 316,5 pts.