The second day of competition of Marina Rubicón Lanzarote 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week reaffirms the excellent performance of Paprec in the choppy and strong wind conditions that are marking the circuit's debut in the Canary Islands. The French team, which started the day tied on points with Sled after the spectacular opening day, took advantage of the two races of the day to extend their lead at the top of the provisional standings. Third is now Alpha+, the team that posted the best scorecard of the day.
The menu for the second session of the Marina Rubicón Lanzarote 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week consisted of two races held again in typical Lanzarote summer conditions: a combination of wind around 20 knots and swell that allowed the TP52s to unleash their full potential off Marina Rubicón. The tough day resulted in the breakage of about a dozen spinnakers.
The first race of the day started slightly below 20 knots and with 12 boats on the starting grid due to the absence of Gladiator, which had to retire due to a broken forestay. On the water, Platoon Aviation started well on the far left of the line and Teasing Machine was taken out of play in the early stages, reducing the fleet to 11 boats. The first leg saw Provezza and Platoon Aviation alternating at the head, closely pursued by the infallible Sled. At the end of the first leg, a strong current compromised the buoy rounding for several teams, with a particular impact on Platoon Aviation, which dropped to the back of the pack while Provezza began to fly down the first run, now followed by Paprec and Sled. A problem with the spinnaker left Provezza stalled, opening the door for Paprec to take the lead and secure their second consecutive victory, consolidating their leadership. They would be followed at the finish by Alpha+ and Alkedo Vitamina.
Nico Martínez/52 SUPER SERIES
The wind had already stabilized above 20 knots for the second start of the day. The race began with a tight battle between Platoon Aviation and Paprec on the far left of the line, while Alkedo Vitamina and Alegre had to return outside the line. After the usual dance of positions in the initial leg, Platoon Aviation managed to slip ahead of Sled on the final approach to the buoy. The team of German Ham Müller-Spreer, which includes the Spaniards Jordi Calafat, Juan Vila, Javier de la Plaza and Víctor Mariño, started in the lead on a very fast first downwind leg, but a torn spinnaker (the third in two days) left them literally stuck while they watched helplessly as half the fleet passed them. Sled took the lead, a position they would not relinquish. They recorded their second partial victory in two days, followed by Alpha+ and Alkedo Vitamina, who staged a magnificent comeback from last place at the start.
After two days and four partial races, Paprec returned to Marina Rubicón as the solid leader of the provisional standings. With one win and a fourth place, Jean-Luc Petithuguenin's boat managed to break the tie with Sled (6+1), now leading them by two points.
Stephane Neve, sail manager and project director for Paprec, explained upon returning to shore: “It was a great day for the team. We had a fantastic first race; the start wasn't ideal, but we maintained good speed and the tactician and helmsman did a fantastic job upwind. We also got a bit lucky, because our rivals had problems with their sails, which opened the door for us to win. The second race was quite difficult: we didn't have a very good start and it was a bit tricky upwind, but again we maintained good speed downwind, so we managed to catch up and finally finish fourth. I think we did a good job selecting sails over the winter.”
Italian Francesco Bruni, tactician for Sled, put the slip-up in the first race of the day into perspective: “We are happy with the day, although, obviously, we are left with a bit of frustration from the first race, in which we lost some points. But we all have our own problems and we just have to know how to deal with them. The second race was much better, with a good start and good strategy at the buoys.”
In third position is now Alpha+ as a reward for the best card of the day, which allows them to move to five points behind Sled. The Majorcan Pedro Mas, bowman of the Hong Kong team, explained: “Luckily, we haven’t had any problems with the equipment. A lot of that is down to the team’s work: hoisting the right sail without taking too much risk. Obviously, when you play it safe, you sacrifice distance, but if you take a risk and it goes wrong, you’ll be last. The navigator is doing a super good job, and downwind, the trimmers, grinders, and helmsman are all performing at a very high level.”
On this day, the Canarian Carlos Hernández joined the Vayu team, replacing bowman Mika Eid, who was out due to health reasons. His presence increases the number of Spaniards in the Lanzarote fleet to 12. Despite being new to Vayu, Carlos knows the 52 SUPER SERIES well. “I sailed in 2014 on Phoenix as second bowman alongside Pedro Mas. Now, the fleet has changed, there are many teams, the level is higher, the fleet is very compact, and any tiny detail will send you back.” Vayu had an 11th and a 5th place on an inconsistent day and currently occupies eighth position provisionally.
The Marina Rubicón Lanzarote 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week returns on Thursday with a program of two races starting at 11:30 am. The competition will be broadcast live on the official 52 SUPER SERIES platforms in English and Spanish.
Provisional Marina Rubicón Lanzarote 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week
1. Paprec (FRA), Jean-Luc Petithuguenin, 2+1+1+4 = 8
2. Sled, Takashi Okura, 1+2+6+1 = 10
3. Alpha + (HKG), Shawn and Tina Kang, 3+8+2+2 = 15
4. Alkedo Vitamina (ITA), Andrea Lacorte, 7+3+3+3 = 16
5. No Way Back (NED), Pieter Heerema, 5+7+5+9 = 26
6. Platoon Aviation (GER), Harm Müller-Spreer, 6+5+9+6 = 26
7. Alegre (GBR), Andy Soriano, 4+9+8+10 = 31
8. Vayu (THA), Whitcraft family, 9+6+11+5 = 31
9. Provezza (TUR), Ergin Imre, 11+12+4+7 = 34
10. Trinity Racing (SWE), Joakim Sundberg, 12+4+10+8 = 34
11. Crioula (BRA), Eduardo and Renato Plass, 14(DNS)+11+7+11 = 43
12. Teasing Machine (FRA), Eric de Turckheim, 10+10+14(DNF)+12 = 46
13. Gladiator (GBR), Tony Langley, 8+13+14(DNS)+14(DNS) = 49
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