No racing due to big winds in Valencia, Gladiator’s title winning chances increase

With three races planned for today and forecasts aligning with all major models which predicted winds around 20kts there was considerable disappointment in the Marina of Valencia when competition could not take place as the breeze proved much to strong for the 13 TP52 which were set to line up and race on Day 3 of the Valencia 52 SUPER SERIES Royal Cup.

The race fleet did go afloat for a planned 1200hrs start but there were more than 30kts sustained and 35 in the gusts. The fleet were returned ashore and by 1600hrs it was clear the winds were not abating enough.

In theory the postponement strengthens the hand of Tony Langley’s circuit leaders Gladiator which now carries their 12 points cushion into the penultimate day of the season, Friday. Correspondingly Quantum Racing powered by American Magic in second and Platoon Aviation see their positions slightly weakened.  

Gladiator’s Zirilli: “We want to race”
Gladiator’s four times 52 SUPER SERIES champion navigator Italian Bruno Zirilli said, “It is obviously disappointing to be sitting waiting but this morning we tried but it really was windy with 30-35kts. I think when it is so windy it is unsafe and we don’t want to push too hard. Mathematically for us at the top time going on works in our favour but we could still do five or six races. Tomorrow we will see 13-20kts still from a tricky direction, so still we could have three races tomorrow.”

Platoon’s Mariño: “We feel strong.”
Wearing his trademark smile, Platoon Aviation’s runners controller Victor Mariño is super positive, “We have now got less chance to catch up points. But we feel strong. We re improving with the boat and improving as a team again and we feel good. So let us try and get three races in tomorrow and then we see on the last day if we can catch Gladiator. But we feel lucky. This feels like our event and this is our moment.”

And Quantum Racing’s coach James Lyne added, “We want to go racing. We want to give ourselves the best chance of doing as well as we can for the season.”

The social news of the day was the visit of the Mayoress of Valencia. María José Catalá came to the Marina of Valencia to discover the event with the General Manager of 52 SUPER SERIES, Agustín Zulueta, who highlighted the interest shown by the city’s highest authority:

‘To be visited by the Mayoress is a great honour. To be holding an event of this type in this port which is world renowned for having hosted the America’s Cup in 2007 is great for us and good for the city. The Mayoress was very impressed by the facilities of the Marina, the quality of the teams and the atmosphere in general, and was surprised by King Marine as a high-tech shipyard. Mrs. Catalá conveyed the many future plans that the municipal council has for this dock, highlighting that they all involve sport, high technology and international projects that animate the Marina and that directly affect city residents and visitos due to the great economic return that they bring to the city’.