The first round of the Melges World League 2022 edition ends with another extraordinary day of sailing (mistral wind increasing up to 18 knots).
The Tuscany Grand Prix hosted by Yacht Club Isole di Toscana saw eight races in the three days dedicated to the Melges 20, to which the Melges 14 fleet was added yesterday, completing four races.
Nothing "new" could be said about the Melges 20 class, where the outgoing Melges World League champion Fremito d'Arja picks up where he left off last year. A victory never questioned, with a linear and perfect performance for the team of Dario Levi (Stefano Cherin on the tactical calls) who literally dominated in a class where the technical level always leads to play everything in a few seconds and centimeters away.
Fremito d'Arja, with the double bullet in the sixth and seventh races played today, closed the score with an early test and with an impressive score made up of five first places and two seconds. With such a pace, there was nothing to do for the Monegasque Nika (pt. 21) of Vladimir Prosikhin with Manu Weiller calling tactics. Nika's team ran into its worst partials of the series today (two seventh places) to then overturn its general classification with a first place in the last test which means second step of the podium in the Melges 20 Tuscany Grand Prix .
Just one point behind and third in the final ranking another Monegasque team: Raya by Matteo Marenghi Vaselli with Giulio Desiderato at tactics (pt. 22)
The top five of this first Grand Prix of the Melges 20 World League are completed by Gone Squatching by Pietro Loro Piana with Francesco Ivaldi (pt. 25) and B.Lex by Benedetta Jovane flanked by Branko Brcin (pt. 26).
The second day of racing for the Melges 14 fleet took place on the second course of the Tuscany Grand Prix, in which Mario Aquila's Vanitè XXS (pt. 5) took the lead in the last race with a success that "cancels" the OCS in the first start of the day. Behind him, just one point away, Magnifico by Giampiero Poggi (pt. 6) while in third place ITA 808 by Luca Antonini (pt. 8) completes the first podium of the season.
The Tyrrhenian Sea now leaves room for the Adriatic where the Melges World League will turn on the spotlight on the Porto San Giorgio race course on the next 5 - 8 May where, in addition to the Melges 14 and Melges 20, the champions of the Melges 32 class will also be racing.
The Melges World League 2022 counts on the support of: Helly Hansen, Quantum, North Sails and Garmin, as well as the technical partners Free Ride Cosmetics, Equilibra, Rigoni di Asiago, Revì, Acqua Cedea, Azienda Agricola il Ponte, Birrificio Petragnolo, Dai Dai , La Bellanotte, Sabatini Gin, Caffè Toscano, FoodNess and le Formiche di Fabio Vettori.
Melges Europe and the Melges World League support the One Ocean Foundation message by signing the Charta Smeralda.
Melges World League – Tuscany Grand Prix, top five after 8 races with one discard:
ITA 050 - FREMITO d'ARIA (Dario Levi / Stefano Cherin) – 2,1,2,1,1,1,1,DNC: pt. 9
MON 304 - NIKA (Vladimir Prosikhin / Manu Weiller) – 6,2,1,2,2,7,7,1: pt. 21
MON 301 . RAYA (Matteo Marenghi Vaselli / Giulio Desiderato) – 4,3,4,3,4,2,2,5: pt. 22
ITA 410 - GONE SQUATCHING (Pietro Loro Piana / Francesco Ivaldi) – 1,4,3,7,3,4,6,4: pt. 25
ITA 217 - B.LEX (Benedetta Jovane / Branko Brcin) – 3,8,5,4,5,3,4,2: pt. 26
Melges 14 World League – Tuscany Grand Prix, top five after 4 races with one discard:
ITA 803 – VANITE' XXS, Mario Aquila – 2,2,OCS,1: pt. 5
ITA 548 – MAGNIFICO, Giampiero Poggi – 8,1,1,4: pt. 6
ITA 808 – Luca Antonini – 4,3,3,2: pt. 8
ITA 811 – CALAF, Andrea Perrone – 3,6,4,3: pt 10
BRA 810 – JEITOSO, Gustavo Vianna – 1,DNC,2,DNF: pt. 16