Provezza enhance their Royal Cup challenge with race win

Winning the only race of a frustrating second day of the Valencia 52 SUPER SERIES Royal Cup, Ergin Imre’s Provezza team are now four points clear at the top of the event classification. But the high level of consistency so far from 2023 circuit champions, Harm Müller Spreer’s Platoon Aviation means the German flagged team are on something of a charge, making a late challenge for the 2024 title.

After starting this final regatta of the season at 28 points behind the circuit leaders, Tony Langley’s Gladiator, but over the first three races Platoon have already stripped 11 points from that deficit, sailing fast and smart in the shifty, puffy offshore breezes which have seen both the British boat and Quantum Racing powered by American Magic struggle to make an impression on the top third of the 13 boat fleet which represents nine nations.

Gladiator, recent winners of the Rolex TP52 World Championship and the Puerto Portals 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week, started modestly today but fought back to sixth place whilst Quantum’s attack today was blunted by being over the start line early. Doug DeVos’s team were missing navigator Evelyn Hull through sickness today.

Paprec shine
Although Paprec led at the first top mark with Provezza second and Platoon Aviation third, the Provezza afterguard were quick to recognise a right shift with extra pressure which allowed them to roll over the French boat and take the lead. Platoon also read the downwind well and pulled through to second. The race win for the red hulled Vrolijk design Provezza sees them clear of second placed Platoon, whilst Hasso and Tina Plattner’s Phoenix elevated themselves to third overall after these three races have been sailed.

Provezza’s navigator who spent several Cup years here with Mascalzone Latino Nacho Postigo explained on the dock at King Marine, only metres from where the new Provezza was launched in early August, “The new baby is giving us good result. It is only three races so far but we are going well. There is still a long way to go. Pepsi (Hamish Pepper, tactician) did a great job in deciding what was going to happen next. We had a lot of discussions with Santi (Lange) the coach in the tender, with Cole (Parada) looking at the wind and myself looking at the weather models and all working together. But I would say Pepsi really was brilliant in saying what was going to happen in the next two minutes.
The first downwind we were very good at staying in the pressure. We have sorted most of the teething problems we had in Portals and now the boat is good.”

Gladiator lie eighth after opening with a 12th but their challenge for their first ever overall circuit title remains on course, leading Quantum now by 12 points with potentially seven races to go before Saturday’s star studded prize giving. Three races are scheduled Wednesday.

Nothing changed, the song remains the same
Their Guille Parada asserts, “Nothing has changed a lot really, we will do three races tomorrow. We had another complicated race today in the offshore breeze but it was shifty and puffy. We did not have the best start to the race but in the end we were moving forwards and it was enough to get an OK result considering. I think everyone is feeling that the end of the season is coming. Now every race counts more and every point counts more. I don’t think we feel the pressure, it is another regatta and we need to approach it day by day as every other regatta. Platoon has been a little more free in what they can do compared with Quantum Racing and ourselves. And so maybe it is time to start putting an eye on them also and trying to keep them under control. But we know how talented Vasco is in these conditions and what a good team they are in these unsteady conditions. So they are a threat for sure.”

And meantime the cool, composed Müller Spreer is rather enjoying the late charge which is kind of  reminiscent of their 2023 double successes, winning the worlds on the last run of the last race and stealing the circuit title from Provezza on the last day of the season. The big question…….could they strike again?

The German owner-driver smiled enigmatically, “We are definitely not coming in late on purpose we would rather be leading of course we would, but we struggled in the first event, but here we climbing up slowly making five, four, threes and so on, so we will see what happens Saturday afternoon. We are getting better and better and everything is still open. We cannot lose, that is a fact. And we just keep trying to do our best in very race and see what happens. I don’t know if we are underdogs right now but for sure no one is counting on us, so there is no pressure, none at all. That is for sure. We have won everything already and came in with a new boat and it did not work out to start with. Now were are used to the boat and it is all possible, we have gained points. With seven races to go in shifty conditions anything can happen, we will see!”

Racing is programmed to start from midday Wednesday with three races planned.

VALENCIA 52 SUPER SERIES ROYAL CUP STANDINGS

1. PROVEZZA (TUR), Ergin Imre, 4+2+1 = 8   
2. PLATOON AVIATION (GER), Harm Müller-Spreer, 8+1+2 = 11      
3. PHOENIX (RSA), Hasso & Tina Plattner, 1+11+5 = 17
4. PAPREC (FRA), Jean-Luc Pethuguenin, 9+3+7 = 19 
5. INTERLODGE (USA), Austin & Gwen Fragomen, 7+9+3 = 19 
6. ALEGRE (GBR), Andy Soriano, 2+5+13 = 20     
7. TEASING MACHINE (FRA), Eric De Turckheim, 3+13+4 = 20
8. GLADIATOR (GBR), Tony Langley, 12+4+6 = 22  
9. CRIOULA (BRA), Eduardo & Renato Plass, 6+8+10 = 24 
10. QUANTUM RACING POWERED BY AMERICAN MAGIC (USA), Doug DeVos, 11+6+9 = 26
11. VAYU (THA), Whitcraft Family, 5+12+11 = 28  
12. SLED (USA), Takashi Okura, 13+7+8 = 28     
13. ALPHA+ (HKG), Shawn & Tina Kang, 10+10+12 = 32

52 SUPER SERIES 2024 OVERALL

GLADIATOR (GBR), Tony Langley, 37+35+40+40+22 = 174
QUANTUM RACING POWERED BY AMERICAN MAGIC (USA), Doug DeVos, 27+36+52+45+26 = 186
PLATOON AVIATION (GER), Harm Müller-Spreer, 45+47+48+40+11 = 191
SLED (USA), Takashi Okura, 33+42+46+67+28 = 216
ALEGRE (GBR), Andy Soriano, 37+44+51+66+20 = 218
INTERLODGE (USA), Austin & Gwen Fragomen, 32+49+73+65+19 = 238
PAPREC (FRA), Jean-Luc Pethuguenin, 49+51+62+63+19 = 244
VAYU (THA), Whitcraft Family, 51+33+65+80+28 = 257
ALPHA+ (HKG), Shawn & Tina Kang, 51+58+50+69+32 = 260
PHOENIX (RSA), Hasso & Tina Plattner, 77+46+65+58+17 = 263
PROVEZZA (TUR), Ergin Imre, 25+88+110+71+7 = 301
CRIOULA (BRA), Eduardo & Renato Plass, 77+88+110+70+24 = 369
TEASING MACHINE (FRA), Eric De Turckheim, 77+88+110+89+20 = 384