At the end of the fifth day of the RORC Transatlantic Race, which started from Puerto Calero, Lanzarote on 8 January (11:00 UTC), the three MOD70s at the head of the lead fleet are chasing each other in the ocean over the 2995-mile race to Grenada.
PowerPlay is still in the lead, but in the Atlantic game the distances have been reduced to the bone and in the last 24 hours Giovanni Soldini's Maserati Multi 70 has launched an attack at the crossroads with Argo, making a breathtaking overtaking move that has taken it to second position less than 30 miles behind Peter Cunningham's PowerPlay (skipper Ned Collier Wakefield). Jason Carroll's Argo with Brian Thompson is now trailing Maserati Multi 70 by ten miles.
In addition to the complex weather conditions from the outset, Maserati Multi 70's navigation was affected by the breakage of the left rudder, which was knocked out a few miles after the start.
At 10:00 UTC today (11:00 Italian time), tracking records that the three multihulls are racing south-southwest some 950 miles from the finish line where they are scheduled to arrive in Grenada, in the eastern Caribbean, on the morning of 15 January.
The regatta is organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club in collaboration with Yacht Club de France. Maserati Multi 70 is taking part for the third time after competing in the 2016 and 2018 editions, when it crossed the finish line first with a time of 6 days, 18 hours, 54 minutes and 3 seconds.
MASERATI MULTI 70 - The crew
Aboard Maserati Multi 70, Giovanni Soldini is accompanied by 5 professional sailors, already crew members:
Vittorio Bissaro (ITA) - born in 1987, he started sailing as a child, on Optimist and Laser, and then switched to catamarans. He participated in the 2016 Rio Olympics in the Nacra 17 class finishing in fifth place and won the Nacra17 World Championship in 2019. Aboard Maserati Multi 70 he participated twice in the RORC 600 Carribean (in 2017 and 2019), in the 2017 edition of the Transpacific Yacht Race, as well as taking part in training and transfers. He also participated in the Rolex Middle Sea Race in 2018 and was part of the trimaran's crew on the occasion of two records set in 2021.
Oliver Herrera Perez (ESP) - born in Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands in 1987, he started sailing at the age of 9 in an Optimist, before moving on to racing as an adult on Ims 500s, Swan 45s and Rc44s. Already part of the crew of the Maserati VOR 70, he continues to race as bowman on the Maserati Multi 70. He has participated in most of the trimaran's regattas, records and transfers.
Thomas Joffrin (FRA) - from the Côtes-d'Armor in Brittany, he is 22 years old and has been working in the sailing world since 2018. He was part of the Ultim Emotion 2 maxi trimaran team for two years and in June 2021 he participated in the Ocean Race Europe with the Austrian team. He has 4 transatlantics to his credit and over 50 thousand miles in race and transfer.
Francesco Pedol (ITA) - professional Skipper, he is experiences in long distance deliveries and has many Atlantic crossings to his credit.
Since May 2021 he is member of the Maserati Multi 70 Team, both as a crew member and shore team.
Matteo Soldini (ITA) - is member of the shore team and has been involved in the Maserati Multi 70 project since its inception, having taken part in almost all the transfers of the Maserati VOR 70. He has numerous Atlantic crossings under his belt and has participated in many offshore races. On board Maserati Multi 70 he has participated in the vast majority of regattas, records and transfers carried out, accumulating many miles of sailing.