Azzurra shares the lead after 1st day at the Valencia 52 Super Series

With second and third place finishes today, Azzurra is currently in the lead of the final event in the 2018 52 Super Series, tied for points with Platoon who won the first race.

The first day of racing at the 52 Super Series Valencia Sailing Week got off to a slow start with the fleet in port waiting for thermal breeze to kick in. Finally at 3:15 PM the Racing Committee called the start of the first of two races in light breeze from the southeast at 7-8 knots. The breeze tended to rotate to the east and built up to ten knots over the course of the race. Azzurra got a perfect start on the pin and lead the fleet over the first beat only to be passed by Platoon approaching the mark when a wind shift made her slip slightly below the lay line. The German team controlled the fleet from there and went on to win the race, while Azzurra finished second in front of Phoenix.
The second race was run in slightly stronger breeze and saw Luna Rossa and Quantum dominate. The two teams duelled to the end hoping to make up the day’s first race and finished in first and second place respectively. Azzurra got a good start at the centre of the line and was off at a very good clip when she was struck by Provezza’s bowsprit. The Turkish team was sailing on port tack at the time. It could have been a serious collision, but fortunately nobody was hurt and the boats weren’t seriously damaged. Azzurra slipped back to fifth place for a moment but recovered positions right from the first mark. She finished third well ahead of the fourth placed team, Platoon, who had a good recovery after a poor start.

Azzurra closed the day with five points, the same number as Platoon who is in first place on the scoreboard for formal reasons because she placed first in a race.

The weather forecast for tomorrow calls for light breeze, so the start of racing has been moved back to 2 PM. Live streaming with commentary in English direct from the regatta course will be available on the websites 52superseries.com, azzurra.it and on the 52 Super Series YouTube channel.

Skipper Guillermo Parada had these words: "I think that we have to be happy with today’s results because the conditions were difficult and the breeze really unstable both in intensity and in direction. At the end of the day we got a good results and it’s good for our week overall, we’re still ahead of our rivals. As for the collision we had with Provezza in the second race, we were in the right and it could have been serious enough to put us out of the race, but it turned out not to have been that bad. We fought back and stayed in the top five and towards the end we saw an opportunity, took it and placed third. I’m happy with our result and happy with the way we sailed, we have to keep up like this because the conditions will probably be similar to today’s.”

Santiago Lange, tactician: "It was really cool racing today. The conditions were really tricky, the fleet is very tough all around, but I’m really happy with the way we sailed. It’s still a long way to the end of this event, and anything can happen. We shouldn’t count points but need to keep on sailing well and consistently like we did today.”

52 SUPER SERIES Valencia Sailing Week after 2 races
1. Platoon (GER) (Harm Müller-Spreer) (1,4) 5 p.
2. Azzurra (ARG/ITA) (Alberto/Pablo Roemmers) (2,3) 5 p.
3. Luna Rossa (ITA) (Patrizio Bertelli) (6,1) 7 p.
4. Phoenix (RSA) (Hasso/Tina Plattner) (3,6) 9 p.
5. Alegre (USA/GBR) (Andrés Soriano) (4,5) 9 p.
6. Quantum Racing (USA) (Doug DeVos) (8,2) 10 p.
7. Sled (USA) (Takashi Okura) (5,10) 15 p.
8. Gladiator (GBR) (Tony Langley) (7,9) 16 p.
9. Paprec (FRA) (Jean Luc Petithuguenin) (11,7) 18 p.
10. Onda (BRA) (Eduardo de Souza Ramos) (10,8) 18 p.
11. Provezza (TUR) (Ergin Imre) (9,11+ 2 penalti) 22 p

52 SUPER SERIES 2018

Sibenik 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week
May 23rd - 27th, Sibenik, Croatia

52 SUPER SERIES Zadar Royal Cup
June 20th - 24th, Zadar, Croatia

ROLEX TP52 World Championship Cascais 2018
July 17th - 21st, Cascais, Portugal

Puerto Portals 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week
August 21st - 25th, Mallorca, Spain

52 SUPER SERIES Valencia Sailing Week
September 18th - 22nd, Valencia, Spain